I heard of his madness, the one where he leans over and ask with a glazed look,
“Have you finished with those biscuits?”
Only for one to cringe and reply,
“Really, I’ve had enough….thank you.”
He proceeds to crush the biscuits in a saucer only to disappear away humming a tune. It was a form of madness, many said.
One day when I knocked on his door to discuss my Ph.D. dissertation everything proceeded quite sanely, till of course, his renowned madness surfaced, when he asked the question,
“Have you finished with the biscuits?”
“Yes.” I replied gingerly.
As he began to crush the biscuits into a saucer, I did the same in an attempt to share in his madness – I had read somewhere, one should seek to imitate the actions of others to gain their trust and confidence.
THE INTELLIGENT SINGAPOREAN 