Yesterday, we celebrated our nation's 41st birthday and many Singaporeans were in or around the National Stadium, which, by the way, will be torn down after the National Day Parade, for the fireworks spectacle of the Parade. For many families, it's been a ritual of sorts, having a picnic along Kallang river and wait for the fireworks display.
The National Day Parade in itself is a mega-event watched by most Singaporeans, not just for the pomp and pageantry but also for the spectacular displays which has never failed to take the spectators breath away. From the sky-divers to the pilots to the Guard of Honour contingent to the show itself, every single display is greeted by a chorus of cheers and thunderous applause. Personally, I have never been to the NDP. Though, when I was still serving my NS, my camp was one of the centres for ticket distribution for the NDP tickets. I remember the snaking queues, the pitched tents and the picnic-like atmosphere. Only thing that was missing was live entertainment and BBQ pits and they'd have a party.
One thing that did not escape my mind was the fact that I was on duty that day. My brief was simple, stay in the air-conditioned comfort of the medical center and see to any medical emergencies that might take place within the queue. I thought that was typical of the army to have extra medics on standby for any emergencies for a bunch of people sitting around, doing nothing while waiting for the tickets to be distributed. There were 2 medics on standby that weekend as opposed to the standard 1. Despite the queue being quite orderly and no incidents took place within the queue, seeing that the people were quite orderly and water being available in the form of watercoolers, there was still one casualty. Funny thing is, he wasn't even queueing. He skidded his motorbike outside the camp while sending food to his family. Till now, I still wonder what happened to the food.
One good thing that has taken place since is the introduction of balloting for the NDP tickets instead of having people form up queues 3-4 days in advanced for them. That saves a lot of time and resources not just on the would-be spectators, but also the organisers and the Army boys who'd have to set up the queueing area and man them on the day itself. Even if the wonders of technology has stopped Singaporeans from engaging in one of our national pastimes, apart from food and shopping, it is one pastime I'm glad we'd no longer have. I mean, there are still a lot more we could queue for. I mean there's the queue at the hawker centers during lunch time, there's the queues at the post offices at the end of the month and, of course, the long queues at Singapore Pools for 4D and Toto.
Some people, admittedly, queue up just the sake of queueing without knowing what the queue is for. While some people would say that if something is good, it's worth queueing for, these people seem to equate it as if it's something worth queueing for, it must be something good. The next time you end up in a long snaking queue, try asking the person in front of you what they are queueing for, chances are they might not know because they are following the herd, kinda like the zebras and wildebeest on Animal Planet.
PS: On a different note, I'm still waiting for the UN Resolution on the Israeli-Lebanon conflict to be passed. Seems like they are still squabbling over the terms to be used. Oh, and tomoorow going to watch the fireworks again. you know?
1 comment:
siegheil!!!!! seigheil!!!!!
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