Father, Stranger and Chocolate

Throughout my childhood, I couldn’t remember what Dad had said to me. In fact he seldom talked to me. When we happened to meet in the street incidentally, we felt awkward or even embarrassed to see each other, worse than seeing a stranger. So we pretended we did not see each other. What a strange relationship! Any message between us would go through Mum. For big issue like going for tertiary education in New Zealand, still the message was forwarded to him by Mum.

When I studied imitation theory of childhood development in Victory University, I realized the importance of the role played by a father for his son. A son imitates his father when he grows up, so that he learns the behaviour, values and culture from his father. In this case, the interaction between father and son is very crucial. I recollected and found my interaction between Dad and I was almost none. That is why I don’t understand what I had imitated?

Ya, Dad looked serious all the time, like Bao Gong （包公）.We were scared of him. Like Simon said, he owned a big and sparkling car in blue and white colour. But it was rare for us to sit in the car. Once in the blue moon on the first day of Chinese New Year, he might take me and my sisters and brothers for a ride. Or because of heavy rain that I couldn’t cycle to school, then Mum might wake him up to drive us to school. I felt so uneasy to be in the car, instead of enjoying for the ride.

I remembered only once that he drove us to Singapore and, surprisingly, to watch an English film in Cathay cinema. Before we entered into the cinema, he bought me a piece of chocolate. To me at that time, this chocolate was something beyond my dream. I believe this was the first time that I saw and owned a piece of chocolate. When Dad was queuing for tickets, I couldn’t wait but swallowed up the whole chocolate. When Dad came back with tickets in hand, he found me empty-handed and asked angrily: “Where is your chocolate?” I couldn’t answer. He said I should hold it and consume it while watching movie. I felt so ashamed and guilty of my misbehaviour that I still couldn’t forget the episode until today!
(Note: If the younger generation has no knowledge of my nick-name, please consult your parents.)

By Unintelligent Lion