RM250 Fees

I met a former student of mine. While in school he was such a difficult student to handle always up to some kind of trouble.


“Teacher, how are you, long time no see. You haven’t change a bit.”

“I am growing old, dear boy.”

“Teacher, everybody grow old, but you are still the jovial person I know before. Where are you teaching now, teacher?”

“In this school, in the middle of the city.”
I named the school.

“Oh, I know that school. It is very notorious for it’s hardcore student.”

“Yeah, you are right but we teachers and administrators are trying to change the stigma of the school. We organized a lot of programs, so the students will be proud of the school.”

“Good teacher, I know , because I was once a very naughty boy but I have repented.”

“Good for you.” I told him.

“Teacher, is there any student at your present school who really make your life very difficult?”

“Yes, of course, I am still thinking how to go about in handling this boy.”

“Teacher, don’t worry. What part of his body you want as evidence. The ear, the nose, just tell me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Teacher, you just put RM 250/= into my bank account. Give me the details of this boy including his photo. I will handle him for you.”

“WHAT?”

“It is very easy, very easy, teacher!”

“No! No! No! He’s young and he can still be taught.”

“OK teacher, but if you change your mind, this is my phone number.”

He gave me his card.

I never contacted him.

CIKGUTANYA: Thinking of him give me the creeps.

New Broom 4

The choices :

No 1 : Beautiful , persistent
No 2: easy going person
No 3: motherly

“I don’t want all of them. I have a girl friend. She just finished her degree course and is currently doing her diploma in education also. She wants to be a teacher too, just like me.”

“Why don’t you tell the three women teachers?”

“Why should I? I like them to fight and to fret over me. It gives me the pleasure of competition.”

His comments about the 3 female teachers:

Female 1:
“Why should I tell her, she likes talking to me. Let her talk. Whenever she want to talk about feelings, I will talk to her about the students or our career and the responsibility that comes with it.”

Female 2:
“Keep on asking me out, I tell her I sleep early to prepare for next day schooling activities.”

Female 3:
“I took her food, but in front of her I also offered it to the other teachers to be eaten together. So what is so difficult.”

CIKGUTANYA: Man and their ego.

New Broom 3

FEMALE TEACHER 2
Attractive. Bubbly character.26 years old.

She is jealous. “Please don’t talk to her. She’s not nice. I am sure she is trying to tackle you. Just ignore her.”

“I don’t like you to talk to her. I am very jealous.”

“Please talk to me only.”

“What do you do this weekend, can we go for a movie and then for supper?. You fetch me at 8.30 pm, OK?”

“My mum and dad is very sporting. They don’t mind. I am very sure they will like you ”

“Please………..”


FEMALE TEACHER 3:

“I cook this traditional kuih (cakes) for you. Please have a taste of it. It took me three hours to cook this.”

“Tomorrow, I will cook you some nasi lemak.” (rice cooked with coconut milk and eaten with chili anchovies, cucumber and boiled or poached egg).

“I am very sure you will like to eat home cooked food since you stay with your bachelor friends. You can come to my house if you feel like to eat home cooked dishes. I don’t mind cooking for you for the rest of my life!”

I told my nephew, “You are a lucky man, three women are interested in you. Pick one.”

CIKGUTANYA: Go girl, go get your man!

New Broom 2

One day, I asked my nephew about the male and female teachers in his school.

He told me, “If I just want to be an ordinary teacher, I would follow them but I gave up a promising career because of my desire to be a teacher, to teach the young of the nation and to be the best.”

He refused to follow the footstep of his peers. I congratulated him for that. He kept his distance from the complacent male teachers and get closer to the good and diligent female teachers.

For the female teachers, a different story is told.

Three of the female teachers are single. They try hard to win his attention and they have their own style to do it.

FEMALE TEACHER ONE:

She’s 32 years old . Four years older than my nephew. Attractive. Good figure. Diligent. Loves her career.

After school while waiting for the co-curricular activities to start and while eating their lunch, she will always try to sit with my nephew, just to talk.

“I just don’t understand why you didn’t find a woman that you want to marry. You are 28. I am very sure there’s a lot women that would want you to be their husband. Am I right? What would you like your future wife to be?”

My nephew answered, “Not necessary for her to have looks like a goddess – as long as she is presentable, nice, can get along with people, a career woman and will have to be able to love my family too.”

“What about cooking?”

“It doesn’t matter , as long as it is palatable, it is ok for me.”

“I think I have all that quality, don’t you think so dear.”

CIKGUTANYA : Ladies can be bold.

NEW BROOM

My nephew is a new teacher in this urban school.

He was an engineer with the national airlines before. His qualification was engineering in aerospace. It was a very promising career.

But after four years with the airlines engineering department, he quit and did his diploma in education to become a teacher.

“You are stupid,” I told him.

“What was your parents reaction?”

He told me, “They said, ‘do whatever you think best for yourself – you are the one who will live with your decision. Whatever decision you make or choose we will always support you’.”

He got his diploma and get posted to this school.

He is fair, 28 years old, clean face (not even one pimple) smartly clothed, a neat person. You should see his handwriting. Neat as if it is being printed by a laser printer. I used to envy his handwriting.

He is full of energy. He likes being a teacher. Maybe the blood is in him!

The senior assistant is my good friend. She will call me regularly to talk to me and sometimes my nephew’s name will be mentioned.

It seems the male teachers of this school are too complacent. They just go day by day to school and do the teaching without any zest.

They always try to turn my “new broom sweeps clean” nephew to be like them.

CIKGUTANYA : It is hard to be a new person / officer or staff in any organization.

Siput Babi 2

It moved very slowly.

Very, very slow.

My son asked me, "We talked a lot today mama. What I like most about talking to you is your understanding. You listen to what I want to say with an open heart. I love you for that."

“But mama, what do you think this pig-snail (siput babi) is thinking when it moves slowly?”

Hmmmm … good question. I have to think hard.

“Well, the pig-snail (siput babi) might think about the yummy green leaves that he is going to eat when he reach it.“

“No, that is not correct!"

“Maybe the pig-snail (siput babi) is thinking about us. What is this old woman and his son doing talking here when there are better places to be in.”

“No, still not correct!"

“Maybe the pig-snail (siput babi) is thinking that it is a long way to his home. His wife and kids must have been waiting for him for lunch.”

“No, mama, not right!”

“My darling son, then please tell me, what is this pig-snail (siput babi) thinking about right now?”

“Mama, the pig-snail is thinking about his identity – IS HE A PIG OR A SNAIL (adakah dia siput atau babi)!”


CIKGUTANYA: I love you my son. You bring joy to my life.

SIPUT BABI

My son and I were walking in the park.

We talked about his study, my job, about the future and a lot of things. We joked

About his study :

“Mama, I will be finishing my study soon but I don’t want to be an engineer. Can I be a photographer?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I just like it. I am not sure.”

About my job:

“Will you retire earlier, mama?”

“Not sure, I want to work until I’m 58. But I want to get my gratuity earlier. At least I will have some money.”

About the future:

“Mama, I don’t know between my two girlfriends, which one to choose to be my wife?”

Choices, choices, choices!

And then we saw a siput babi or a pig-snail (a name given to a species of snails in our country).


CIKGUTANYA ; I have to go . I will continue tomorrow

Kentucky Fried Chicken

I was being assigned to teach history in four classes.

Two good classes and two mediocre classes.

I then made a promise to the students from the two mediocre classes, if they pass their history paper in the final exam at the end of the year, I will take them to Kentucky Fried Chicken for a treat.

Six students passed the final exam.

I took them to the KFC near the Central Market Kuala Lumpur in my van.

I choked when I heard one boy this to say tohis friends:

“This is the first time, I eat at KFC. My parents only have enough money to get us by, day by day. Food is scarce. As long there is rice on the plate and some dried salted fish to eat, we’re thankful.”

It flashed my mind, what happened to me: A monthly family trip to KFC.

My first son: “Mama, I only want the wings!”

My second son: “Mama, I only want the breast!”

My third son: “Mama, I only want the drumstick!”

My daughter: “I only want the fries!”

This boy: He NEVER had the chance to go to KFC for a meal.

My children: Had so many choices to order in the KFC restaurant.

CIKGUTANYA: We should count our blessings that we can have what we want.

The Window 2

I met with the girl a few years back.

She was still good looking as when she was in school. Now, she is even more beautiful due to her make-up and the way she carried herself.

“What are you doing now?”

“Teacher, I am a GRO at the dangdut club (dance club).”

“Oh, how do you like your job?”

“Well, I like it and it pays me well.”

“How much can you get?”

“Plus tips, between RM2,000 to RM3,000 a month.”

“That much?”

“Yes , teacher.”

“What do you have to do as GRO then?”

“Just entertain my client, dance with them and talk to them.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, teacher.”

“But what I heard is different. Can you tell me more about the duty of the GRO.”

“It’s just to entertain our client. Otherwise, it’s merely between the client and the GRO, the club have no control over it. We do the extra service on our own.”

“Have you done the extra?”

“No, teacher. Not yet!”

CIKGUTANYA: I hope the “extra” won’t happen.

The Window

There was this beautiful looking student from my former school. She was a difficult student to handle. But she was very close to me.

“Teacher, you understand me and never judged me. If you need to punish me, you just do it but you never harp on it.”

She played truant. She never concentrate on her study. She like boys and men. Sometimes she even made passes at the male teachers of the school.

Her mother always came to school to see the me for something or another.

One day her mother came to see me with this story.

“My house is an old traditional Malay house with the leave type window. It can be opened wide and it is easier for people to jump in or out of the house.”

“Last night after dinner, my daughter went into her room, locked it from inside. I thought she was doing her revision of school lessons. I was so relieved.”

“But when her father came home from work at 9.30 pm he asked me what was the ladder doing under her windows outside the house. We investigated. My daughter was not in the room!”

“She used the ladder to sneak out of the window to go to town.”

“We searched for her.”

“We asked her friends where she has gone. We finally found her at one of the dangdut center (dance club) enjoying herself.”

CIKGUTANYA: What went wrong? Continue tomorrow.

Mini Skirt 2

When she was teaching, she would walk round the class. Front and back. Back and front. I was wondering why there were a lot of sharpeners with mirror on the floor. When she walked round the class, comments will be heard from the boys:

“Yellow”

Sometimes, “Lacy red.”

Sometimes, “Lacy blue.”

All these are comments on the color of her panties.

At times pen and pencil just dropped and need to be picked up. I was wondering why.

The boys comments on her.

“Wow, our teacher is one hot lady”

“Fuh ! I think I will pass with flying colors if she teach me!”

“She give me so much inspiration by just wearing the mini-skirt.”

CIKGUTANYA: Now, the students refused and will never picked up anything dropped on the floor.

Mini Skirt

In the 60’s the mini-skirt was the fad of the day. Quite a number of my teachers wore the mini-skirt to school.

One particular teacher always wore the mini-skirt to school.

She was beautiful. Graduated from a Canadian University with a masters degree. She only taught Form Six. In the 60’s for a woman to study abroad and up to her master degree were rare.

We, the girls, will talk about her.

“She’s so beautiful.”

“So elegant, with her high heels and all”

“She is so poised and her English is superb!”

“I want to follow her style when I am working.”

Me, I just look at her, knowing that I will and can never follow her style. I am just a kampong (village) girl. Simple. And the most important thing I don’t have the legs for mini-skirt.

The boy commented on different things.

Whenever this lady teacher went to the class. She likes to sit on the teacher’s table not on the chair. When she sat on the table she will crossed her legs. And that’s the time the boys will give their comments:

“Blue.”

Sometimes

“Red."

Sometimes

“White.”

It was the color of her panties.

Cikgutanya : Now, teachers are only allowed to wear below the knee skirt. Serve you right boys.

FORGIVENESS IS THE BEST REVENGE 3

He cried, and cried and cried . I let him cry his heart out.

“Dear, please listen to me , let her go, let her go.”

“ She just didn’t love you anymore. You cannot sacrifice yourself for such a woman. I am a woman but I don’t condoned her behavior.”

“ Let her go. Go and find your happiness.”

“ Your child is being taken care by your-in-law. You can always see him there.”

“ Let her go. Don’t fight it. Let go of her. You will find peace.”

He did it . He divorced her.

He saw his son everyday , sent and fetch his son to and from kindergarten. She just ignored him.

Until one day ,

“Dear ex-son-in-law , please come back to our family. My daughter wants you back. Do it for the sake of your child.”

My student did some investigation.

It seems that the man dumped her .

After my student divorced her, my student’s ex-wife keep on pestering the man to marry her but he refused. As someone’s else wife, he can have fun without any string attached, but once divorced the fun is gone.

My student refused to accept her as he is happy with his life.

He can see his child any time and any day.

He still have a very good relationship with his ex-in-law. He can visit them anytime.

But the most important thing is he has found a new love.

Cikgutanya: Good for you. I pray for your happiness.


Cari "kini baru kau sedar" by JJ

FORGIVENESS IS THE BEST REVENGE 2

“She fall in love with someone else. It is her boss. I am heart broken. I still love her.”

“How can that be?” I asked

“Before, she was working at a small trading company but the pay wasn’t good. So she moved to another company that pays her more. The present company. She met a woman who had been working there for seven years. This woman introduced her to the big boss. The number three man at the company.”

“As she was your former student, you must remember that she was very soft-spoken, very lady-like and she is beautiful.”

“Since she worked with this company, she changed. She is a beautiful woman indeed. Now she is even more beautiful. This man is a married man and rich. He got money to spend. He spent it on my wife.”

“Teacher, sometimes she didn’t come home at night. I am helpless.”

“We had a child,a boy, what if, I won’t be able to see my child again after the divorce.”

“What have you done to save this marriage?”

“Everything! To tell you the truth, as a husband, I gave her too much face. I am the one who took care of our baby since birth. I washed, I ironed the clothes, I cooked and everything else in the house.”

“We even went to the marriage counselor for counseling, but she is very stubborn.”

“What about your- in-laws?”

“They advised her too, but to no avail. She just refused to listen to them.”

“How was she with you?”

“She just couldn’t be bothered. Early in the morning, she will be busy getting ready to go to her office to be with him (Her boss), she will just ignore me. She also ignored our son. Off she goes in the car that he gave her and drove off. I am very disturbed. She will be back in the wee hours of the morning or sometimes not at all.”

“Teacher , I pity our child.”

Cikgutanya: I need a piece of roti canai. Continue tomorrow

FORGIVENESS IS THE BEST REVENGE

He is handsome, tall and tanned.

He was a former student of this school but he was good with the camera so much, that the school asked him to be the ‘unofficial’ photographer of the school.

Every event in the school, taking picture for the school magazine etc he will be there as the photographer.

The school will pay him accordingly for his services.

She was studying in the school doing Form Six. Beautiful, slim and fair.

They met on a photography session at the school and they clicked – the chemistry worked. And soon they were in love.

A very handsome and elegant couple.

The boys envied him. The girls envied her.

She managed to further her studies in a local university and he worked in his father’s company.

After she graduated, they got married.
He was happy. She was also happy.

They lived with her parents and I never heard about them for about five years.

Then one day, on the way up north, a group of of my former students called me and said that they are going to visit me. The next day, eight of them arrived and one of them is the photographer.

The moment he saw me, he cried.

I was wondering why. I took him to the family hall and asked him why he cried.

“Teacher, my wife and I are now in the process of divorcing each other.”

“Why?”

Cikgutanya : Going out for teh tarik (special brewed tea)

Physical Education Lesson

We liked our Physical Education lessons in school.

In the 60’s and early 70’s there was no PE lesson for girls taught by lady teachers. PE for the boys and girls were taught by the same male teachers.

Nowadays, the girls are being taught by female teachers and the boys by male teachers.

Anyway, we truly enjoyed our PE lesson those days.

When I was in Form Four, PE lesson was taught by a male teacher. He was a hunk. His body, was then like David Hesselhorf of “Bay Watch”. Whew! Tall, dark and handsome.

“Ok, what would you like to play today?” he asked us.

“Rugby, sir. Competition between the girls and the boys!”

“Now, two lines please. The boys on my right and the girls on my left.”

“Once, I blow on the whistle, you start playing.”

“Pheee …….wheeet “

Scrum, pushed, kicked, pulled, screaming and cursing.

Anyway, the boys won. We had fun during the game. But it was sheer competition. Nobody took advantage of the situation. We really fought hard and lost. They (the boys) really fought hard and won. Fair and square.

CIKGUTANYA: If we let the girls and the boys play together today, there will be a lot more babies under the banana tree or at the garbage dump. What say you?

Walkabout Management

As the principal of this all boys school, I have to be on my toes all the time. Twice a day ,before and after recess I will do my walking about management.

In one class in particular, before recess, I saw no mark on the wall. The paint was still clean. But on my walk after recess I saw shoe-prints on the wall and surprisingly on the ceiling too.

I asked the class teacher to investigate.

She told me, “No one admitted to it, no one knew who did it.”

“OK” I said, “We’ll see about that.”

The first thing the next day I walked into the class.

The boys were quiet and attentive.

“I am not angry at seeing the shoe-prints on the wall and the ceiling. I don’t even want you to paint the wall and the ceiling again. All I wanted is that, the boy who did it to write a phrase beside his shoe-print for the others to remember his deeds.”

One boy put up his hand and asked me, “Teacher, what is the phrase?”

“Since there were 4 shoe-prints – two on the wall and two on the ceiling, please write or paste the phrase just beside those shoe-prints as I say it.”

Phrase one - “The step to success”
Phrase two – “The step to a better future”
Phrase three – “The step of a successful person”
Phrase four – “ The step of a good leader”.

The whole class was then quite.

CIKGUTANYA: We must be very positive in handling negative attitude.

The Buffet 2

As there was no fixed seating arrangement for the lunch, I sat with a few boys at one corner of the hall.

“How was the food?” I asked them.

One boy answered,

“Teacher, this is the first time that I see so many dishes of food. I don’t know which and what to eat first.”

“Why?”

“At my home there will only be two types of dishes.”

“Fish or chicken and one type of vegetable. If one dish is fried the other one is soupy kind of dish, everyday without fail.”

“Why?”

“Teacher, that is all my parents can afford. Thank you for giving me the chance to join in this lunch. I am very grateful.”

He keeps on eating.

I allowed him to take the leftover food home for the family.

I will now tell my children not to be picky when it comes to food.

CIKGUTANYA: What about you? How many dishes a day? Have you ever thought of others who cannot afford a decent meal daily?

The Buffet

At the end of every big program that we organized in school, there will be lunch for the teachers and for the group of students who had worked hard to make the event a success.

Usually the students who join in the lunch will be 10 students from the Police Cadet, 10 students from St John Ambulance. 10 students from the Boys Scout, etc. to make up for about 50 students.

These group of student usually helped out for the events like Sports day, Teacher’s day Celebration and Founder’s Day , to name a few of the celebration.

The lunch that was held after this particular Sports Day program was a buffet lunch.

A lot of dishes beautifully laid out.

For the main course, we had rice, chicken curry, fried chicken, sweet and sour fish, beef in chilly, egg omelette, vegetable soup, fried beans , salad, laksa asam and curry noodles

For dessert, jelly, fruits – apple, pineapple, banana and water melon was served.

Drinks like iced-tea, plain water and syrup was free flowing.

The teachers and students will help themselves to the lunch.

Yummy … yummy …. burp ……burp.


CIKGUTANYA; I will continue tomorrow. BURP

The Duck

In the school that I was posted to, there was this boy that excite me so much

He was very petite. Very “soft” and very feminine like.

The way he walked is just like the Malay idiom “Itik pulang petang” (The duck waddle his way to the barn in the evening).

Can you imagine how the duck walk?

I got hold of a few boys and asked them, “Why don’t you all teach him how to be a proper boy.“

And I don’t think of the request anymore, until, one day the Principal directed me.

“Please take a look what is happening in the toilet. I heard someone screaming from there.”

As normal, I reacted accordingly.

“OK, I’ll do it now!”

I went down to the toilet to do my investigation.

What a sight. This boy (the duck) was only in his brief. A few boys surrounded him and jeered at him.

“You’re not a boy! You’re not a boy! Shame on you! Shame on you!”

The boy (the duck) cried and cried and then screamed.

When asked, the boys have this to tell me.

“Teacher, you asked us to make a boy out of him, to teach him how to be a boy. We did this just to make sure he is a boy before we can teach him how to be a boy!”

CIKGUTANYA: Sickening, sickening. I am sick.

Out of Love 2

One week after I received the card, they boy came to my house (my house is only 200 meters from the school)

He came crying.

I pretended that I didn’t know about the card.

“What happened Dol?"

“Teacher, my girlfriend Idah is getting married. I received her invitation card yesterday. How could she do this to me. What have I done wrong. How could she fall out of love that easy?”

He told me the girl was being “swept-off” by the man.

It seems while doing the part time job as a tea-lady at the bank one of the officer from the bank managed to win the girl’s heart.

The bank officer is 29 year old. Good looking. Mature. Hold a good post in the bank. Already own an apartment, a car and smartly dressed. The dowry for the girl is RM10,000.

He went to the wedding. So did I.

Three years later, the boy got married.

After four years of marriage, he was blessed with two children.

For her, after seven years of marriage, she was blessed with three kids.

When I met the girl, she never spoke about the boy. But when I met the boy, he still reminisced about the past.

CIKGUTANYA; In the name of love , material matters. The best man will surely win.

Out of Love

Dol and Idah (not their real name) was two love-bird from a school I was teaching 18 years ago.

Both 16 years old.

Both are prefect.

He is handsome. She is beautiful. Picture perfect. Lovely couples.

They behave themselves.

They never go out of line though in love.

After finishing school while waiting for their public examination result , they work part-time.

The boy worked in the government postal department. The girl in a bank as a tea-lady.

Nine months later, I received an invitation card. A wedding card. I opened the envelope anxious to know whose getting married.

The name of the girl appeared but alas the name of the boy is different.

What happened?

CIKGUTANYA ; see you tomorrow with the continuation. I need a plate of Briyani Rice.

Schizophrenia 2

Her son was studying in the same school.

He took the boys attitude towards his mother, very badly.

He didn’t like it and used to have verbal confrontations with the boys.

Sometimes he got into a fight with them just to defend his mother.

He hated the words splashed on the wall of the toilet about his mother.

He was then in Form One (13 years old).

For two years he suffered the wrath of the boys and he just couldn’t take it. He turned schizophrenic. He will talk alone, smile alone as if he is in his own world. Sometimes he turned violent.

Salwa and her husband have done everything to make their son normal but failed.

He is now under the supervision of a doctor.

“I didn’t know that my son would take it so seriously about what the boys think or do to me.”

“He was just ok, but truthfully, it disturbed him terribly. I didn’t notice it.”

“What I remember was, he turned quiet and reserved lately. He started talking to himself recently.”

“And at one point he took a knife and put it on my throat and said that he wanted to kill me. He said he heard voices asking him to do it. If I knew it was due to the school environment, I would have him transferred to another school.”


CIKGUTANYA: The price a teacher has to pay in line of her duty.

Schizoprenia

Salwa (not her real name) was the discipline teacher of a school in the city.

She was strict.

She followed the rules and abide by the law but at the same time compassionate.

There were about 2,400 students (co-ed) in that school. It’s not easy to be in charge. 2,400 students mean 2,400 behaviors. 2,400 students of different background, of different roots, different treatment and different standing in society.

Everyday there will always be a case to be settled. Petty-theft, small fight, big fight, truant, latecomers, going against the teachers and lots and lots of cases.

The notorious boys and the naughty ones, hated her because in order to make sure the discipline of the school is under control she got to be strict with them.

The prefects and the good boys love her for her understanding.

In the toilets, her name will be splashed with unkind comments and remarks.

‘Salwa is bad,’

‘Salwa is unfair.’

‘I hate Salwa.’

‘I want to rape Salwa.’

‘Salwa’s jamban (buttock) is big.’

‘I want to kill Salwa.’ Etc.

Her house is close to the school – sometimes at night the boys will go to her house and throw stones. A couple of times her glass window was broken or they will scream her name with threats.

CIKGUTANYA: I will continue later.

Sports Day

I was surprised when the school headmaster who is my friend invited me for the school sports day at night. The school was in the remote area.

“Why at night?”

“You just wait and see,” explained the headmaster.

I went.

The tents was put up at the side of the field. Three tents altogether.

“Who paid for it?”

“Our local businessmen.”

There were plenty of food for the guests, chicken curry and rice.

“Who cooked all these food?”

“The teachers. A few chickens that was given to school as school fees were slaughtered for the feast. Everybody will eat together after the sports event. Rice, we have to buy.”

At about 8.00 pm, the parents started to arrive with their family, small children, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles and aunties. The field was full of them. I never expected a rural school to get so many spectators to a sports day especially at night.

“My friend, I am surprised at the attendance. Even though you hold your sports day at night, still the turn up is good. Why?” I asked my friend.

My friend explained to me that, “The people here just wanted to see the SPOTLIGHT!”

“Huh!”

CIKGUTANYA: Sometimes we take things for granted. We saw spotlights everywhere and everyday in the city but others may have never seen it in their entire life.

Fried Chicken 2

The headmaster called for a meeting.
“Expel him “
“Cane him”
“Transfer him”
“Tell his father , so his father can punish him”

“Teachers, please give me some time to be with him, before the final decision can be made.”

The boy and the headmaster then met.

“My dear, please tell me why you took the fried chicken from the table?”

“Sir, I didn’t even eat my chicken. I only ate the potato, coleslaw and bun.”

“I had a sister and three brothers at home in the village. They have never eaten a fried chicken before, especially this brand of fried chicken.”

“I want them to have a taste of it. If I bring home the two pieces that was allocated to me, it won’t be enough for all of us.”

“So, that is the reason I took the chicken. I am very sorry.”

My friend, the headmaster, cried.

The boy was forgiven

But the best thing that can happened that day was, the manager of that branded fried chicken’s restaurant sent 20 barrels of fried chicken to the boy’s village to be eaten by the whole village. They had a fried chicken feast!

CIKGUTANYA: We must, first and foremost, know the reason for certain behavior to occur in life, when you least expected it.

Fried Chicken Meal

One of my friend is a headmaster of a school in a remote area .

To make sure that the children/student come to school on time the state department built a hostel for 180 students. From Standard One to Standard Six.

On the last day of school, the headmaster managed to get one restaurant of a branded chicken to sponsor the last meal for the students before they go back to their village to be reunited with their parents and siblings.

Each student will get two fried chickens, 1 coleslaw, 1 mashed potato, 2 buns and a cup of fizzy drink.

The calculation was :

For students : 180 students x 2 fried chicken per person = 360 pieces
For teachers : 30 teachers x 2 fried chicken per person = 60 pieces

But the restaurant gave 430 pieces of fried chicken. So there were 10 pieces of extras.

The extras were put on the table at the school canteen (covered). The headmaster wanted to give the extra chicken to the school staff. Three of them.

The students and the teacher ate at the dining hall of the hostel.
After meal, all the students line up in the school hall to wait for the school bus.

But when the senior assistant went to the canteen to get the extra fried chicken, there were only seven left. Though it is enough for the staff, since only six is needed , BUT,

“There is a fried chicken thief in this school!” He shouted.

Every student was checked. One boy was caught. With 5 pieces of chicken in his bag.

CIKGUTANYA: See you tomorrow. I need to go out and buy some food. A visitor is coming without prior notice.

The Steward

He is a steward. Still working and 37 years old.

When he was in the school that I taught, he was a very talkative student. He really likes to talk.

When he has free time, he will come over to the staff room to ask a lot of questions.

He asked me about marriage. He wanted to know what make a marriage go sour.

I told him that, “In marriage there must be a lot of patience. Boy, it’s not the big thing that makes husband and wife quarrel. It’s always the small things like putting the cap back on the toothpaste tube, farting under the blanket, for not hanging the towel on the rack and not to throw it on the bed or on the floor. Burping loudly. Snoring and spitting.”

“If a husband and a wife quarrel because of the big things, they will end up divorced at the early stage of their marriage.. So to have a long lasting marriage, you have to be patient with the “shortcomings” of your partner and ignore the little things.”

Last week, he came back from Paris and he called me. I know he is still not married.

“Hello teacher”

“Yes, long time no hear from you.”

We talked about the past.

Then I asked him “Are you married ?”

“ Not yet”

“Why?”

“Whenever I think of marriage, I always remember your words. It is the small things that ruin the marriage. I don’t want that to happen to me. I am very particular about small things. If my wife is a cluttered type of person, I think my marriage won’t stand a chance. I want her to be spick and span.”

“Then are you still a VIRGIN?’

“No, I am no longer a virgin!”

CIKGUTANYA: I feel really bad. I think I better keep my mouth shut.

Son's Love

“In the thumb drive, we saw a lot of pictures of him with a woman. When my mother confronted him, he told her she’s his second wife.”

“My mother fainted. She can’t eat nor sleep. She keep on losing weight. She never stop crying.”

“My father just couldn’t be bothered about my mother, he is too busy with his second wife, gallivanting the world, and that’s when, I hated my father.”

“I hate him more when he bought his second wife a big bungalow and a big ‘mata belalang’ Mercedes!”

“His second wife is half his age. Same as my sister’s age, 26 years. My father is 50. She is an ex-stewardess.”

“But you are not doing good to yourself. You don’t study.”

“What is going to happen to you in the future if you keep on doing this?”

“Teacher, my father is very rich. When he die, I will be getting some of those wealth.”

“Furthermore, I am very sure my older brother will take care of me.”

“Teacher, the truth is, I still study! I didn’t neglect my study.”

“I just want to avenge against my father for what he did to my mother. Let him suffer.”

He is now 20 years old in the USA furthering his studies.

His mother and father got a divorce. His mother got half of their common property and money.

CIKGUTANYA: What a son would do for his mother is beyond me.

Son's Love - Towards his Mother

“I did that because my father makes my mother cry.”

That was what a 14 year old student told me when asked about his behavior in school.

He was a student in this school from Form 1. He is now in Form 2. He was then a very obedient and intelligent boy. Respect the teachers. vHe never go against the school rules. Always abide by the rules. Was a model student in the school.

Suddenly, he changed. He played truant, he verbally abused his friends and teachers. Never did his homework on time, making noise in class, got into fights with his friends.

When I asked him why he changed his behaviour, he only said that its all because my father made my mother cry.

“What did your father do that make your mother cry?”

“Teacher, before, we were a very happy family. My father is a very successful man. He got lots of money.”

“We always go overseas for our family holidays.”

“I’ve been to Los Angeles Disneyland, we had a good time there. I‘ve been to the Universal Studios, Grand Canyon, San Diego , Paris, London, Hong Kong etc.”

“We also went to Australia three times a year to visit my brother in Perth, my sisters in Sydney and my cousin in Adelaide.”

“My mother was a very happy woman. With lots of money she can shopped to her hearts content. When my mother is happy, we, the children will be happy too.”

“Although I can have what I want, I still think of the others especially the under privileged. I thank God for what He had blessed us with.”

“I respected my father. My bothers and sisters also respected him. We think highly of him. A successful man in business.”

“But one day, he left his thumb drive on the dinner table, we thought it belonged to our cousin who spend the night at our house. We wanted to play a prank on him with his thumb drive without realizing it was my father’s.”

CIKGUTANYA: I will continue tomorrow. My son and niece wanted to go shopping at the retail store. Update later...