Remembering the ‘good old days’

IT was a memorable grand reunion for members of St Thomas’ School ‘Class of 1973’ in Kuching recently, where apart from dining, wining and reminiscing ‘the good old days’, these ‘old boys’ also got to reconnect with a former teacher.

The guest-of-honour Alice Wright, now in her 70s, was very much at ease with her hosts just like she had been when they were still teenagers back in the 1970s.

“I must confess that when I first saw this bunch of rowdy boys, I gave myself the challenge of instilling knowledge and ideals into you all. That was where literature came in.

“My task wasn’t all an uphill grind. I found your youthful zeal rather endearing.

“Many a time, your bewildered expression of wide-eyed wonder spurred me on,” she said in her speech.

“At other times, your blatant inattention or utter boredom flooded me with extra fuel, and I became a veritable ‘Incredible Hulk’,” she joked.

“I believe each one of you can now see the value of studying literature – how it has given you strength of character, resilience in hard times, and most of all, appreciation of life.”

The ‘Ex-Thomians ‘73 Golden Anniversary Reunion Dinner’, which took place at a restaurant in the city, gathered over 40 former upper-secondary students – some of whom have long settled down in Shah Alam, Penang, Singapore, and even as far as Sydney and Auckland.

Wright again made a joking remark about how she felt that she was being ‘cornered’ by her former students to deliver a speech at the event.

“Why do you still want to hear me talk? Didn’t you all have had enough of me talking during your school days?” she quipped.

‘Proud of her boys’

Wright, however, said she was ‘extremely proud’ to see her former charges doing very well in life.

“I see many professionals here – engineers, architects, lawyers, doctors, accountants, educationists, and also entrepreneurs.”

She also disclosed to them that she herself had asked to be posted to the all-boy St Thomas’ School instead of to the neighbouring all-girl St Mary’s School.

“Yes, the boys might seem naughtier, but I believed then that such naughtiness was actually a youthful zeal, which I found more endearing.

“As a teacher, I experienced a lot of feelings and a lot of excitement in teaching boy students.”

In concluding her speech, Wright stressed that everyone had only one life to live.

“What have we done with this one life?” she asked her former charges, just like she did when she was their English Literature teacher.

“Are we building something that lasts beyond us; for our future generations?

“Have we ever thought of what will happen after we are gone? I would like to leave you all with that thought.”

‘Reminiscence’

Wright’s words struck a chord with many of those present.

They were awestruck by the fact that they had gone through a full cycle: they were her students, they graduated, they worked, they got married, and eventually they came to the point of having grandchildren who are now as old as they were when they were Wright’s students.

Some of them said it was only upon reaching old age when they truly realised the significance of studying literature during their schooling days – not so much of its application in the real world, but more about it allowing them to understand and appreciate the beauty of life.

Nonetheless, it was a fun gathering as the ‘old boys’ got to meet up again after many years, and share endless stories with one another.

Indeed, the chatter got even more ‘colourful’ after a few glasses of wine.

An alumnus later got hold of a microphone and began to recount the near-achievement of his post-retirement dream.

“And what the heck is this after-retirement dream all about?” he asked – rhetorically.

“Let me put it this way. When I was still working last time, I always told myself that I must live for at least 10 more years of my life after retirement.

“And here I am today, nine years after I retired – one more year to go!

“So for the whole of this year, I must make sure to be very, very… very careful!

“I must watch every step I take. Never mind if I stepped onto a cat or a frog. That’s not my concern at all.

“My top concern is I myself must not trip, fall, and die; should I die, my dream would also die with me!”

‘An event to be cherished forever’

Before the event commenced, a minute of silence was observed in remembrance of those who had passed on.

It was not the first reunion for these ‘Old Thomians’, as they held an earlier one nearly 10 years ago.

Only that this time, there were fewer of them attending.

“My rough guess, at least eight of those who attended the last reunion (10 years ago) are no longer around to join us this time.

“And taking into account the time since we left school, more than 20 had already departed,” said Lim Hak Khiam, the organising chairman of the event.

He was especially sad about a fellow Thomian, who passed away last November.

“He had registered his name for this dinner, and was very much looking forward to meeting up with his old buddies.”

He also spoke about the unfortunate circumstance that befell another fellow Thomian in Ipoh, who was among the very first to register for this year’s reunion but at the very last minute, he was unable to fly to Kuching – all because he lost his personal documents.

“He already bought the air tickets. He had to travel between Ipoh and Penang several times to get all the necessary documents done, and he did make it to the airport to catch his flight to Kuching, but alas, he was not allowed to board the plane over some technicalities.”

Overall, said Lim, the grand reunion dinner was a success.

“It was, indeed, a memorable event – one that all of us would surely cherish for years to come.

“My wish is that if we get the chance to hold this again in the future, all of us could attend – and I mean all of us here tonight, and not only some of us,” he said.