Prolouge

Papa was a near legend in his own time.
He was the silent presence in our house.
He never talked much and was not really demonstrative.
But when he speaks, he spoke with confidence and authority.

He never interrupts.
He just listens and nods his head.
He never pressured us for answers to his questions. And yet, he always seems to know what is happening to us even if we never told him.
He was a man in charge. A man to be reckoned with and at the end of the day, a man you would not choose to cross.

Truly, he was the "silent water that runs deep".

Mama, was a woman with an indomitable courage whose love for her children gave her the will to survive. She was a very simple person and was content to remain in the background.
And yet, her influence in our lives was unmistakably felt.
Though quiet and unassuming, we consider her the heart of our family and the glue that keeps us all together.

In rearing all of us, both Papa and Mama showed that there was never a space too wide nor hearts too cold for love to creep into our shared lives in a timeless atmosphere of caring for little things and each other.

They loved us as much as they were deeply loved. All of us were close to both of them in different ways.

There is no denying that we all must have our resentments with one another at one point in our lives until they become secondary to our endless pursuit of the gentler and kinder things in life.

In loving, we may not forget, but so shall we understand and forgive.

Sometimes we would rather forget the past and not deal with memories that are painful.
Nevertheless, recollections of bygone days awaken our emotions, giving us reasons to move on.
Indeed the past is a kaleidoscope of failures, triumphs, reunions, separations, birthdays, deaths, expectations met and broken vows.
But while memories usually fade into our subconcious as the years pass, there is always a time to remember, and to listen to the........

echoes of the past.