How I went to school in 1958

In 1957,I went to school with me elder sister for a week or two and found it was not the place for me. Going to the farm with my parents or going hunting with my grandpa was more interesting.My grandpa taught me to make animals traps eg rope snares (alad abpong,ruing to catch squirrels) sharp bamboo (rapi', for the deers and wild boars) fish traps (bubu and maring).
Imagine the excitements that going to check these traps bring to one every early morning. (No wonder when I was teaching, I had a soft spot for those children who didn,t want to study but prefered to stay in the longhouse with their parents!) My grand father taught me how to aproach these traps and deal with different animals that were caught in the traps as there were some dangers of being beaten by them or they may be able to escape. He never allowed me to
go alone when checking the 'rapi' and the 'maring'. Only now do I realised the danger of these two traps.
Sometimes in the middle of the year 1957 my father was asked to be a porter to two colonial officers - a Mr M G Dickson and a Mr wilson who came up the Baram and going to Lawas. I went with my father with some other men. We walked from Pa' Umor, our kampong and took us almost two weeks to reach Lawas town.
It was on this trip that these two British colonial officers talked me to go to school. On this trip we have to eat our lunches between the various villages that we have to passed through. I cannot forget how nice the corned beef tasted. The aroma (smell) is still stored in my 'hard disk'. I still love corned beef today (maybe being the first canned food I ate!).
It was during one of thes lunches (picnic style) that these two colonial officers talked me to go to school. One of the gave a ballpoint pen (maybe a bic) and told me after the trip I have to go to school and the would returned to 'check' on me. I kept my part of the promise, in that when the new school term in 1958 started in Pa' Main School I went and stayed in school expecting them to come and 'check' on me . They never came. Anyway I am very thankfull to these two 'orang putih' -Thankyou tuan. May their souls rest in peace.