Yesterday Ben Wong,a former student from La Salle School called me up and invited me to his class reunion. He came to fetch me as I don't drive at night. Headlamps blind me as I have glaucoma and my eyes cannot take bright lights.
Many of the old boys were already at the venue and I couldn't recognise many of them. I first taught them when they were in Form 2 and all the way up until they completed their form five. This class was a very special class. Not only did they excel in their studies but they were also cheeky, just like all boys are! That was my first year teaching in La Salle and I was there for 14 years.
I'm very proud of them and I can't believe that their average age now is in the early fifties!! It's remarkable that these grey-haired lads with grown-up children of their own were once my students in the old wooden classrooms. It's amazing that some of them even remember the particular car I used to drive!
The cakes gave away the fact that it was Adrian Pragas' birthday.
He now resides in the UK but had flown in on Thursday and his classmates decided to have a "do" to celebrate his birthday. So it was all on the spur of the moment thing and many of his mates showed up to celebrate.
Datuk Bro Charles, our former School Principal was there too so it was great, full of camaraderie as the boys caught up with one another. He's hale and hearty and his memory is as sharp as ever. He could sing the School Rally without having to look at the lyrics.
The boys had also invited Annie, who had taught them in Primary Six at Sacred Heart School. A few old girls were also present. Girls are admitted into the sixth form in La Salle.
This is one of the nicest things about being a teacher. The old boys, especially La Salle old boys, never forget you. This is a very humbling experience, to know that they still remember and care to invite you to their functions, despite the many scoldings they had received when they were in their classrooms. Many of them hold high office today and are very successful. To see their success and how well they are doing and to know that they still remember their teachers is a credit to them and to their alma mater, especially under the helm of Bro Charles, who is an institution himself. Bro Charles has always been and will always be identified with La Salle, Kota Kinabalu.
So Adrian, once again Happy Birthday with many returns. You're blessed to have such good friends.
Ben, Wilfred, David, Laurence, Steven,Daniel,Rayner,Willy,Ricky,Patrick, George, Lee Ah Kin and the rest, ( I'm sorry but the memory cells have been disappearing as the years go by )it was good to see all of you again. Cheers!
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