24th June 2025. 2 min read
My car, as expected, had started to show signs of aging- putting sounds, failure to pick up speed and jerky starts.
I sent it to the mechanic and expected a hefty bill, as it is with the costs of everything that has gone up in tandem with inflation everywhere.
Which is really no big deal about getting around in Singapore, as our infrastructure is excellent with functional and reliable subways, buses and grab taxis.
I was privileged in a way as there was a spare car that I could use – a very old but functional Mercedes but it had posed a supposedly big problem to me.
I was intimidated by its size, being huge like a tank( at least to me)with a different operating drive system. Fear instilled a sense of helplessness in me – what if I get knocked, being so conspicuous or that I bump others? What if I failed to park? What if I could not manage the car?
I had briefly driven it before in my younger days but getting older could rob one of being bold and brazen.
Then I remembered the article they I had written recently about “Just Do It”. It was about procrastination and fear.
If I had failed to accept this challenge, my article would have lost its teeth to make me more courageous. So, I gathered myself together and went through the drive system one by one – the levers, controls and switches at the steering wheel. My memory did not fail me.
I had done my homework, so “Just Do It!” beckoned in the back of my mind.
I recalled witnessing lady drivers operating trucks and buses and even my pint sized friend had driven her family station wagon. Why was I impeded by my imagination?
Indeed , it was not the size of the dog in a fight but the size of the bite in the dog, they say.
“There is nothing to fear but fear itself” as Franklin D. Roosevelt had said during the Great Depression.
I started the car, and discovered that the steering wheel was light as a feather. Driving it was a breeze, going slower did help me, much to the chagrin of other drivers but soon I was on my way, to run my errands with my choices of taking the subway, buses and grab taxis as other options. And putting a fear to rest.
What a Blessed Life!
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