Tireless Courage

UNDETERRED.... Pillar got in the way and the car was beginning to move. Quick-step onward. A van it was. BY DARKNESS, or THE DARK?... UNDETERRED BY DARKNESS. Gothic. Mystical. Wow-wee!... There had been too many When Opportunity Meets Dedication, Endeavour whatever tees sighted in the last few days, a number borne by the most unlikely looking types. There had been a clearance; they were popping up in dark dingy corners sported by cleaners, riff-raff & whatnot. The continuum was advanced here by Undeterred. Five – six percent of the population could field that term confidently without recourse to aids. Here the particular enterprise was only caught as the van moved off along Onan up into the gathering Geylang gloom. Singapore Post no less. Yes, it was no joke: Sing Post was undeterred by darkness. Resolute. Determined. (Excuse me while I retch in that planter there by the plumbing shop. Ah! Sorry bout that.) Nothing could deter; and certainly not the evils of the dark. By dawn there would sit the parcel and letter sent by loved ones in the bottom of your letterbox by the escalator near the foot of the stairs. Go fetch whenever you may care. Sing it loud and give a cheer! the P. O. worked through the night here; tirelessly, let it be known. Neither potholes in the road nor any satanic force would bedevil or deter. Valiant all weathers and all hours. The city could sleep snuggly and unperturbed. Golly! Always nothing less than riveting the sloganeering here; inspired copywriting. There would have been back slaps and hi-fives in the agency for this one. (There was often an evangelical tone.) It was a Chinese thing; one thought back to the old placards of the Mao era, — Let a thousand flowers bloom.... The government was tiresome here too, always the best foot forward, full of action and stir. The insignia was the thunder bolt. In Indo and Malaysia you might put the missive in the post-box and best to follow that with earnest prayer. (Where was there any dark on this island by the way? The shots of Earth Hour recently in the newspaper raised a giggle.)