She's the most unlikely of heroes, certainly not the type many would imagine or admire. Just an ordinary woman but one with a caring and generous heart. She is my hero in every sense of the word.
I'd lost contact with all my secondary schoolmates since we left school in 1970 till three years ago when a chance encounter with one of them changed everything. All it took was a phone number given which I called and the rest was history.
We spoke for a long time, Sue and I, for we had 34 years of lost time to catch up. Before I knew it, I was invited to her place for a regular gathering of old girls from St Theresa's Convent one Saturday afternoon. Everyone brought food, mostly homecooked and we had a marvellous time, sharing recipes, eating, laughing, talking about anything under the sun and reminiscing the past.
Without Sue, we would have never met or kept in constant touch after 3 1/2 decades which would be a real pity. We're so so busy with our careers or families that we've forgotten our old friends bu thanks to Sue, out friendship is being kept alive. She was the one who initiated the idea of bi-monthly gathering, who organised it and ensured it was a success. And she has been doing it since. We would gather at a different home each time and every successive gathering seems to get bigger with more 'new old' friends joining in and so much fabulous food that we have to 'tah pao' home. An average of 12 of us often meet. I always try to attend as the gathering is important to me.
Sue sends us email reminders for the gathering, coordinates what food to bring (to avoid duplication) and keeps us posted on the latest happenings. Furthermore, she often updates our namelist database and sends us season greetings, quirky/funny and insightful articles which I enjoy reading.
Most of us would agree the the gatherings won't be the same without Sue around. Being the livewire, consummate joker, gifted storeyteller and entertainer, she usually regales us with fascinating and hilarious tales. We would behave and laugh heartily like silly young girls even though our combined average age of 50 plus would reach 800 years. AS Sue has an elephant memory and can recall past events and the tiniest details vividly, it is through her that we relive our good old school days.
Besides the local get-togethers, we also travel overseas together. Being married to a Thai and having lived in Phuket for 10 years, Sue also organises trips there for us during the school holidays when she returns home. Like a seasoned travel agent, she books our airtickets, gets the cheapest and cleanest hotel, arranges our transport and plans our itinerary. As we go there to dine, shop and relax, she'll bring us to the best and cheapest places to eat and shop and the best spas for facials and massages. On top of this, she's also our moneylender for no matter how much cash we bring, we always run dry as the bargains are too irresistible. Best of all, unlike tour companies, we 'travel first, pay later' as she'll pay for everything first and collect payment from us after the trip at the next gathering. She's so good at her 'job' that some of us have visited Phuket repeatedly with her, ready for another enjoyable 'value-for-money' trip. We have even asked her to buy things fror us when we can't travel. If there were a Best Non-professional Tour Agent award, she would have won it hands down.
Once when my daughter desperately needed a Science tutor within two weeks of her GCE 'O' level exam, Sue was the first person I approached for help. And she didn't disappoint. Thus, in her own special way, Sue has impacted many of us without realizing it. When you tell her that she has done a lot for us, she'll simply brush it off, saying she has nothing better to do.
Before I met her again in 2006, I had few friends but now my circle of friends is increasing which is something invaluable to me. Sue, I really appreciate everything that you've done for us.
Sharon Ng