In Memory of Gloria

I received the news that a good friend has passed on. Gloria succumbed to cancer in the morning hours today.

I recalled meeting her in 1993 when she was posted to the place where I was working then. There was so much office politics but she did her best .But the unkindest cut of all; in spite of her superior work performance-she was bypassed for promotion.

She soldiered on until 1998, taking a remisier course in the evenings and passing the examination in due course. She then put in her option papers to retire early. I spoke to her to stay a year longer and retire at 50. She told be it did not matter much as the difference in the pension pay-out was only RM 8 monthly.

She became a remisier and I was one of her early clients. Sadly, the years she worked as a remisier were bad years. The market was bearish and it was difficult to make ends meet. Two years later, she quited and passed all her clients to a colleague.

I have not seen her for six years. It was during this time that I heard she contracted cancer. She did a mastectomy in Singapore to excise the malignant cells and I heard she was in remission.

When I spoke to here, she was cheery and said she was doing wu kong and was involved with the Cancer Centre in Subang Jaya. I thought the worse was over.

My sister used to have regular lunch with her and another friend. They will meet almost every month. My sister told me that since November, Gloria had been unable to attend the luncheons. She was too weak and had to be helped to move from place to place.

During the Chinese New Year, I was told she was really in bad shape and the cancer has now spread to her lymph nodes. The end was near. As such the news of her passing was not as shocking. It was to be expected. It was sooner or later.

Another friend has passed on. God Bless her soul.

Quote of the Day:

“Gone - flitted away,
Taken the stars from the night and the sun
From the day!
Gone, and a cloud in my heart”.
Alfred Tennyson

Heartsong