My Grandfather

I lost my maternal grandfather when I was 10 years old. He is one of the persons I miss greatly back in my hometown of Kuching.

When I was growing up as a young boy, he would teach me a lot of things that you cannot really read from books.

He taught me at a young age to innovate. To think of solution out of the box and make something work with any available everyday objects, sort of like McGuiver.

I remember one lesson that he taught me very clearly. Our old Sony tv was having problem with the switch. It can’t stays on so I had to keep pushing it if I want to watch. My grandfather came along and gave me a piece of long string and matchbox. He asked me to go and think of how to make the tv work till at least they can fix it.

I thought long and hard but I can’t think of an answer. He came along, tied the string from the top to the bottom and thus round the tv, along where the switch is. Then he popped the matchbox so that the tension of the string press the matchbox down onto the switch, and viola, we have a working tv again (sort of).

Its a simple solution but ingenious none the least.

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