RIFLE RANGE BOY: Nothing wrong?

Tunku and Think Big, Melbourne Cup winner, 1975.

I remember a time when I was a pre-schooler. In front of the family black-and-white TV, I got all excited when a horse appeared on the screen. Maybe they were screening Mr Ed, the talking horse or something like that. I must have said something to the effect of, "I saw many horses the other day. Appa took me there!" looking directly at Amma. That is when the fight started.

True. There was a time when Appa used to frequent the racing turf club for little thrills and pennies. I was brought there, only once, I presume, before I spilt the beans.

Naturally, over the years, I became convinced that horse racing is terrible and the negative association with betting. Slowly, one by one, as in an all-or-none, everything was laid upon me. The first drop of alcohol would turn you into a raging alcoholic. One deep breath of nicotine would damage your lungs irreparably. At the tender age, when all of one's focus should be on securing a sound education, there is no place for romance, so I was told.

Then the others told me that there was nothing wrong in racing horses. Even the Prime Minister owned a horse that won the Melbourne Cup. Students were treated to free tickets of screening of 'National Velvet' starring Elizabeth Taylor for Merdeka. It was a tale of former jockey helping a young girl prepare a wild but gifted horse for England's Grand National Sweepstakes; like it was alright to compete in horse racing and winning the lottery.

Then the local television tried to say that drinking Guinness Stout, a strong brew, was good for you. After a hard day's work, one deserves a Stout. The boisterous men at the local toddy shop that I saw on my way back from school did not testify to that.

The TV also told us, young kids, that when you are out of inspiration, grab a stick of John Player Classic cigarette from Pall Mall. Ideas will ooze copiously, and before long, the unfinished portrait will turn out to be a prized possession.

Slowly, the media started showing teenager themed movies where teenage boys are expected to develop feelings for the opposite sex even though they are barely able to support themselves, what more handling a relationship and the by-product of the biological process of an adult. Still, they said, there is nothing wrong. It is normal.

It is normal to be frequenting races, betting, indulging in intoxicants, pre-marital sexual liaisons and even teenage involvement in adult or illicit activities. One develops character, they said.

Slowly everything became acceptable. It was alright to bend the rules to accommodate mediocrity. Failure was not rebuked but rewarded. You do not need a couple to be opposite genders to unite in holy matrimony. Neither do they need a father and mother unit to raise a child? And they wonder what went wrong?

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