When I was young
When I was young, there was Mum, Dad and nine of us. We were not very rich, not well off, but my father had a good job in Shell. We had happy times. Dad used to take us for a drive in his pick up truck and we used to sing a long and make merry. We used to do that practically every evening. We’d take a drive up to the top of the Baram River and come down .

At night Dad used to tell us stories and make fun of Mum. Mum used to get so mad with him. She’d scold him, telling him he’s talking rubbish. We would say, more Dad, tell us more. We had a very happy life. My father loved me very much, Mum too, but she was very, very strict. When we wanted to go to the pictures, we used to ask my father and he would say, “Ask your mother”. We would tell him, “Mum would say no, No, NO. You plead for us, tell her that we like to see western pictures”. Eventually he would talk to Mum and coax her. Of course, sometimes she would still say No. We just had to keep quiet. We had a very happy life.

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