Flashback 1: Life at age 6

My short stint in the broom brought back faint memories of my childhood which I thought I lost. Perhaps it was the enclosed space, or the familiar smell of timber, but whatever the reason, faint idyllic pictures of days gone by began to emerge and I was no longer the old man of 33 that I am now, but an innocent little kid of six just starting out in life.

I recalled with fondness my favourite haunt, the little space beneath the sink in the kitchen. Looking out through the eyes of a six-year old, the world was simply too big and scary, so I found refuge in my own space, a little place I went to whenever I needed to be alone.

As a child I never did crawl or speak much. When it was time to walk, I simply stood up. I recalled, with a chuckle, what my mom's relatives used to say about me. They were sympathethic towards my mom, thinking that I was handicapped in some way from the peculiar manner I was growing up. Even years later, a distant relative was heard asking my mom how her crippled son was doing in school, thinking perhaps that I have been enrolled in a special school. My mom was indignant, but I thought that was pretty hilarious.

Life without the trappings of modern living was never inadequate. I recalled faces of people I have met, uncles and aunts, some of whom are long gone. People were people then, not some faceless voices at the end of a telephone line.

I recalled my own school life, the faces of teachers that shaped me with words that hurt. When I was 12, a teacher mocked me after tearing up my work to tiny pieces. She declared that I was "too clever" and would never amount to much. Sarcasm cuts deeper than any physical knife could. Was it necessary for an adult to unleash such torment on a twelve-year old? Inspite of her, or maybe to spite her, I redoubled efforts and exceeded expectations at the PSLE. Well, the rest is history.

Looking back, I have been guilty at times of brushing aside genuine concerns for lack of time, or sleep for that matter. Being on this side of the window, I have learnt to forgive and be content that teachers are human too.