Meaningful Father's Day after 54 years

The Straits Times' deputy Life editor Wong Kim Hoh's story about his late father (When Dad didn't know how to say goodbye, June 21) resonated with me.

I am a 54-year-old Japanese expatriate, who has been living in Singapore for the last five years. My parents divorced when I was two years old, and I have no recollections of my biological father.

In August, I received a letter from one of the municipal offices in Japan informing me that my father had passed away, that he did not remarry after he divorced and that I was his only child.

I put aside my initial reaction of "it is none of my business" and went back to pay for his funeral expenses.After all, I would not be here without him, and it was a token of appreciation to my biological father.

When I read Mr Wong's piece about how his father had put down the phone and cried the night they last spoke, it made me wonder if my father was in a similar frame of mind in his last days.

For the first time in 54 years, thanks to Mr Wong's story, I felt my father with me on Father's Day. It also reminded me of how my mother had made sacrifices to look after me.

Kazuhiro Nishioka

Grocery vans a great help for elderly

Having been a volunteer at a charitable organisation for 11 years, I fully appreciate FairPrice's initiative (Groceries on wheels in five HDB estates, April 24).

The mobile vans will help cut travel time, especially for vulnerable seniors, when residents go to get their groceries.

This step is also a positive move to protect seniors from Covid-19.

Ponnambalavanan Kalaivani