It ain't over till it is over!

Landscape with Figures" by George Tooker (1992)
Trapped in pigeon holes?

I have known Uncle K7 for more than thirty-over years. Ever ready with a gleaming smile, he enjoys having long banter with me every now and then, I think. Periodically, during draggy family functions, we would often be nooked at a corner to discuss his life and times as a young technician in the world of espionage. Working in the Malaysian Field Force as a sergeant, he was in the frontline trying to intercept communist's radio communication using the then avant-garde British and German technology. 

These family gatherings were nothing more than marking of attendance akin to a Mafia family meetings where the same crowd meets, again and again, to reinforce who is who in the family's hierarchal ladder. 

My interactions with Uncle K7 over the years opened up my understanding of mortality, immortality and the purpose of life. Through him, I realised the need to discover, re-discover and continue learning till the end of times. 

Thirty years ago, he was a happy man living in the memories of his working experience. He was retired from work but contented to see the country he fought for morphing into a developed one. He was delighted to see his four daughters blossom into young mothers with beautiful children. And the love of his life was by his side to attend to his whims and fancies.

A few years later, he was telling how he quit his chain-smoking habit. It was a time when he used to flame sixty stick a day. He blamed the British squarely for this unsavoury habit. It seems he picked up the nasty habit in the Force. A pack of imported cigarettes was part of his ration when he went into the jungle for his bandit-busting expeditions. What started as a harmless desire to try ended up as an addiction hard to expel. 

He enjoyed his last stick just before performing his penance at the Tirupathi temple in India. As it was customary to abstain from smoking in the vicinity of the holy site, he complied. Reaching for his habitual stick at the end of any task, he found it tasteless. And he grabbed another; also bland. Suddenly he had an intense abhorrence to the smell of cigarette. He threw away the pack, and henceforth he became an ex-smoker. I learned from him that 'all or none law' or 'cold turkey' are the ways to go. One has to put his mind to something and give his heart and soul to see it materialise. No half measures will do.

Yet another few years later, he was devastated by the sudden passing of the love of his life. The meetings after this era were filled with his accounts of melancholia, reminiscing the spring of his youthfulness. Soon after that, he was diagnosed to have quadruple coronary vessel disease. Against medical advice, he opted to go conservative, shunning any surgical intervention. Despite being labelled as a ticking time bomb, he was ready to embrace the offer of the walk to the Otherside. In his mind, his job on Earth was over; the sowing, the nurturing and the continuity was done. But time kept ticking with him, not away from him.

He later went on to immortalise his life experiences in a memoir, marking his contributions to the genesis of the newly independent nation called Malaya.

Now, twenty years after the diagnosis, he is still a happy man, embracing life as is offered to him. Still wearing his trademark grin, he replied with glee in his eyes when asked what he is up to. Since my last visit, he had discovered the magic of Youtube and the wealth of knowledge buried in cyberspace. He has delved into the art of face-reading (physiognomy) and numerology. On that evening, I was the guinea pig!

I am amazed that Uncle K7 always has something to do to keep himself busy. Many of his contemporaries are departed; hence, he has to explore and re-kindle himself to be occupied so that the light within him does not stop flickering.

At the time of retirement, I have seen many who just drop everything to plunge into what they think as well deserved break after years of breaking back for the family and for themselves. It may not be the best thing for the mind. It is as if one is just buying time before the Grimm Reaper's arrival. It should not be this way.

Being lazy or just resting?

Reminding ourselves of what Karl Marx said about capitalism's evils, he emphasised the importance of free time and shorter working hours for increasing productivity. Having time to oneself to indulge in activities they like give meaning to their existence. Since working hours are not going to get any shorter, but we tend to live longer, the only logical thing to do would be to use the time after retirement as a time for liberation. The silvered haired has the most opportune time to immerse himself in that something he wanted to do all his life but never had the time, resources or peace of mind to do as he was busy finding his footing in the material world.

"Free time is time for the full development of the individual - Karl Marx."

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