Car Fun

It's official.

Sergeant 69, Stanley's first car, will have to die.

If Stanley could describe an ideal trusty ride, it would have to be his black Hyundai.

Because once you go black...

Never mind.

Stanley's Sergeant 69 - aptly knighted because his car license plate was SGT 69XX - had also been our trusty ride for the longest time.

And boy, did we have the ride of our lives.

Since Stanley bought his first car, a lot of fun times were spent there.

Carl our dense friend and I had been the main beneficiaries, having always been chauffeured around by Stanley's Sergeant 69.

When our sex bunny friend Stanley made the grim announcement to us on a Wednesday morning in 2017 that Sergeant 69 would have to go, all of us reacted with pity.

We've grown with the car.

We've seen how a newly-qualified Stanley steer Sergeant 69 clumsily and executed what we later termed as a 25-point turn in a car park, to how he now cruises on the roads with ease today.

Stanley's car had also been a place where some of our most meaningful and important conversations took place.

Many a times, we would sit in Stanley's car deciding where to go and we would very often go off topic and get carried away chatting - sometimes for an hour - before we actually set off for a dinner location.

Sometimes, we would chat for hours in Stanley's car before Carl unwillingly stepped out and called it a night. 

Once, the three of us drove to Changi Hospital to check out haunted places, Stanley all the while squealing and driving, scaring himself by pointing at every thing that moved (they turned out to be tree branches). That night ended with something more palatable as we drove to Changi Village to check out Commando haunts, Stanley all the while squealing and driving, scaring all the army boys by pointing at every thing that moved.

We also had other mini adventures including impromptu midnight drives to JB.

And, some years ago, when Carl was at his lowest point (he had broken up with his long-time boyfriend and felt he had no market value), Stanley came up with this bright idea of getting Carl to cruise for gay men along Ann Siang Hill while we watched his progress and kept count for him, from afar inside Sergeant 69.

We also had many meaningful life conversations including the night when Carl and I accompanied Stanley to get tested for HIV (after he had very foolishly had sex without protection). The three of us talked about life and spent 35 minutes comforting and encouraging a very petrified Stanley before he stepped out of Sergeant 69 to get pricked. In any other context, Stanley would need little encourage to get pricked (Stanley turned out to be negative - and the sigh of relief he shared with us later led to another 30 minutes of reflection of his life inside Sergeant 69).

And so, we decided that Sergeant 69 deserved a proper send off.

Arrangements were quickly made for the Saturday night service. 

Sergeant 69 would pick us up for the very last time at two locations - a route Sergeant 69 had come to be so familiar with after all these years.

First, Sergeant 69's final journey would begin the moment he exits the gates of Stanley's three-storey house in the northern part of Singapore.

He would then make a short, solemn track just down the road to my mum's place where I'd be picked up.

The journey would then head west to Tiong Bahru area where Carl lived.

We would then, out of respect and tradition, observe no silence whatsoever but instead, sit inside Sergeant 69 and ponder on our lives at Carl's car park lot.

Sergeant 69's final journey would come to an end at Kranji the next day, where he would be laid to rest.

And so that night, we held a grand ceremony in honour of Sergeant 69.

The plan was to drive up to Mount Faber and watch the stars.

After picking up Carl and getting picnic supplies at Holland Village Cold Storage (plastic wine glasses, champagne, nacho chips, lots of nuts and bottled water), we drove up the hill.

It was a really breezy night.

The Singapore night sky view was impressive.

And the three of us were happy to get together.

And in keeping with the theme of heart-to-heat talks, we had one final one inside Sergeant 69.

"He was a good companion," Stanley said grimly as we stepped into Sergeant 69 before we left Mount Faber.

Carl the dense one looked at Stanley and me nervously, not sure when he should start mourning and throwing flower stalks at the car. 

"He had sheltered my friends in the rain, and seen them home night after night."

"And he had hosted other friends, making us feel at home, One Night Stand after One Night Stand."

Carl shifted uncomfortably in the back seat.

He tilted to his side, swiped his buttocks cautiously, and, as if he had been a victim of chemical warfare, started sniffing his hands suspiciously for questionable substance.

Stanley paid no attention to Carl.

"Sergeant 69 had been through the ups and downs of Singapore - from road humps to isolated car park humps," Stanley said, wiping away mock tears.

Carl immediately wiped his hand on Stanley's sleeve on hearing that.

"And now, dear friends, let us say goodbye to 69."

Carl said meekly: "Yes, goodbye, Sergeant 69, and can we go? I would like to wash my hands and jeans now."



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In loving memory of Sergeant 69, 2007 - 2017.
Always remembered by owner Stanley, and friends Carl and Adam.
Remembered very fondly, Stanley wanted me to add.