Today, I am proud to wish my grandpa, Sian T Tjia, a happy 100th birthday! (Yes, I tagged him on Facebook because he is 100 and HAS HAD A FACEBOOK PAGE SINCE 2007) Born on December 14, 1914 in Tegal, Indonesia, Grandpa ST (how he is affectionately known by family) has lived/is living an extraordinary life. He and his wife (RIP Kiannio Liem Tjia, 1916-2010) raised 5 children in Indonesia. During 1958-1959, Grandpa ST was imprisoned for 20 months by the Indonesian Sukarno pro-Communist regime for his work as a journalist. After being released, ST and Kian emigrated to Hong Kong before eventually landing for good in Houston, Texas in 1977. In Houston 2002, he retired at the young age of 87 from his position of Press and Information Officer at Houston Taiwan Economic Cultural Office. As the first centenarian in our family, Grandpa ST has seen the advent of many modern marvels: commercial airlines, the radio tuner, the modern zipper, the traffic signal, penicillin, the television, the audio cassette/audio disc/compact disc/mp3s, the computer, the microwave, velcro, the credit card, the bar code, the cell phone, the internet, post-it notes, e-mail, and the smartphone, just to name a few. Through all of his, he has remained very forward-thinking, accepting each new invention with the curiosity of a child. To this day, Grandpa ST still routinely checks his email. Socially, he is just as accepting. He once visited me at a rehearsal for SFGMC - The San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus, and even stood on stage in front of the 300 men to address his adoring fans and receive his due accolades. As part of his birthday celebrations, Ive put together a little YouTube video with photos of these past 100 years. Happy birthday, Grandpa! To health, to happiness, to life! bit.ly/grandpast100
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 16:28:22 +0000