Utuh Paloi Banjar Blog

 

Monday June 7, 2010. After a lapse of more than 30 years, I was excited to again meet my friend that I have never met since the late 70s. From an accidental encounter in this blog and his comments and encouragements that followed, then exchanging of emails and phone calls, at last we have a chance to meet in person to recollect the fun and pains of donning the starched blue shirts and shorts of our era - an era long gone.

 

From the bus stand in front of Tabung Haji where I picked him with a two-wheeler to my house in Taman Melawati, and then to the house of a friend in Selayang and finally dropping him at the LRT station in Gombak, the six-hour mini reunion seemed to pass faster than the blink of an eye.  

 

Three hours in the house of K2158 followed by another two at the restaurant in Bandar Baru Selayang, M2030, M2140 and the scribe have had very wonderful time reliving tales of sheer candidness.

 

One particular character that struck a chord was Black Joe. Those who had read “Tiger Territory” could not help but amazed by his popularity. In that book, his name was mentioned as a buffer in one of the Coastal Mine Sweepers. In real life, his shadows loomed larger than many others higher in rank. Although many of us had never met him in person, but most had somehow heard about his adventure, or misadventure.

 

Promotions and demotions were his way of life. But the best part of this man was his gift of the gab. Stories have been told time and again that he needed only 20 cents to get drunk. Ten cents for the bus ride from the Naval Base in Woodlands to the Commonwealth Fleet Canteen in Sembawang. Once inside, with tongue-in-cheek, he could talk his way so much so that beer flowed freely in his glass. With the remaining ten cents, he would take a bus ride back to the RMN barracks in KD Malaya - totally drunk.

 

Then there’s POEA Lawrence, the ‘black orang putih’ whose waggle of the tongue could put Englishmen to shame, to the saga of Chief Cook who was demoted to Leading Hand after RPO Nordin caught the ‘trash’ man at the Main Gate smuggling tins of Milo and condensed milk hidden among the wastes to be disposed.

 

While busy reliving history, the ‘home affair minister’ of M2030 called (or was it spot check?) asking for SITREP or Situation Report. I couldn’t help comparing instances when ships on patrol had to communicate with HQ to report exact positions at pre-designated intervals.

 

My friend, that’s the beauty of marriage…care and concern for one another. Any which way we interpret, it’s never too late to learn one or two ‘tricks’ to convince your sweetheart, that she is the one and only partner before and after marriage. And saying things like, “I miss you” or “You still look the same sexy lady of thirty odd years or so ago”, even though deep inside, your heart is screaming in protest.  Such assurances will help soothe a lady’s fragile emotion. That sweet-talking lesson I can vividly remember was from my friend Billy.

 

One night, I stumbled upon a stray phone call from one ‘Minah Current’ at the public phone in Wisma Mutiara that subsequently led to a rendezvous – two pairs of the opposite gender. As luck would have it, mine was of acceptable features while the other meant for Billy was…oh no. To my surprise, Billy had the cheek to phrase a blatant lie “Hey beautiful…” As we went our separate ways, I could not help but admire this friend of mine who once claimed “I’ll take on anything as long as its backside is not pointing towards the sky”.

 

After more than three hours of catching up on lost time, we left for lunch at a restaurant in Bandar Baru Selayang.

 

It was the best lunch I have had for years. It was better than the supper we had more than 40 years ago at a stall in Woodlands, frequented by RMN junior rates, where the phrase coined by the stall operator are still mimed by us to this day “Minta pandei, makan pandei bayar tada pandei”.

 

Those days, when it was time to make the payments, more often than not, the wallet seemed to get stuck in the trouser pocket. This time around, it was the opposite. M2030 insisted to settle the bill. As he took out a stack of cash from his shirt pocket, I had a glimpse at the notes that read “Esso Petro Dollar”. No wonder the food tasted so good.

 

“Rasa duit minyak” that’s what M2030 said when K2158 offered to settle the bill.

 

Late in the evening, as we approached the LRT Station in Gombak, we chatted about personal life. Somehow, both agreed that, though initially reluctant to say farewell to our bachelorhood, and had it not been at the insistence of our parents, we would still be single today - two restless souls wandering endlessly in the wilderness.

 

M2030 parting words “We have fulfilled the necessities of life by having a family of our own…” I couldn’t have agreed more.

 

And many thanks for taking time off - travelling down memory lane.

 

 

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 11th, 2010 at 11:47 pm and is filed under ENGLISH, reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.