Then and Now

Two days ago I received an email that sent me back to the period when the computer didn’t exist, no mobile phones, no tablets, no smart phones.  This email detailed what most of us ( baby boomers ) did, how we entertained ourselves, the way we mixed freely with our friends of different races and cultural  backgrounds, how we shared our food and played together out in the open, whether it be marbles, kite flying and kite fighting, spinning tops, and yes, spinning the little wooden disc nailed to the ice cream vendor’s  container which had small nails and figures written on it.  For 5 cents, you could spin it once and see where it stopped. If it stopped at 2, then you get two ice-cream potong ( ice cream lollipop ) one of which you then give to your friend.

I recall how we would cluster eagerly round the ice-cream seller to see which of us would be lucky enough to get two sticks of ice-cream.  Boys and girls played games together, enjoying the company.  It was safe to play outdoors.  We never feared for our safety and our parents didn’t have to be paranoid like the parents of today.  We didn’t have to barricade our windows and doors with steel bars and it was either catching the public bus or walking to school.  The thought of being kidnapped never surfaced.  We were safe walking along the streets and footpaths.

We could  visit freely our neighbours’ homes, during the festive season.  There were no concerns such as whether our friends’ food or mothers’ cooking was halal or not.  We respected our friends’ beliefs and practices and we enjoyed the food laid out for us.

Today, things have become so different that we would prefer to meet outside the home lest we offend the sensitivities of others where preparation of food is concerned. We hesitate to invite colleagues of other races to our homes for a meal. This is to save them the embarrassment of having to decline as well as our embarrassment at being turned down.  I wonder when and how this came about. To me, this is a sad thing.  Our children are missing out on what we used to enjoy in the past.  Freedom from fear, from prejudice and most of all, simple, clean fun and a great camaraderie among friends and neighbours.

The loss of all these --- is this the price of “progress” ?

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