Every visit to the nearby jogging track is a journey down memory lane for me.
It runs along Pandan Canal from Commonwealth Avenue West to Clementi Road. I discovered it a few days after moving into my Dover Close East flat in 1982.
The track is about 2km long. So it was then ideal to practice my 2.4km run that was compulsory for National Service reservists to complete every year.
On some evenings, my wife and I would wheel my daughter there in her pram.
One day, my three-year-old decided to stretch her legs and came across a column of black ants.
She was fascinated and we watched the ants for more than 15 minutes.
Passers-by would peer over our shoulders to see what we were looking at. Many ended up shaking their heads in disappointment.
Even now, I remember the incident whenever I pass that spot.
We visited the track rather frequently and it was impossible not to notice the other regulars and vice versa. Soon, we were greeting each other.
The track went through several upgrades and so did the surroundings.
When the HDB flats at Ghim Moh Valley were being built, there were many snakes that were released from their homes.
Some would appear on the track.
In a rather funny incident, a group of five women came across a 2m-long green snake resting across the track.
They were seriously discussing whether to call the National Environment Agency or the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society to deal with the snake.
Then came either a Filipino or Indonesian helper. She calmly picked up a stick, lifted the snake and dropped it in the grass at the side of the track.
It quickly slithered away and normal life resumed.
The track was also a catwalk for the changing trends.
In the beginning, there were several roller-skaters. Then, online skating – or rollerblading – became the in-thing.
Some years later, there would be youngsters who would race up and down the track on their personal mobility devices.
I never understood where the exercise component resided in that activity.
Now, it is cycling.
Fashions have also changed. I belong to the generation which exercised in our old clothes. New clothes are for more auspicious activities.
However, these days, it is not uncommon to see svelte damsels jogging in brand-new sports bras and tights.
There is also a rather elderly gentleman on a unicycle. That’s a bicycle with only one wheel. It is not a Penny Farthing which features a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel.
I haven’t seen him for several weeks and hope all’s well with him.
As I grew older, my exercise regimen has also changed. Instead of jogging, it is now brisk walking.
Even the brisk has been affected. In the past, I would overtake people. Now, I get overtaken by many who look older than I am.
Alas, one day, I may be in a wheelchair but I will keep coming back to the track – for the memories.
