Peter Tan – The Digital Awakening
Living One Day At A Time
Robin Gibb has died at the age of 62. By far, the Bee Gees is still my all-time favourite trio of musicmakers. I grew up loving their songs, singing their songs. My favourites include Words, Massachusettes and I Started A Joke, the last being the one that I sang the most while coaxing accompaniment from the guitar. Incidentally, Robin wrote and sang that song. He will be sorely missed. Farewell Robin. Your music shall live on forever.
“No one can sing like her. No one has a voice like that.” That was how Wuan summed up Whitney Houston when she told me of the sad news this morning. Indeed, Whitney Houston had a voice that is nonpareil. Only Whitney Houston could have pulled off the hauntingly beautiful “I Will Always Love You” with such flair, with her incredible vocal range and breath.
She sang the stories of my life in those earlier years after the fateful diving accident. Her songs grieved along when I was heartbroken and celebrated the joys when I was in love. If ever there was a song that inspired me most, it must surely be “The Greatest Love Of All”. That song taught me I could achieve the greatest love of all by simply learning to love myself. That I did. It made the limitations that I was living with easier to bear.
Thank you, Whitney, for your uplifting songs at a time when I needed it most. I have never stopped loving myself since. You have changed my life for the better. Thank you.
May you rest in peace.
My Ah Tneoh, my youngest maternal aunt’s husband, has passed away shortly after noon. He was 88. We were close as extended families. Ah Tneoh would usually drop Ah Cheng Ee off at our place on Sunday afternoons when we were staying at Jalan Terengganu. Both she and my mother would then potter around the garden or just enjoy each other’s company.
In the evenings, Ah Tneoh would come back to pick her up. That was the routine for many years until they moved to just a stone’s throw away from us. After that, Ah Cheng Ee would come over by herself. Ah Tneoh would drop by occasionally still whenever they return from running errands.
The last time I saw Ah Tneoh was at my wedding banquet in 2009. Ah Tneoh and Ah Cheng Ee were as close to me as parents as they ever could be. Among them, I have always felt loved. I am distraught. His passing is sorely felt. Rest in peace Ah Tneoh.