In Memory of Mother

This "Blog By Proxy" is posted in memory of my mother, Tan Geok Kim.

Some 30 years ago when I was travelling on a bus to report for my part-time National Service training at the PDF Haig Road camp, I thought to myself:

"Why is it that only the rich and famous people have a chance to have their life story published as an autobiography or biography in books? How about ordinary people who live a simple life, but have myriad experiences in their lifetime to share with others?

These ordinary folks may not have achieved something extraordinary or great for mankind. But the stories they have to tell is unlike the story of any other person.

Now with the Internet and blogging, I have found the publication media which is available to everyone.

Every individual has a different story to tell. A story which starts from the day they come into this world until the day they leave.

This is where the "Blog By Proxy" site will come in handy.

So many bloggers these days blog about their kids...from the time when the mother is pregnant to the time the baby is born, the daily blogs of the child's physical and mental development, when the child goes to kindergarten. What they blog about is, of course, at their discretion.

The child will take over the blogging when he is old enough to use this media to express himself.

In the case of this proxy blog for my mother, I just want to recall my memories of her and how little I understand about her when she was alive. I was too busy growing up to care about her.

No. I do not want to display a "I love Mum" tatto on my shoulder and mutilate the skin on my body like the ways people do it on "Miami Ink".

As and when I have time, I will update this blog. It is not easy to track back in time, trying to remember events of the past. The brain has its limitations at my age.

It is that much better to blog about events as they happen, when the memories are still fresh and current. But then blogging is only a recent phenomenon which took the world by storm on the Internet.

About This Blog

This blog is created to narrow the gap between the literate and the non-literate; meaning those who knows how to read and write in a common international language and those who don't.

The non-literate are often left by the roadside of economic progress or development in their respective countries because they did not have the opportunities to attend school to learn to read and write due to poverty or because they are born in some less developed countries which do not emphasize on the importance of education for the population or where education is not made compulsory for all children by law.

For example, only those who are literate in English will be able to participate in a blog written in the English language, Chinese in a Chinese blog, Korean in a Korean blog, Japanese in a Japanese blog, Malay in a Malay blog and so on.

Blogging is supposed to be for everyone; regardless of whether the bloggers have been to school or not. There are people who have never been to school, but they have other means to educate themselves....through self-study or other learning programs provided by their villages or community.

How much poorer the world would be if those who are non-literate (in terms of language and computer knowledge) are denied the opportunity to share their personal experience with others in the blogging world.

If you have grandparents who could only speak in dialect but could neither read or write, but have an enriching story to share, this is the site to post their "Blog By Proxy". Let the children, grand children, and great grandchildren help their elders who can neither read nor write to have a space on this blog.

Please email the blog article to thimbuktu@yahoo.com.sg with name, age and a brief profile description for publication here, subject to their suitability for the general audience, including children.

Thank you for your contribution to the blogging community.