Pummkin's Pitch: July 2005

Absence

Celebration & Rejoicing Of A New Life! This is for my eldest sister, Patricia & her family, who couldn't be with us due to the distance. I know they are trying to cope with lost time & opportunity to be with my dad in person but they rest in the assurance that he is in a better place & having a wonderful time. A relative, Lawrence, whom I've not seen before (then again, we have 200+ from granddad's 15 siblings, where do we even begin?) told us of daddy's magnanimous self of assisting him more than 30 years ago.I was so touched. Everything happened so fast & we really didn't give much opportunity for most, to give their last respects because of constraints so we apologise if we have caused anyone grief in doing so. I can't bear seeing my sister, Pauline cry. She had so much lost time & opportunity despite living under one roof with him. For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain. Being apart made me appreciate the time spent, no matter how little it had been. Daddy stroked my hair when I woke up from an afternoon nap on the couch. I was groggy. Knowing that no matter how old you are, you are still a child in your parents' eyes. That is a comforting thought. I wish I had more naps for daddy to stroke my hair some more!!! Oh well, it hasn't sunk in yet as I've got to go & collect his ashes & bones after church today. I know this journey has to be completed before I can move on & my association has sponsored several Reefballs for an Eternal Reef for daddy so that I can memorialise him forever! Pastor Ronnie Conducting The Service Pastor Yeoh Led In Hymns... We Worshipped....... James Delivering Eulogy Sending Daddy Off With Flowers For The Final Healing Process! Last Respects by Pastor Ronnie & Pastor Yeoh Till I See You Again... Sending Daddy On His Journey...

Daddykins

Daddykins If ever there was a picture of strength, my dad was it. Who wouldn’t be strong if he had to wrestle & deal with a menagerie of 4 dogs, 17 cats, a tigress (my mother) & 3 chimpanzees (us siblings) at home? He taught us how to love by instilling the responsibility of caring for our pets. When I was a toddler, Dad used to promise us a rabbit everyday but the rabbit would somehow get away. We would look forward to the next day in hope of him catching one for us but he always got wild boars, flying foxes, deers, pigeons & what not instead. He was a hunter. They say real men hunt. Not only does he hunt, he used to have target practice at the shooting range & shot his way to represent Malaysia in all the SEA Games, Asian Games & Commonwealth Games between 1978 – 1989. We tagged along during his practices & made do with whatever things that we could do to amuse ourselves at the shooting range. Pauline & I were highly sociable. We would get into fights if we didn’t have other kids to take our attention away. Patricia was away in the States, studying. Dad would teach us to have the fighting spirit. Not fight people, as I had to find out the hard way, but to always fight for what I want. He wanted us to excel in whatever we do. I wanted to be like him because he was good at everything he did. He was also the first team of four to have won the Putra Cup in golf tournaments. He was a scratch handicapper. We took all his medals that he had won to play masak-masak because we didn’t really know the significance of the win that had done the country proud for all those years. Daddy didn’t mind. He was delighted that it was coveted by his daughters. He also holds the record for swimming in his school at Victoria Institution. Look what I’ve become, daddy, a dive instructor! Much of what I am, I’d like to believe, came from him. He had such a sense of humour. When we struggled to speak difficult English words at home, he would remind us not to “murder the English language.” Seeing that we had tons of Reader’s Digest, we were driven to improve by grinding in ‘It Pays To Enrich Your Word Power’ column in every issue. Look what I’ve become again, daddy, a travel writer! For all the times I’ve had to update him to update mom, I knew he would be able to keep a secret for all the crazy things I didn’t want mom to know. Like scuba diving. And my dad would practice ‘selective synopsis’ to relate to mom what’s up with their most rebellious child. Either that or they would read about me in the newspapers days after! Still, as much as he was curious to ask, he would always allow me to bring up any matter when I was ready. What a dad. I was a pesky kid. My sisters called me a nuisance. I wasn’t potty trained until I was seven & didn’t wean off the baby bottle until I was eleven because dad never made me do what I wasn’t prepared to do. Hahaha! Pauline & I would fight for prime space during night time. On my dad’s lap. When we outgrew that, we still didn’t stop holding onto his hand wherever we went. He told us stories of his childhood & we would pester him again & again to tell us about his pet pig. And he would tell us over & over again. Having a dad who could tell stories & not tire of it is so cool because it makes you want to tell people stories too. Dad, look what you made me do? When I grew up, I began to tell him stories. When he got older, I showed him pictures too. And guess what? After that, he would want the bible read out to him. I told him about the greatest love story in history. About our Lord Jesus Christ who came into the world to die for our sins. And that we can have a personal relationship with Him & live forever & ever in His mansion which incidentally, has a room for my dad. I told him that Jesus said, “I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH & THE LIFE, nobody goes to the FATHER except by ME.” Though my dad knew of Christ, he never knew God until he made a conscious decision to invite Jesus into his life. That was 2 years ago. Then, I was putting on weight & he was losing a lot. So I told him that we would get new bodies when we reach heaven. I wished for a Pamela Andersen-body! Dad? Dad just wished for any body!!! A month ago, he told me he felt at peace. He was ready to go. I asked him if he wanted me to do anything before he left & he said, “take care of your mummy. Don’t get married if you don’t want to, but if you do, make sure he’s like me.” Then I asked, “Will you shoot him if he’s not?” Now that he got to meet Jesus in person first, all I want to say is, “Daddy, we love you & miss you dearly. If you are free, please go & catch those rabbits & wait for us to come & chat with you…..for eternity.” Funeral Service will be held on 30 July 2005, 10:00am at PJ Modern Casket, Parlour 7, Jalan 229, Petaling Jaya.

Giant Clam & The Algae Within

Giant Clam & The Algae Within When scientists & marine biologists mention symbiosis, one can only begin to fathom the relationship between two different living creatures that live close together & depend on each other in particular ways, each getting particular benefits from the other in order to survive. How far you can fathom this feat depends upon what you see & sometimes even what you experience. If you have seen a giant clam in the wild (seabed), you will know how beautiful it is. We all know about Nemo’s relationship with anemone but we seldom hear of giant clams. They are considered ‘vulnerable’ species & listed as protected under the CITES trade. This enormous shellfish is the largest and heaviest of all the living molluscs (Tridacna spp.). Like all bivalve molluscs the shell consists of two valves, although in the larger giant clams these cannot close completely. The shell is extremely thick and lacks bony plates; when viewed from above, each valve has 4 to 5 inward facing triangular projections. The mantle of the clam is visible between the two shells, and is golden brown or yellow or green, although it may contain so many blue or purple spots that the overwhelming impression is of a beautiful iridescent colour. A number of pale or clear spots on the mantle, which are known as 'windows,’ function to allow sunlight to filter in through the mantle. With this light, the minute algae called zooxanthellae living in the mantle, photosynthesises & secretes a waste that becomes food for the giant clam! The mantle is completely fused with the exception of two holes (or 'siphons'); the inhalant siphon is fringed with sensory tentacles, whilst the exhalent siphon is tube-like and is capable of expelling a large volume of water if the clam’s shells close suddenly. Though the siphon enables it to filter plankton from the ocean’s movement, its symbiotic relationship with the algae is truly amazing. Now this is what baffles me, evidently, God has created everything with a need or dependency on some thing or other, designed to complement one another, how are we to find that perfect clam to be that abundant source of fulfilment, joy & happiness by being what we are??? The algae did not wake up one day to find itself without a purpose. It was designed to BE A PURPOSE. God created them AS THE BEGINNING OF THE FOOD CHAIN. They were created to produce the 95% of the oxygen that we breathe; to feed the massive whale sharks, manta rays, megamouths & whatever else that require algae to function. Eve was taken from Adam’s ribs to be fashioned as his other complete person to become ONE. Blissful Diving.... As Jack had said to me, “God did not design two halves to become one. He said TWO shall become ONE. The void that we may feel during break-ups has to be filled only by God, not by another person just so that we can become COMPLETE. We are made COMPLETE IN HIM.” During my trip to Dayang, Jack & I ended up on a different boat after a freak storm hit us during a dive. As we were brought back to the island & while waiting for my other students to be delivered by our boat, we somehow had this conversation. It made me think about the giant clam later & why it was bigger than all other bivalves & what made it so special. And it’s beautiful. I’ve touched the mantle before just so I know what it feels like. It’s really soft & smooth! To see how intricately God had fashioned this animal to be the protection & host to zillions of zooxantellae is so awesome! Surely the algae did not say to the clam, “I cook, you wash.” It must’ve said, “I cook, you eat. Just shelter me from the elements at night & sun me in the day. That’s all I need to cook for you. And for as long as I live, I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The sunrise within... Why do people still split hairs about household chores, grocery shopping, making dinner & caring for the kids??? Does it really matter? No doubt the clam just sits there & do nothing all day but eat, it hosts the much needed algae. Some husbands sit there & do nothing but it makes you wonder if they are the giant clam you made them out to be. God designed them with a purpose too. To be strong enough to withstand currents. To weather any storm & to proudly show the patterns that the algae has formed in their mantles. Well, the only way to tell if you get the right clam is to have Light in your lives & be complete first before you drift into any stupid clam that might make your life miserable. Then determine if the clam is hungry & identify its needs for you. Finally, have the clam say to you, “I need you to be in my mantle, will you stay there with me forever???” Dawn at Dayang

Where I Go To Chill....

Where Have I Been Lately??? The best place to be when you feel the heat is up in the highlands where you can freeze your mind & not think of the brewing stew. I went to Cameron Highlands to replenish my supply of Cameron Valley tea. My favourite orange pekoe tea. They only produce enough to supply to the highland’s community itself & only when there is surplus, they get sent to KL. So I had to get my fix. My tea & some chilly winds. I found a nice cottage to put up a night in. Temperature dropped to about 16 degrees Celsius & my security blanket really helped. It’s like American Express, ‘never leave home without it.’ On the way to Sg.Ruil, Orang Asli Settlement I didn’t have any conquest as usual. Just me & Jesus going for a chill in the highlands. The last time I was here was with someone very close to me & we were buying plants. This time, it was me & Jesus. I came to look for the familiar surroundings that brought so much peace every time I came here to chill out. It’s been almost three years & the development of Tanah Rata has caused the temperature to rise in the day. I drove around looking for subjects to photograph & stumbled upon the orang asli settlement. The Orang Asli Settlement, Sg.Ruil, Cameron Highlands I visited nurseries to look at flowers. And guess what, my rechargeable batteries ran low. Even my spares had run out. I had to selectively shoot or I won’t be able to make the trip to the tea farm on the way down. Another new beginning of a fern... I’m very curious to know how such leaves can bring so much punch to one’s lives. Tea. Hokkiens & Malays call it Teh. Cantonese call it Char. Japanese call them O-cha. I’m doing an article for the magazines on it & can’t put it here yet but my field day was to look at TEA. More about it later. I’ve got to pack up to go to diving today. The Flower Stall

I have not been able to use Hello software since 14 July & can't post the numerous pictures that I've taken so far. This is a test message sent by the same software just to see if it would publish.

How Stealth Bombers Work

Stealth Bomber's Design This is not a technical piece. The B-2 bomber, commonly known as the stealth bomber, was an ambitious project designed to replace the aging B-52 bomber. The US Military in the 70’s needed a plane that could carry nuclear bombs across the globe, to the Soviet Union, in only a few hours. And they wanted it to be invisible to enemy sensors, able to reach and destroy desired targets without ever engaging the enemy in combat. How in the air do you hide a giant plane? Billions of dollars were spent & nearly 10 years developing this top secret project. The finished product is a revolutionary machine -a 52metres wide flying wing that looks like an insect to radar scanners! I was gallivanting in Putrajaya last night to search for subjects when I found this moth they had taken the design from. The aircraft needs to be nearly invisible in a number of different ways to blend in with the background visually, and it needs to be very quiet. More importantly, it needs to hide from enemy radar as well as infrared sensors. It also needs to conceal its own electromagnetic energy. The B-2's flat, narrow shape and black coloration help it fade into the night. In the daytime when the B-2 stands out against blue sky, it can be hard to figure out which way the plane is going. The B-2 emits minimal exhaust, so it doesn't leave a visible trail behind it. As with most planes, the B-2's noisiest component is its engine system. Unlike a passenger jet or B-52, the B-2's engines are buried inside the plane & help muffle the noise. The efficient aerodynamic design keeps the B-2 quiet as well, because the engines can operate at lower power settings. Do you see a similarity between stealth bombers & men who stray??? They want to be totally undetectable by their wives/girlfriends/partners where they are able to reach out & seek their targets (in the form of other, usually more attractive female species) without ever engaging the target in the responsibilities of day to day living. Like the U.S. wanting to conquer & destroy targets just because they can. How on earth do you hide men who stray? They have somehow evolved from Adam into a revolutionary human that can escape spouses’ detection. Their quiet operation & invisible actions have caused them to blend in with the surroundings to appear as part of the day’s work. They have tuned their sensors to conceal their unquenchable energy for somethingthat the wive/girlfriend/partner does not have or seem to have diminished with time…..i.e. beauty, passion, excitement, listening ear, similar interests etc. It can be hard to figure out which way the man is going, he doesn’t leave any visible trail nor does he get exhausted with multiple access to their targets. Their noisiest component must be their spirit, buried deep inside the recesses of the mind, these stealth actions help muffle the noise to a point that they can’t differentiate the right from wrong or the conscientious from the non-conscientious actions of betrayal. God designed the union of marriage to be sacred. In fact, a union should only occur within marriage. Here’s why… For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two of them shall be ONE flesh." This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:30 - 32 But also let everyone of you in particular so love his wife even as himself, and the wife that she defers to her husband. Ephesians 5:33 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Hebrew 13:4 Or do you not know that he being joined to a harlot is one body? For He says, The two shall be one flesh. 1 Corinthians 6:16 Let the deacons be the husbands of ONE wife, ruling their children and households well. 1 Timothy 3:12 For this is the will of God, your sanctification, for you to abstain from fornication, each one of you to know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor (not in the passion of lust, even as the nations who do not know God), not to go beyond and defraud his brother in this matter (because the Lord is the avenger concerning all these, as we also have forewarned you and testified). 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits fornication sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit in you, whom you have of God? And you are not your own, for you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. 1Co 6:18 - 20 Therefore put to death your members (limb/part of body) which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness (which is idolatry), on account of which things' sake the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience, among whom you also once walked, when you lived in these. Col 3:5 - 7 So much on fornication. Having sex with whom you are not married to. I have spoken to women who’s been involved in adulterous relationships; broken marriages due to husband committing adultery; estranged wives & many more. Sometimes I can even feel their pain of seeing their loved one cajoling younger girls in shopping centres, spending money meant for the family. I had been closed to a woman whose husband had an affair with his secretary for 20 years. Her sons were already in university. She languished in the knowledge that everyone else in the husband’s family knew about it but never told her. Husband complained that she didn’t make efforts to stay pretty or desirable despite her slogging away to make the home a home & kept her sons well fed through university. She spent countless nights crying silently beside him. Sometimes he would wake up but never once did he put his arms around her to offer a grieving woman comfort. I thought to myself, what kind of a man is that?!?! She bounced back by taking a grooming course, learnt how to apply make up & picked up English to converse enough. She went punk & coloured it red. She began to spend the money that she had been prudent for her husband all these years on a new wardrobe that’s stylish & hip. She shaved twenty years off her looks. She was 52 & looked 35. Whenever I went clubbing with her, she gets hit on. What a great change! I have so much respect for this remarkable woman! The pain & the longing of a kept woman for her lover are caused by the soul ties created in the spiritual realm. This sensor is meant to be for the wife to offer support to the husband in the household of God, not for the husband to create other soul ties so other women can give them that ‘support.’ Soul ties are formed when you have sex which is why God designed it for the purpose of marriage where their souls would become one. When sex is done outside the context of marriage, you pick up that person’s soul & all the bits & pieces of other souls that she has been conjoined with. Strange, but true. Which is why when you go for marriage counseling the Christian way, the pastor would get both parties to confess previous liaisons & go through a process of renunciation before the marriage can be sanctified by the church. I have also come across men who have long time girlfriends (of six years & more) who would go out to seduce others just to see what it’s like & to see if they still ‘have it’ in them before they tie the knot since it’s legal. They would profess their love for the target but make no mention of a future together. Bird charmer is an understatement. Every word oozes with sugar that ants just follow them wherever they go. One day, they just get married with their long time girlfriend, or find another sweet young thing, leaving the other speechless. The list can go on. Half husbands who can be with their girlfriends while the wife looks after the kids elsewhere. The list can go on. They are of the world, therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us. The one who is not of God does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God. The one who does not love has not known God. For God is love. In this the love of God was revealed in us, because God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. 1 John 4:5 - 9 For you know this, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous one (who is an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:5 MEN WHO STRAY & STEALTH BOMBERS. Both can cause great damage when they go undetected & unload on their targets.