I dare to bring up the fact that most of us admit our dislike for or impatience with children. Not all kids in general, but usually the screaming, whining, spoilt little ones, or irritable (and sometimes irritating) teens. Of course, I know that this ‘dislike’ or ‘impatience’ is seldom displayed during a ReefWalk because we know better than to let our personal likes/dislikes/biases get in the way when we’re supposed to be spreading inspiring messages to the public. Here’s my 2 cents’ worth…

The Future Is Ours To Make. Remember images of happy, smiling children, and teens dancing with Taufik & Rui En permeating our everyday lives a few months back (no excuse… if you didn’t see it while watching TV at home, you would have seen it on TV Mobile – in the bus, at the MRT station, in the train, on big screen displays on buildings…)? It kinda gave people the impression that the statement “The future is ours to make” comes from children. But that’s not exactly right. As adults in the here & now, we are the present, and the future is OURS to make, or break, FOR the children.

We can continue living our selfish, self-absorbed lives and not leave anything behind. Here, I’m not talking abt leaving enough kids behind to avoid a greying population. Neither am I talking abt conserving what we still have for future generations. These are all issues that have been highlighted too many times already.

I’m talking abt leaving the Message behind. Making your mark, and making sure it’s set in stone, or more like set in the hearts & minds of the young, who will carry this Message like a torch to enlighten others. So when you say the FUTURE is ours to make, it actually means that the PEOPLE of the future are ours to mould. And this starts with how we connect with and inspire the children of Today.

If a child leaves a ReefWalk feeling that Kusu is not worth conserving ‘cos it’s all mud & smells like crap, remember, this little ‘brat’ will one day be the Man of Tomorrow.

The kids that scream & complain the most may one day be the Voice of the future or an important decision maker, given their ‘skilled’ vocals & power to communicate. What message do you want this kid to carry forward?

Why is the sea blue over there? Why is it brown over here? How come the anemone dun have Nemo? Why does the barnacle wanna stay on the rock? But why? But why? The overly curious kid that you wish you could whack with your pot or guidebook may one day be an environmental journalist or researcher. What would be this child’s inspiration in the future?

And don’t think the little tantrum-throwing cry baby is just too pampered or overly dramatic. Maybe one day become big time celebrity or Ah Jie leh… What cause would you like an Ah Jie or Heavenly King to stand up for?

So don’t bully them. Don’t talk down to them. Don’t give them the evil eye. Don’t instill fear. How well you manage to attract, interest, interact, and above all else, inspire a child, may be just what he/she needs to kickstart a lifelong passion and love for nature. The children who come for ReefWalks are our true VIPs. They are the ones who will say, “Papa, please don’t order shark’s fin soup anymore”. And ‘Papa’ will listen to his child more than to his wife. They are the ones who will insist, “Mummy, I don’t want to learn ballet. I want to know more about corals.” And ‘Mummy’ will still send little one off to ballet class, but probably also find a way for her to study corals. Parents will do almost anything to give their kids a good future. And so should we.

Children’s Day isn’t just a day for kids. It’s for all those who are role models in their lives – parents, teachers, mentors, guides. We must also remember that we were once kids, and realise that that kid is still very much a part of who we are. From the way we walk & talk, live & breathe. We still stumble & fall. We still complain & whine at times. We still get excited over trivial things & ask many questions. Nobody’s perfect. Young or old.

I don’t wanna sound like Whitney Houston, but the children are the future. Little minds longing for knowledge. Little hearts longing for direction. Little souls longing for inspiration.

We can either make ‘em, or break ‘em.

It is a dark and quiet night. A full and yellow moon rises above, lighting up the lonely streets of Changi.

Authorities thought they had done a good job of ‘cleaning’ Changi of its late night ‘workers’, but here, a Lady of the Night appears, dressed in her best ‘work’ attire. She scours the area, looking for the perfect catch. And then, the action begins…..

“Oh, Alfie! So big!” — “Wah! Your thing is so long!” — “Oi, Sayang, don’t go in, go out so much lah… I’m in a very uncomfortable position” — “Oh, yeah… that’s good! Do that again…yeah…”

Changi - Just Come Once and You’ll Be Begging for More.

Now let me introduce you my handsome model, Alfie, better known as an Alpheus shrimp. Here’s Alfie posing with his BIG claw and LONG feelers:

And Alfie again, DOING what he does best:

This snapping shrimp entertained me while I was waiting for the tide to go out. He just kept on going, IN and OUT of his burrow, digging, picking bits of shells and stones, decorating his ‘home’. If I had extra camera batteries and like 10 gigs of memory on card, and if I didn’t get a major leg cramp from squatting in an awkward position on the shore for so long, I probably would have made a ‘low budget’ movie out of it. Heh heh…

This blog was actually written a couple of months back but I was saving it for a ‘lull period’ when we had nothing to Klog. Sorry for the ‘RA’ bit at the start! Had to get your attention right? So some of these shots were taken EARLY this morning, and some, on another morning when I was supposed to be ‘somewhere else’ instead of here on a beach, getting excited over little Penaeuses and friends.

Penaeus sp.

So apart from these prawny guys, crabs of all sizes, colours and disguises scurried about. Unfortunately, most of my pictures came out rather blurred; Lack of sleep & food = shaky hands. Got a whole lotta hermit crabs and other dudes up to some hanky panky on the beach too, but I’ll save that for another korny Klog

The original plan for my visit to Changi Beach was to study seaweed and seagrass ‘cos I feel nobody appreciates how useful these are, and how bare, boring and barren the shore would be without them. But I got distracted by so many other dudes!

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