By Trailerman Sam
Taking the bull by its horns literally means to deal with a difficult situation in a direct or strenuous way.
In Tamil, we say you should be confident enough to step on a slithering cobra. That proverb will be well-suited when you are between 21 and 35. You’re strong as a bull in this age bracket.
You can gulp down eight bowls of fragrant white rice with your bak kut teh (BKT) herbal soup for breakfast and still have room for a full thali banana leaf set lunch at your favourite Indian restaurant.
And before calling it a day late in the night, you might have a “tapau” (take away) of nasi kandar with extra rice flooded with gravy and whatever your eyes fancy at the nearest mamak outlet. Weekends are celebrated with buddies with just too much wine and song.
As I was weighing 95kg then and strong enough to help any pretty lass who may be stranded with a flat tyre on a freeway or push a marooned Ford Cortina (Oops, I’m revealing my age here) single-handedly to the side of the road, I could sure flatten a cobra’s head.
But upon reaching 40, one seems to have lost the gladiator’s courage and would need the aid of a bamboo stick to whack the cobra. Additionally, your belly also seems to be in your path while searching for the running cobra.
Around this time, your life may seem to be running in an anti-clockwise direction, meaning it’s not so smooth after all. At that juncture, having to pay for frequent medical checks seems to be a regular but painful affair.
A heart-breaking tale arises when your doctor tells you to give up your morning BKT or late night nasi kandar. But you tend to break the rules and decide that it’s still OK to have them once a blue moon. The odd thing is that you’ll encounter just too many once-in-a-blue-moons.
When I hit 45, my so-called lucky number, the cobra’s grand-kids appear to be making their rounds near my house once too often. That’s the time when I’ve to start a giant re-think with myself. That’s also the time to avoid crossing their paths, thus adhering to the time-tested lesson of prevention is better than cure.
Don’t you agree that it’s easier to stop something bad from happening than to fix the damage after it has happened? Some sort of Dutch courage may be needed like having a stiff whiskey or brandy since alcohol causes our brain to release a flood of dopamines. This chemical is associated with pleasure and can make you feel supremely confident and powerful even when you’re face-to-face with the king of serpents.
Two more years, I’d be welcomed into the 50s clubhouse. I reckon that the rhythm of life will change drastically.
You may wake up on one thunderstorm morning with a spiritual awakening and vow not to consume anything that has a face. But I’ve gone “green” before touching 5-Series for I’m a vegetarian now.
Even without having made any grand entrance into Club 60, life can still be a lot of fun. You can wake up early and for no reason at all or you can drive at a snail’s pace during the morning rush hour. Perhaps it’s like taking revenging on what you had gone through during the rat race some 20 years ago when you also tried to beat the crazy traffic jam each working day.
Back to the snake issue: when you’re past 60, it’s better to run first although it may be slithering quite far about a kilometre away.
To be exact, life for me now is to eat, drink coffee, sleep, teach, write and drink more coffee. I take one day at a time.
I’m still happy as I did all this My Way…so sang American singer Frank Sinatra on Dec 30, 1968 in Los Angeles ahead of the new year.
In a nut shell, there’s a right time for stepping on a approaching cobra, to hit it with a pole or you’ve just to run away from it. Good luck!
Trailerman Sam, a popular silver-haired living soul from Lunas, Kedah, is much sought-after for his ways of the world and views. When not helping the young, middle-aged or old, he is writing feverishly, drinking plenty of coffee or probably star or planet gazing. He can be reached at trailer17@hotmail.com
The views expressed here are that of the writer’s and not necessarily that of Weekly Echo’s.