Read with Caution

Back in the 70s, the main Singapore newspaper, The Straits Times, posted a notice saying that Santa was in the house. The notice encouraged kids to call in where they can tell Santa what we wanted for Christmas. So I decided to call Santa.

I was at a relative’s house when I made the call.  It took a while to get through, and we assumed it’s because everybody was calling.

After dialing so many times within an hour, I succeeded. Santa greeted me and asked me what I wanted. A remote control airplane, I replied. Santa then asked me to pass the phone to one of my parents. I said they weren’t around. So he asked me to pass the phone to another senior person. I gave the phone to a relative.

After my relative hung up the phone, he told me Santa requested for my home address. I thought he was personally going to come over with my present. So I waited.

A week later, a letter came from the newspaper’s office addressed to my mom. In the letter, Santa encouraged her to buy the gift for me. That’s it… no check, no voucher — nothing. Yes, indeed, my childhood was pretty traumatic for my parents.

Moral of the story: If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re misinformed.