"Nostalgia… Motivational — Bury the Hatchet"
Post on: January 4, 2019
The year was 1988 – the kampong kids at Redhill estate would spend the whole day doing what they loved most – playing soccer! And sometimes such matches became ugly when the boys roughed up. More worrisome was when some amongst them took it personal and bore grudges. They had their ‘revenge’ in the ensuing matches where pent-up frustrations were unleashed, often resulting in a free- for- all brawl.
The kid’s shenanigan distressed Dave, my childhood buddy. Dave and I had just completed our GCE “A” levels examination and were awaiting enlistment into the army. We were much older and level-headed — hence naturally looked upon as the boys’ mentors. Besides tutoring them with their schoolwork, we coached them soccer and updated them with the ‘love of their lives’ — the latest soccer news! (This was an era prior to the ‘social media’ age and we were the conduit where the boys got their soccer updates).
One day during the coaching session, Dave confided in me that he wanted the kids to mend their waywardness — their behaviour was toxic and would disintegrate if not put in check. I was curious about how he would “reform” the kids. I innocuously asked if he would use the Rotan to make them behave.
“Rotan doesn’t work on these kids,” Dave rationalised, “they are street-smart urchins and would hit me back in retaliation.”
He asked me to patiently observe the drama which was to unfold… Dave told the kids he wanted to conduct an experiment pertaining to ‘lessons of life’ and if everyone was game for it. They were excited and everyone enthusiastically volunteered. The lesson began with much aplomb.
Dave explained what the experiment entailed – everyone had to bring a plastic bag filled with potatoes. Each potato depicted the number of persons whom they hated. For example, if Stanley hated 2 persons, he had to fill the plastic bag with two potatoes and so on.
With the arrival of the items, they were told to peel the potatoes. The kids did it gleefully, shouting their enemy’s name as they peeled the potatoes with gusto. Next was the interesting part —
There were stipulations to the experiment – the boys had to be honest and carry their ‘enemies’ to each soccer matches for the next four days in the plastic bag. They were not allowed to throw away their possession till the experiment ended. Dave and I were to meet them on the fourth day for a debrief and a sharing session.
Soon the potatoes began to rot and gave out a pungent smell. It was sheer agony bringing the potatoes for their soccer matches in its repulsive state. The ones with more potatoes had to carry heavier bags with a bigger stench. Poor Rakesh had a teeny-weeny body filled with animosity – he had 4 such potatoes in his possession!
Everyone was elated when the fourth day finally arrived – four days was tantamount to 4 months of carrying their burden. The boys excitedly brought their ‘enemies’ to Dave at the usual basketball court where the matches were held.
They boys were baffled by the experiment and wondered what the implications were. One by one, they spoke out animatedly, curious about why a sensible mentor like Dave would make them go through such a ‘silly’ ordeal.
Dave placated the boisterous lot as he began, “I know all of you feel disgusted by the stench and rot of the potatoes. This is akin to what happens when you carry hatred in your hearts. It contaminates your heart and stays with you for the long haul. Four days of carrying it is agonising. How will it feel like carrying such contamination for the rest of your life?” Dave enlightened. “Throw away your hatred – forgive and set yourself free.”
The impressionable boys began to realise their folly as the meaning of the experiment began to sink in. They took it in the right spirit… they buried their grudges and played like true sportsmen, enjoying their games henceforth.
Dave nailed it with his experiment. I was bowled over by Dave’s ingenuity and complimented him on coming up with such a novel way of instilling the right values. He had read about this inspirational story and wanted to transform the boys and hence came up with the brainwave.
As I reminisce, it’s been more than 30 years since I last met Dave and the boys. I hope the simple but powerful ‘potato’ experiment in the soccer arena had ingrained invaluable lessons into the lives of the boys.
#JollyGoodTimes #NostalgiaMotivationBuryTheHatchet #ShajiThomasVarughese
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Photo 1 and photo 2: pixabay.com
