Getting older and not being quite so precious about it all...

I’ve been pretty quiet the last couple of weeks. Work has been busy and Lady and I have been dialing it back in anticipation of our new child joining us.


One of the things that I’ve been realising is that the older you become, the less worried you are about some things but the more worried you are about others. Your pressure points and concerns change.


It’s the little things I think I’ve noticed first. I don’t know whether it is me trying to blend in but I find myself belching just that little more openly at dinner. Not raucous, gut-wobbling belching, but a pleasing small bubble of post-dining contentment. I’d like to think that I can keep up with the Grannies and Aunties who you’ll hear let rip after a plate of fried bee hoon at the hawker centre, but I think my English sensibilities will hold me back for a good few years yet.


I’m not into hocking and spitting into the open sewers (or even public litter bins) like most guys here, but, yes, I’ll probably be more inclined to pass a small bottom-burp in public now if I think I’m not going to stink up the joint. I’m just not that precious about it now.


Similarly, I think the aging populous in Singapore are finally getting over the sense of reverence about the grand-daddy of Singapore, the great Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew. As brilliant as his legacy is, some of the things that are being put up for discussion are not getting the enthusiastic, rousing approval from all and sundry that they used to. Maybe as Singapore and the population also ages they don’t feel so tied to the one-party line either or conforming to the socially respectable ways of old.


In a taxi a couple weeks ago the driver and I were discussing the current proposal of not retiring from work at the age of 65. As wonderful a policy as that may sound to an older generation that is still able, willing to contribute and, more importantly, valued (and to be honest might be in desperate need of an income in this expensive city that has ramped up living costs in the last 20 years), to many voters it’s not sounding like a winning idea. This particular taxi driver effectively thought that LKY was losing his touch with the common people, that the vast wealth and longevity of his ‘reign’ had finally set him out of context with what the people really needed or wanted.


I was quite surprised to hear such open and honest discourse. Refreshing and interesting discussion points for the controlling party to consider how they remain relevant for the majority. Maybe it’s not just the young radicals that make changes. Maybe as we get older we still have a sense that things need to change and there is sometimes no value in maintaining the status quo.

Shovel