+ Vicinity | Libraries Part1

Tampines Avenue 5 Pedestrian Walkway

On the bus with my son to his doctor. An interesting journey it was.

Yes, he caught the flu. Stuffy nose and cough kept him and well, us too, awake most of Sunday night. He kept going to the toilet to blow his nose and had to sleep propped up to keep the airway clear comfortably.

The medicine I gave him was not doing its job. So this morning, we were in bus Service 291 to Dr. Yoong at Tampines Street 32, his doctor since we shifted to Tampines, some 10 years ago.

Tampines West Children Library at Blk 938 Avenue 5

The "Child"

He pointed out to the Tampines Children's Library that he frequented almost every day after kindergarten class because he just loves reading.

"I loved to go to this library when I was small, you know" he said to me. His mother has been taking him there all the time.

"Oh, why don't you go there anymore?" I asked ignorantly.

"I've out-grown it. It's for kindergartens," he explained.

"I see..." I replied but was cut short, as if I was teasing him. He had not finish his sentence.

"The books are so childish. For little kids, not for me anymore" he stressed.

"Ah..." I replied nodding my head in agreement.

Like every child, he just wants to grow-up fast for some reasons. Unlike me, at this age, I would rather take it slow!

We continued talking other stuff and goofing-off in the bus.

Always end-up doing the re-enactment of silly scenes from Spongebob Squarepants. Somehow or rather, we did one particular scene from "Scrubs" the TV series that aired last night - when John was asked by Carla for his opinion while Carla and Chris were having a lover's spat.

John tried to get away from giving any and in turn "roped" in Laverne, to escape. Laverne was literally "dragged in", mumbling while she was roped and the ankles and dragged across the hospital floor into the conversation.

That was hilarious. We laughed out loud last night and laughed out loud in the bus too, imagining the scene playing in out heads.

Tampines Regional Library along Avenue 7

The "Pre-Teenager"

The bus stopped for a while at Tampines Bus Interchange to pick up more passengers and passed by Tampines Regional Library, his present and most favourite library because of the many interesting selection of books on facts available.

Yes, books on facts. I remember he had difficulties to write a book review when what he read were mostly not about stories, but facts... If I may list a few

• A First Atlas
• How Things Work
• Animals & Nature
• Tell Me About
• Tell Me Where
• Tell Me When

There are more of these kinds of books on the shelves in his room. It is not bad, it is great in fact!

From small, he would choose books on cats and fishes, just about animals - what they are and how to take care of them, and automotive - trains, cars, aeroplanes and ships - the many types and how they function.

From large colourful picture books to books that are so full of facts for children, books that even his father discovered a few cool facts and learnt a lot on facts that we use to take for granted or oblivious to for the longest time.

These libraries have always been his eyes to the world. So much information, so intriguing to him.

Yikes! The Quizzes

I would always be "put on the spot" when we travel on the bus with his "pop quiz" on facts.

It is kind of embarrassing to not know an everyday factual answer, it is even worse to be told the right answer by a 7-year-old in a crowded bus. It was interesting to listen WHY things are the way they are from him.

Now he is 10, the quizzes get tougher and yes, more embarrassing to realize that I am quite ignorant of most the basic facts and are still learning... from him.

He innocently thinks nothing of it, he just thinks that it is fun.

Well, it is worth the embarrasment as long as it sharpens his memory from what he had read and understood.

All those information, all those facts! And here I thought I knew it enough. Wow... never under-estimate the power of denial.

With the constant "quizzes on the buses" I got to re-affirm knowledge on facts and got corrected a few here and there. Thanks to my son for drilling me in preparations for "SAP of life" test.

Our journey continued on...