One fine morning during the school holidays, the Tan Family decided to go on a picnic. Mrs Tan and Ah Girl prepared delicious tuna sandwiches, with lots of tuna, tomato, cucumber and lettuce, which they wrapped in two layers of cling wrap. You see, Mrs Tan knew a friend who worked in the cling wrap factory and occasionally brought back free cling wrap. Mrs Tan believed in the maxim “if it’s free, take more (even though you don’t need it)”, so she had a cupboard full of cling wrap, and felt that she could afford to use it generously.
While they prepared the food, Mr Tan and Ah Boy drove to the sundry shop at the corner of the road to get paper cups and plates and big black rubbish bags. Mrs Tan and Ah Girl worked fast. By the time the others came back, the picnic basket was piled high with sandwiches, water, biscuits and tissue paper.
So the Tan Family set off together to the park at the end of the road. It was actually only a five-minute walk but they drove because Ah Boy complained that walking was too tiring, and Ah Girl didn’t want to get her clothes sweaty and smelly. They found a pretty spot underneath a shady tree and spread the big black rubbish bags to sit on.
It really was a lovely day, and the park was a beautiful place. Mr Tan sat back and breathed in the invigorating air, taking in the beautiful scenery; Ah Girl ran around plucking flowers (which she always said she would press, but never got around to doing it); Ah Boy lay down on his stomach and tried to see what grass tasted like; and Mrs Tan fussed around, distributing food and drinks.
The meal was delicious and the Tans sat silently munching. Mrs Tan finished first and burped loudly. Then Mr Tan leaned back against the tree and sighed contentedly. “Ahhh,” he said, patting his stomach. “Ahhh,” said Ah Girl and Ah Boy, copying him. “Ahhh,” said Mrs Tan because she didn’t want to be left out.
Mr Tan picked his teeth with a toothpick and flicked it aside. Ah Boy finished his biscuit and stuffed the packet under a nearby bush. Just then, a sweet little kitten wandered up to them. “Meow” it called. It could not have been less prepared for what ensued.
“Aahh!” screamed Ah Girl and ran behind the tree. “Boo! BOO!” shouted Mrs Tan at the cat, before she lost her nerve and joined Ah Girl. Meanwhile, Ah Boy grabbed a handful of toothpicks and started throwing them at the kitten. Fortunately, Mr Tan rushed over and stopped him. Quite naturally, the kitten had run away as far as it could.
The Tans were too shaken by this incident to continue their picnic. They swept all their rubbish to one side. Mr Tan had already started back to the car with the picnic basket, leaving Mrs Tan to clean up. Mrs Tan however, reasoned that since the nearby dustbin was already overflowing, there was no point in throwing the rubbish there. She would do just as well to leave it where it was.
“Where shall we go next?” asked Mr Tan when they were all seated in the car with the engine running. “Mamak stall,” said Ah Girl eagerly. “Oh,” put in Mrs Tan, “the one where can ‘tar pow’ in the nice white box… what they call again ah… ‘stai-row-fome’. Okay, okay, we go there.”
And so the Tan Family drove off to the mamak stall happily, having enjoyed a delightful morning. They say ignorance is bliss. Indeed, the Tans were blissfully unaware that they were continually impacting negatively on nature, conservation and global warming.
