Tragedy of love gone sour..

How can a father kill his own son (5) and daughter (3)? Both so young and defenceless and both had to die so cruelly by their own father's hands. It was not the children's fault that their parents wanted a divorce, they were totally innocent and yet they had to suffer and die so wickedly. To get married, settle down and have children is all too easy. When two young people fall in love, everything between them is always yes and okay, very loving, always wanting to be together, petty quarrels and disagreements in all issues will always be resolved eventually, BUT, when they finally tie the knot and begin their marathon of life together, they then start to find out about each others' undesirable habits not known to each other or simply refuse to know or hear about them during their courtship, that's where Love is totally blind during that period of time, or should I say, it was actually only infatuation that got them stuck and bound together.

The understanding power between two persons is not easy. To forgive and forget is always sought but seldom realized, so when problems start to surface they find it difficult to cope and adjust or compromise between themselves, they shelf it for the time being, at the same time continue to harbour discontent, and allow anger to slowly build up within themselves until one fine day, the balloon must burst and all hell lets loose, that's when everything gets out of hand and war is declared. The once upon a time lovebirds became public enemy number one, and they then start fighting viciously for custody and property, sadly if one of them cannot take the pressure or traumatic turn of events, then tragedy occurs and the innocent ones suffer and even lives get wasted.

Half-hearted sportsman...

Picked up this young man from Changi Airport T2 with a sling bag and carrying a golf set. "Hello, where to?"

"Hi Uncle, please go to West Coast Road near Esso Petrol station"

"Okay. Wow, you must be back from overseas golf competition?"

"No lah, just to Bangkok to play golf for relaxation"

"You must love playing golf very much, and by the way, what would your handicap be?"

"No lah, no handicap, just started learning to play the game.."

"It must be quite boring hitting a small ball and walking at least 400 yards to search for the ball and hitting it again and then walk, search and..."

"You are quite right Uncle, after playing a while I'm now losing a bit of interest because of inconsistencies and the irregular moods of the weather. Just when you are eager and ready to play, heavy rain falls and you get wet and messy and got to walk back quite far to the clubhouse, I am getting fed up and thinking of giving up golf"

"Do you think its a boring and stupid game then?"

"I'm inclined to think so, and its not cheap you know. I think maybe I'll just quit."

Before I could reply, we reached his destination. As I drove away, I was thinking this young man must have chosen a wrong sport, he looks frustrated and from what I gathered he might really quit the game. Not everyone can be a Tiger Woods, and in any sports, you must first love it, enjoy it, be good and try to excel in it and most of all be very passionate to really succeed at all. This young man don't seem to have it in him, I don't blame him, most probably he is more afraid that lightning might strike just like it struck and recently killed a businessman whilst playing golf in Singapore.

Orchard Road Light Up!

With the light up of Orchard Road from Tanglin Mall to Cathay and other parts of the island, Singapore looks like a fairyland of coloured lights and with the ban lifted for neon lights once again, makes the island really glittering and alive. Shopping malls with their multi-hued colours screaming around its buildings together with huge video screens displaying technicoloured advertisements and movie trailers makes it all the more exciting and exhuberant. This is so different compared to a few years ago and now with the population ballooning to 5 million the whole scene has totally changed to one which is truly bustling with life, imagine what it will be like when the target reaches 6.5 million people. At present, every where already looks so congested with people as well as vehicles cramming alongside each other, it becomes worst especially during the weekends, so much so I'll try to shy away from driving around these parts, even knowing that long queues of commuters are waiting for us. Traffic jams are inevitable and it is certainly very tiring, crawling and weaving in and out, also time consuming. Come this Christmas eve, its going to be a truly fantastic and spectacular party time along the whole stretch of Orchard Road, I think I'll not drive at all, but go partying instead and soak in the Christmas spirit that will be spread all around us.

sensationalisms

Tragedies, crimes, con jobs, loan sharks, suicides, maid and child abuse, big grabs for inheritance between family members and so many others are like from scenes that we watch on TV and in the movies playing it out in real life right here in Singapore nearly every other day. Most recent, the death of two very young children at home in Ang Mo Kio together with the father falling down to his death from their flat for reasons yet unknown pending police investigations. Boyfriend stabbing girlfriend to death over infidelities or over-possessiveness and currently facing possibility of death sentence, and court case going on for an elderly woman trying to kill her husband by slowly putting poison in his food over a period of time... and what about the stand off between siblings in deciding where their mother should be buried. All these can indeed be made into movie blockbusters. The arrests and long term jail sentences, including caning, of many loan-shark runners caught for splashing paint and causing fire to debtors homes have all been sensational. These stories are the main conversational topics between me and my passengers which make each trip more lively with questions of whys, opinions and criticisms. We sometimes talk as if we are judges and how we should mete out punishments or just feel sad and feel sorry for the victims. I read the papers every morning and ask myself why these things happen before I go to bed....

newscaster, directory, consultant...

We taxi drivers are usually known for being "Mr. Knowalls". We can tell you what time shopping malls open or close, where you can get good food and what is not, the latest hot news, gossips and scandals, which specialist doctors can do for whatever ailments you've got, we can even give you unqualified medical prescriptions, which way the fastest and nearest route to where, offer free advice and consultations for your disputes with spouse, chidren or bosses or act like 'quack' psychiatrists and listen to your problems. But, the only questions which are impossible for us to answer is "Did I lock my door?". "Where did I leave my door keys?" "What time is my appointment?", how would I know. This is why a taxi drivers' vocation is so challenging when you meet with people from all walks of life everyday.

The other day when I was at the Far East Shopping Centre taxi stand queue, I picked up this young guy who wanted to go to Marriot Hotel. I told him that it is just one or two minutes walking distance from here. He said "Okay, get me there" and another time it was at Lucky Plaza taxi stand when this young lady wanted to go to Takashimaya, I told her its just across the road and she said "I am afraid to cross this road, please send me there thanks". I don't know whether these people are just plain lazy or filthy rich or maybe simply ignorant, but it goes to show what interesting things can happen in our occupation all the time......

Dreams...

We must always dream and hope for the best things to happen to us as we wish it. Most of us would want to be a millionaire or a celebrity, and why not, all we have to do first is to start dreaming and then keep hoping our dreams come true.

It's not impossible, just take a look at this Australian taxi driver, he bought a race horse, named it "Takeover Target" not an expensive thoroughbred, maybe less than AUD$2000, raced it and discovered that he has a champion racehorse. He is now a multi-millionaire, travelling around the globe with his champion earning fantastic stake monies for him. He was in Singapore recently with his race horse competing in Kranji Turf Club and winning lots of stake money. This is an example of what dreams and hope can do. Of course as we dream on, we still need to work to survive the present harshness in our everyday lives. Anything can happen at any time, for instance buying a Big Sweep or a Toto ticket and ending up a winner makes your dreams come true. It is not just dreaming and hoping for glamour or wealth, we must also remember to dream and pray for good health and well being for ourselves and our families for the rest of our lives too. I think I better start dreaming first about purchasing a race horse and hope to have a champion, but in the meantime, I better not stop driving..........

Rain, rain go away...

To start the day rushing into your cab with heavy rain pouring down on you is really dreadful. The first thing you know is that there will be lesser people on the roads flagging your cab. Secondly, you need to go to the nearest taxi stand and start to queue, usually at a shopping centre, mall or plaza for passengers. Third and most nasty is at the end of the day, when you have an extra load of work cleaning the inside of the cab, sometimes muddy carpets and to thoroughly dry and air the seats before you handover to your relief driver. A lot of cabbies are afraid to drive on rainy days because it is not so safe even if you are extra careful. Road conditions, visibility, heavy jams are the main causes. And if we are unlucky to meet up with even minor accidents, we get drenched, unable to continue working due to damages or even getting hurt and this inevitably cause loss of earnings for us for at least a few days. Worst of all, drivers become edgy, impatient and tempers flare at the slightest argument as to who is right or who is wrong when an accident occurs. It becomes a very bad day for all concerned. Even the commuters, waiting anxiously for taxis everywhere get very frustrated and angry and when they finally get one, we will get some share of their curses. Therefore it is better to wait a while, maybe hangout at a coffee shop, have a hot cup of coffee and watch the rain subside before we start doing business again......

kind and considerate.....

Last night at Clarke Quay taxi stand, at about 10pm, I picked up a chinese young man who wanted to go to Woodlands St.83. After travelling about 5 minutes, this young man asked, "Uncle, do you have any plastic bag, I think I'm going to puke".

"Yes, I have, just hang on". I immediately stopped my cab along Paterson Road, and took out a plastic bag from below my seat and quickly gave it to him. He took it and said, "Thanks very much, you can start driving again. Don't worry, I may be able to hold till I reach home. I need this bag just in case I can't control."

"Okay, thanks, I'll try to go a bit faster for you".

Phew! That was a big relief. At least this passenger, although a bit high, was considerate and kind enough to tell me his predicament in order not to vomit in my cab before its too late. In slightly less than 20 minutes, I was able to reach his destination. He paid the fare and thanked me once again for the plastic bag.

"Thank you too, and will you be alright?" He nodded and waved a 'thumbs up' sign and slowly walked to his block. I stayed and watched him till he went into the lift before I moved off.

Vomitting inside the cab can be a huge disaster. First, after washing the inside of the cab thoroughly with a lot of soap at the carwash, we need to open all 4 doors, wind down all the windows, dry every part of the vehicle and let it have fresh air and wait for quite sometime to clear the pungent smell of vomit which can still linger on after everything is done. It is impossible to carry on and ferry passengers as the smell is awful and intolerable. Normally we will stop working and head home. That is why we have no choice but to request for a small amount of compensation from our passengers to help us for loss of income and extra work done, this usually amounts to about $50. It is okay if your passengers can understand but what if they disagree or worst still not even sober. Well, this becomes a problem with a big headache.......

the 4th bad memory of being cheated...

It was on a different day with the fourth group of cheats, this time they consist of three Indian school boys, I think from Sec. 3 maybe around 16 years of age whom I picked up at Pioneer North St. opposite City Harvest Church. They wanted to go to Lower Delta Road and requested me to travel by the AYE. When I finally reached the Link road to go into Lower Delta Road, one of the boys said, "Uncle, please go straight and do a U-Turn at the traffic junction and drop us by the roadside before the entrance to the carpark", which I duly complied. "Here can already, thank you".

The same thing happened, just like the previous group, two of them got out first and slowly walked away whilst the third, took out his wallet, flipped it open and started to look for his money. Acting cool and calm, he said, "Sorry uncle, wait a minute", I was about to turn to look at him when all of a sudden, ZOOM! he was out in a flash and joined his other two friends in a record sprint and disappeared into thin air. This time, already resigned to being cheated once again, I came down, shut the opened door and just drove off silently, cursing and swearing at the three cheats.

"Carry on, there's nothing you can do about it, the fare is only $14/-" I mumbled and consoled myself, then sped off to hunt for a nearby coffee shop for 'kopi' and get D-Stressed. What's going on with these young people? Don't they feel any shame at all? Are their parents and teachers not doing their part in teaching them about honesty? and many more questions asked as I slowly drank my coffee.....

the 3rd bad memory of being cheated...

Final term school holidays are starting soon and this time around, I will be extra wary of school children passengers. Why? Well, twice during the past school holidays, I was cheated by two different groups of 13 or 14 year old school kids. (Their ages are revealed through their chit chats). The 1st group, all chinese, comprised of 3 boys and a girl I picked up at the Zion Road side of Great World City taxi stand. They wanted to go to Pasir Ris near Downtown East. It was about 6.30pm and slowly getting dark. The school girl sat beside me while the three boys sat in the back seat. Along most of the way, they were chatting mostly in singlish about their parents, teachers and classmates, gigling and laughing. Just before reaching Downtown East, the girl requested me to drop her first after the traffic junction by the left side of the road which I did and the boys needed to go further up near White Sands.

One of the boys said, "Uncle, go to St.51" and when we arrived he directed me to go into the 2nd carpark, turn here and there, do a U-turn and stop. As soon as I stopped and pull up my handbrakes, two of them got down and started walking off whilst the third one sitting near the opened door, pretended to dig into his pocket seriously for his wallet with one leg already getting out. Suddenly jumped out and ran together with the other two in front and the three of them simply disappeared out of sight before I can even shout "Hey!"

The metered fare showed more than $20/- I was flabbergasted. "Again!!" X#F@xss!! I knew it would just be a waste of time hunting for them, felt like an idiot for being cheated the 3rd time, and of all people, innocent looking young school children.