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Book of Wong : When I was a Boy
I used to hate it whenever any of my Officers used to begin one of his long-winded lectures with, "When I was a boy" It would usually be followed by some tedious tale of how we, as Boys, are so much more fortunate compared to when my Officer was a Boy.
The story would usually detail how much he suffered as he drilled under the hot sun for 16 hours (non stop!), which was followed by band practice where they would march around the field 24 times (with no breaks!). Of course, he would be playing the bass drum, mind you, not some other light-weight instrument like the flute (my apologies to all flautists out there). Naturally, each time they fell out of dressing, the entire band would have to go down for 300 push ups. Life was always much better for us, you see. We sat on chairs, in the shade, under the fan for praise and worship. Knowing the days of when my Officer was a Boy, you would imagine that they had to stand on their feet, at attention, singing hymns from memory. Back then, they were tough! How could we complain about an expedition up Bukit Larut during a camp to earn our Expedition award? To earn his Expedition award, my Officer probably had to climb Mount Kinabalu in shorts and singlet - and that was just Stage 1! Also, for some strange reason that I could not understand, his officers were always much more cruel than he - a fact that we Boys were constantly reminded to be grateful for. I can still hear it: "You think I am mean? You don't know what mean really means! When I was a Boy, I had really mean Officers" Usually by then, my mind had already begun to think about Bible Study - where I could at least look very holy by closing my eyes, leaning forward and going to sleep. Deciding that it was enough, my friends and I made a promise one afternoon, when yet another "When I was a Boy" speech began. We told ourselves that we would never use that phrase. Never. Ever. We would not inflict this agony on yet another generation.
So you can imagine how ironic it all felt now that I am an Officer witnessing the changing times. I've literally had to bite my tongue when I attended NCO council meetings. Where Boys once took out pencil cases and note pads, I observed NCOs whipping their mobile phones all around the table. When I was a Boy oh wait a minute. Sorry. |
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