Brylcreem

During last night's teleconversation with Mrs Pitt, she told me that she cried reading my Guinness Stout post. You see, my dad is her dad too. We both talked about Dad and said that he did leave too early. That's why I'm posting about my dad again because I started recalling my younger days and the happy times with him.

The flat I used to stay in faced a lane and each evening, from the 5th floor, I would sit there and wait for him to come back. Just in case I missed him, he would whistle loudly and I would then run towards the balcony to wave at him. He would always have treats for us, buying the 2 litre A&W root beer (from the Pudu outlet which is no longer around) and of course on Tuesdays, we'll have our Coney Dogs. Once in a while, he brought back a box of Kit Kat or Kandos Crispies or Wrigley's chewing gum from the wholesale shop in Petaling Street. Once home, he would sit in his favourite chair, I still remember the patch of oil on the wall where he leaned his head against. That's because he used Brylcreem a lot! Ha ha.... Sitting in the chair, he would always play this trick where his eyes would be wide opened and he would pretend to stop breathing. Ha ha....come to think of it, that was a rather mean trick to play on a kid, wasn't it? Pretending to be dead. Ah, my dad, always a joker.

He was also very meticulous about the way he looked and dressed. Always making sure his hair had just the right amount of Brylcreem, that every strand was in place (indeed, that was his crowning glory and he took care of it well, he still had a full head of hair till his last day here). Shirt tucked, he would go thru the ritual of primping himself in front of the mirror. He loved wearing belts with big buckles, he was a big man. The whole ensemble did look nice on him. Hee hee......I used to sit there and just watch him go thru this routine time and time again and I will still be just as fascinated as I was seeing it for the first time.

Life is funny, till one really loses someone, we don't know how it actually feels like or begin to even fathom what has happened and how to deal with the loss. We feel sad and time will lessen the pain but it will never erase the memories that will forever live in our hearts.

It is foolish to tear one's hair in grief, as though sorrow would be made less by baldness. ~ Cicero