Curly Ones (Sept25)

One had completely forgotten those bald old guys with the back-combing and upturned tufts behind above the collar. Fatties often, shirt-buttons straining, like the old Indian on the No. 23 swinging around to KV this afternoon. Our old Yugoslavs sometimes followed the practice, dapper chappies dressed for visiting, like Cika Ostoja the gypsy and one of the boarders at Mr. Vic’s across the road. Neat curls back of the neck like young girls sometimes wore on their forehead were good for ruffling after combing and bounced along on the road. Here the Indians applied oil and no doubt fluffed & ruffled the bunches that they could only feel and not see. The shiny pate did not exactly disappear with the fondling, but there was a certain reassurance. With the work waiting at the Warnet, there was no time for the 30 - 40 minute post-lunch circuit up to Bras Basah, the library perchance and rounding back to Jalan Kubor and the old graveyard of nameless dead beneath the crooked markers. Most days the hike stretched to Lavender MRT and once or twice weekly Kallang. No time this afternoon; duties pressing. This afternoon after the No. 67 had failed to arrive promptly, the decision was made to cut through Dunlop and directly onto Kubor by the nearest route. In a couple of straight lines a kilometre and one half perhaps, the surprise today being the convenience of the newly erected sheltered walkways virtually the entire path. Verandas on Dunlop gave cover right along to Jalan Besar, Big Road. Beyond however it was usually a scorched passage until the Queen Street Terminal. No longer. What one found instead now was newly erected shelter on either approach to the recently completed Jalan Besar station—on Besar itself and then turning the corner also the path leading to Arab Street. Had there been a short stretch on Victoria by Aljunied Primary where the sun poured down like the molten lava currently in Hawaii? Only a short little run. Otherwise ample 1.9m secure shelter and screening along. One was no longer in the tropics really. This was.... something exceptional—almost armchair travel. There were no fans or aircon along the way. These had been installed at some of the larger bus-stops around the city: an a/c curtain, free wifi, massage chairs was it too? Late last year the government had promised 200 kilometres of sheltered walkways across the Republic. Duly delivered. Difficult to know what to think. Was this for real? The challenge of the tropics overcome by innovation & careful planning? It was impossible to aircon the entire island, of course. The top 7 - 10% could skip between condo-car-office-resto with minimal contact of the outdoors. Sheltered walkways was not bad for the rest, especially when one compared the poor neighbours in Malaysia & Indo. A major roadway on reclaimed land out East had been raised one metre. Malaysia—or the Southern State of Johor at least—had signed water and electricity provision for the next forty years. They were a chance here for the next stretch. The government certainly was not resting on its laurels. Planning for the uncertain future. Innovation and robotics was key, they were continually underlining. Technological savvy. Flexibility in the workforce & tailoring in the Ed. sector. SG positioning itself to survive the challenges, if any could.