My Grandfather Part 2
My grandfather has this weird tradition of pulling my neck to make me have a longer neck. Growing up when I was young, I think I have short neck.
So on an auspicious day, they would kill chicken, cook lots of food and then I would wear my Sunday best. Then I would sit down on a chair and then my grandfather would pull my neck three times.
Well, I am not sure whether it did work or I just grew up, but I have a visible neck now, at least from certain angle.
When he passed away at 83, I was only 10. My grandmother told me that when I was young, I would argue with my grandfather in Hainanese. My entire conversation would be spoken in flawless Hainanese. But ever since I moved away and he passed away, I lost the touch of it, I can only listen on Hainanese conversation.
Another weird thing that he does last time was to swallow new born baby mice. I saw him did it before and I was amused. I don’t remember feeling any sense of repulsion, but was more amused by it and kept touching the baby mice whose eyes had not opened.
As far as I can remember, he also never really pee-ed in the toilet (if he could get away with it). He would go to the backyard and then pee into an old teapot. Then he would take it around and water his plants. Strange as it may sound, the flowers and plans flourished under his pee.
hahah! damn, i miss my granddad as well now.
and i was made to eat those mice too back then.
swallow mice??!?!?!?!
why????
*pause*
why?!?!?!?
i heard the baby mice is to help with asthma.
and pee is common sense/science for growing plants. they need the ammonia
I was brought up by my grandparents and spoke fluent Cantonese. When I moved away 8 years ago, I somehow lost my grasp of Cantonese too. and I always feel a pang of regret when I hear someone speak it.