Young emotion

I was messaging Dr Teoh Soong Kee in Ipoh last week, asking him some questions about his schooldays and brought up the subject of his book, Young Emotion, which he wrote some years back. I asked him whether I could reproduce one particular essay he wrote in another of my blogs. Yes, he replied, I could use his story.

Then he asked whether I had a copy of his book to which I replied that I owned a photocopied edition of it. He offered me a complimentary copy, which he would send through the post. Ah, okay, I thanked him.

I promptly forgot all about the book until it arrived on Monday. Delivered by the postman. I wasn't at home. Neither was my wife. So the postman threw the envelope into the compound. Then it rained and the envelope became partially wet.

I was particularly happy when I discovered the envelope. The upper edge of the book was damp and water-stained. I had to do something fast. Experience had shown me that if I had left the book to dry by itself, it would take ages and the book would basically be damaged beyond any hope. Warped pages and all that.

Quickly, I started tearing sheets from the toilet roll and lined them between the damp pages of the book. The reason was to absorb as much water as possible from the pages. Between every few pages, a sheet of toilet paper was inserted. And I did this for the whole book. Every few hours, I would replace the damp sheets with fresh dry ones.

This went on for about 24 hours until I was satisfied that the residual water could now be removed by ironing the pages dry. After having done that, I sat the book flat on the floor and piled up six or seven heavy and thick books on the cover.

Today is already Wednesday, two days after receiving the wet book. Well, the book's completely dry now. And flattened as much as possible. But the pages remain slight warped. I Guess that's how they will stay from now on. Dry but warped. But at least, I still have the book, intact.