vehicle bogged down in mud

in my mind's eye i sometimes try to capture the picture of the kampong that i grew up in. the road leading into the kampong started off as a dirt track. after a heavy downpour, it would be water-logged in certain places and became a trap for vehicles, especially lorries. the wheels could get stuck in the soft earth. it usually required a lot of help and effort to free the lorry that had sunk into the bog.

in those kampong days, you did not ask, "why should i help?". it was something that came naturally. when you saw someone in a sticky situation, you just went forth and did your bit. it is not like today's scene where almost everyone is a spectator when someone else is in trouble or in a spot.

if there was another vehicle around and not caught in the same situation, help could be in the form of using the free vehicle to tow the stuck one out of the rut. to ensure that the stuck vehicle did not sink deeper into the quadmire, planks and stones would be placed at the wheel or wheels to provide the needed traction.

an added measure would be to get all those around to put their 'shoulders to the wheel' and in one coordinated effort, pushed the vehicle out of the soft mud. usually all the helpers would get spattered by the flying mud as the wheel/s spinned.

everyone would cheer when the vehicle was safe on firm ground. a gesture of appreciation - a word of thanks - was sufficient for these people who had been drained of their strength and had their clothes or bodies spattered by the mud. they just felt happy that they had helped someone who had come to grief in their kampong.