In the early 80s, my family moved into a new housing estate because our old kampong was slated for development. Flats built at that time had holes underneath the kitchens windows to support bamboo poles for hanging laundry. As a child, my parents constantly reminded me not to walk under the bamboo poles because they tended to be heavy with wet clothes and sometimes fell because the residents could not bear their weight.
As I grew into a teenager, I became more complacent about my safety. One afternoon after school, I decided to pop by one of the provision stores nearby to buy a magazine. Instead of talking the longer route across the L-shaped void deck, I cut across the void deck diagonally, strolling directly under the bamboo poles.
And then I heard it.
It sounded like a faint whistle at first. What’s that? I thought?
The whistling sound got slightly louder. Sw….i….s….h… and then ‘piak’!
I turned immediately and saw that a bamboo pole had hit the hard concrete right behind me. One end hit the concrete ground so hard that it split open like a flower. Then the bamboo pole fell down on its side with a hollow noise, bouncing a little before finally coming to a stop. There were no clothes hanging on the pole at all. One of my neighbours had probably dropped it accidentally, or not secured it properly in its hoist.
I froze to the spot. That end of the bamboo pole could have hit my head if I had been a second or two slower, and probably the impact would have cracked my head instead. My heart hammered in my chest when I realised that I could have died very easily that day.
Throughout my life, I have had a few other occasions when I thought that I was going to die, or had a near accident that I somehow avoided. By some divine intervention or pure dumb luck, I’ve managed to stay safe so far, but now I am more careful about personal safety. Needless to say, I avoid walking underneath the clothes drying areas of HDB blocks. My family moved out of that old flat in the late 90s, and we no longer hang clothes outside because newer estates now have metal hoists for both ends of the bamboo poles, reducing the chances of a mishap.
Now in my middle age, I truly understand how fragile life is, and how easily people lose their lives. It’s made me cherish more what I have now, and if there is indeed some divine force keeping me alive, there must be something good I’m supposed to do. Maybe I won’t stop a war, or come up with some earth-shattering design to replace plastic, and my energy level isn’t as high as before. But even as I get older, there is still something I can do to help, even in some small way, such as amusing readers who read this blog.
Have you had a second chance in life? What good do you want to do today?
- Contributed by Sophia Tan
