Thursday, February 17, 2011

My Lucky Number

We read recently that 7 is the lucky number for Her highness Samantha Verant who blogs at Life, Love and Living in France.  Visit her Valentine's Day post and find out the interesting and romantic story behind it.

My lucky number is seven too, if you consider 2+5 = 7. Or it can simply be 25. But the story behind it is completely different to that of Samantha's.


Once upon a time, before the era of internet and mobile phones there was a competition. It was sponsored by Berger Paints and Her World, a family magazine in the stable of The New Straits Times, then the best selling daily newspaper in the country to commemorate the paint company's and the publications' 25th anniversary. It was aptly entitled "Anything 25".

Participants were required to write in their stories using the number 25. For example you may have been married for twenty five years, or have 25 grandchildren, or 25 pet cats, etc - something, anything, around the number 25.

As there was really nothing much to do after work those days (no blog to write or read) I submitted an entry - a simple one: My two boys and I share the same birth date. The three of us were born on the 25th of the month. It so happened too that that year Grandma was 25 years old. So the number 25 was rather special for us.

The entry caught the eye and imagination of the judges, and we won! Prizes included a trip to Club Med (which was a craze then), 25 litres of Berger paint, and 25 free monthly issues of Her World Magazine. Not bad for a simple thought and a couple of sentences.

One of the conditions attached was that as winners we agree to an interview to be published in the magazine and the local daily. The publication sent their reporter and writer Marina Mahathir (now Datuk Paduka) to our home for the interview (if the name sounds familiar she is the daughter of our then Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Marina is well-known as a social activist and  for her charity work in Malaysia and other countries. She is an active blogger too. Read her musings and rants on a variety of topics here).

As I was away overseas for a management course Marina interviewed the boys and Grandma at our home. I received a newspaper cutting of it by snail mail a couple of weeks later. I had kept the cutting in our almost antique photo album. As we had not entered the digital age then that was the only way to archive such memories.




24 comments:

Happy Frog and I said...

Very interesting post, I enjoyed this very much. I think my lucky number is supposed to be 11 but I think it is 22.

Patricia A. Timms-McGehee said...

Oh, Granpa! This was great post. I loved it.

I see that you are into numerology just a little bit. I like that.

I hope you are well.

Ohiofarmgirl said...

this is the best story i heard all day - THANKS, Grandpa! Hope you are having a glorious day - ours is winding down and its about time to start evening chores. I'm sending you my BEST wishes, dear friend!

klahanie said...

Hi Grandpa,
This is a fascinating story. And very well done for winning the 'Anything 25' competition! :) And the prizes, especially the paint and the magazines :)
Most impressive along with that interview with the boys and Grandma. Indeed, very nice you have that cherished reminder via the newspaper clipping. A lovely posting, Grandpa :)
With respect and kindness your way, eh, Gary

Grandpa said...

Happy Frog, thank you. I enjoyed writing it too - mighty glad I was able to retrieve that old album! 22 is good - your luck just doubled..:)


Patricia, good to see you. And thank you. Just a little. I might write another one after this one.
I'm getting better each day - thanks for your kind thoughts;


Ohiofarmgirl, thanks, and you are welcome. Have a good night. Take care, my friend.


klahanie, Thanks Gary. Yes, they meant quite a lot those days when the value of our currency was still 'big'. Needless to say part of our house received a new coat of paint!
Take it easy and stay well, eh.

Olga said...

I enjoyed this post a lot. My husband and my daughter were born in the same date and month. I gave him a little gift for the whole life :)

Nadia said...

Irfan looks exactly like Ian in that picture! And about the same age too. Hope you don't mind me uploading the picture kat FB. :) Hope all is well with you. Take care.

Grandpa said...

Olga, thanks for stopping by, I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Me and my boys are one and two months apart. They are indeed gifts from heaven;


Hi Nadia, and doesn't Zaqwan look like his papa here...:) No prob for FB.
I'm trying hard to move on, and would like to think that I'm getting better each day, but things have a way of sliding back sometimes and you just have to crawl back up...

Unknown said...

Cool story (and great prize!)

Grandpa said...

Lady Jennie, thank you. We sure enjoyed Club Med, used up the paints, and became regular readers of Her World after that!

Pat said...

Such and interesting post, Grandpa. And your mention of Her World brings back memories of the days when it was the only magazine we could afford!

I don't have a lucky number, though. But then again, I don't have much luck with anything :(

Grandpa said...

Pat, thank you. With your wonderful husband and your equally wonderful life you don't need a lucky number! :)

Ms Scarlet said...

Good heavens! did it take ages to use up all the paint, and did you get a choice of colour?
Sx

Grandpa said...

Scarlet Blue, hi there! I'm a very slow painter...as for the colour, good question but I really can't remember, it was a long time ago.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

This is kewl. My birthday is also the 25th. As for my lucky number, I'm not really sure anymore. I used to think it was 73 or 53, but I rather like 5. I generally pick 5 if given the chance. My husband's favourite number is 16. He and 3 of his sons were born on that day. Great post, Grandpa.

secret agent woman said...

I had one on the 25th, too. Definitely was a good day for me.

caterpillar said...

Wow...that was an interesting post...and 25 does seem to be lucky for you...:)

NancyDe said...

We have a lot of 25s in our family, too. My mom was born on the 25th. My grandmom was 25 when she had my mom, who was 25 when she had my sister, and who was 2x25 when I had my daughter....

Rachael Harrie said...

Hey Grandpa, that's such a sweet story. And you've kept the clipping too, that's fantastic! And so special :)

Hugs,

Rach

Grandpa said...

Joylene, it is very kewl, isn't it? And welcome to the club! Hmmm...funny how boys stick with boys... Thank you;


secret agent woman, good for you;


caterpillar, thank you! Yes, it does;


NancyDe, wow so many! The club is getting bigger now... :))


Rach, thank you! I've kept most of the children's photo from their day one. *Hug back*

Samantha Vérant said...

Oh Grandpa! What an amazing story! And you are so lucky to have that clipping! Her's to the number 7 and the number 25! Cheers!

Grandpa said...

Hi Sam! Welcome back! Hope you are well now. Yes, cheers to 7 and 25!

The Manic Chef said...

Dear Gramps we have a writer celebrity in our midst! This was a wonderful heartfelt 'memory' moment. Your writing is down-to-earth goodness! It just vibrates with simplistic purity for me. Thank you, I enjoyed you sharing this moment with me. Later...

Grandpa said...

The Manic Chef - thank you. They were very happy moments for me, and I'm glad that I'm able to share them. You are welcome - thanks for stopping by.