THE GENERATION GAP

Those days,
We didn't have computers, internet, playstation.
We didn't have Astro, not even a tv with remote control.
We didn't have highways.
We didn't have mobile phones.
We didn't have digital cameras and video cams.

Life was simpler, more challenging.
We wrote letters and posted them.
We played outdoor games and board games.
We watched tv with only 3 channels - RTM 1, RTM 2 and TV3.
We travelled long distances along dusty trunk roads.
We queued up with bags of coins for the public phones.
We bought films for cameras and needed to get them processed to see the images.

But we were resilient, hardworking and tough.
We worked hard in school, read the books, handed in our homework on time.
We dared not skip school or classes.
We had strict teachers who didn't hesitate to use the long rottan canes.
We dared not negotiate with the teachers for less work.
We stayed up late to complete our homework.
We didn't get scholarships or loans like PTPTN but we managed.
We typed long assignments with the rickety old typewriters.
We learned to survive.

Now,
when we said,
to our children,
who'd demand special gifts for every A they score in UPSR,PMR, SPM,
who'd insist on the latest mobile phone or sulk in silence,
who'd complain about hardworking but strict teachers,
who'd hand in shoddy work after a week's notice
or pretend that they've left the books at home when asked by the teacher,
who'd throw tantrums if the internet is down for an hour,
"Consider yourself lucky, life was tougher during my days!"
They'd roll their eyes and say,
"Here they go again! Talking about the 'when i was your age' thing.."
[Just like I once rolled mine when my mother started to talk about hers ]
And they'd add,
"What do these adults know about our lives?"