Thursday, September 13, 2007
i left school earlier today and as i was walking from the boon lay bus interchange to the train station, theres this old man desperately trying to sell tissues to the passerbys.
he has this look in his eyes.
i looked in another direction,
acting blur and not wanting to acknowledge his presence.
but my conscience is pricked.
i know he needs help but i choose to ignore
"someone else will buy from him"
"maybe he is a fake"
but somehow i dun feel good.
it's the GUT feeling that he is not a fake
and he has not earned much for the day.
probably he has a handicapped son or a wife suffering from dementia at home
maybe he needs money for medical bills..
maybe... maybe..
my whole head was filled with the look on his face
i turned back from the train station
i digged into my pocket and found 1buck
and i walked towards him. and i looked in his eyes
at that moment, he smiled. he knows im gonna buy from him haha
he was happy. very happy in fact.
"uncle, tissue duo shao qian (how much)?"
"shui bian lah.. gui kak ji ma eh sai... gam sia gam sia (anything. a few cents also can. thank you thank you)" he said in hokkien
he pushed 5 packs of tissue to me and one angpow with 4 numbers on it. i gave him 1buck and i took a pack of tissue.
i told myself, even if he is a fake it doesnt matter
cuz 1buck for the exchange of a guilt-free trip home, a soul at ease and making someone else happier. why not?
the other day i helped this blind man cross the road to bring him to the bus stop (if i said this to my primary school teacher when im late from school, she confirm dun believe me ) hahaha
he told me he sold only one pack of biscuit for the day.
he asked me to buy a pack from him but i said i dun have enough cash. he didnt force me cuz i was already kind enough to walk him to the bus stop.
these underpriviledged souls are normally not the forceful type
they wish that people could help them, but they are different from salesman.
they dun pester at all. so why do rich singaporeans turn them away ?
people can spend 10bucks on a pint of ice cream
but cant even spare just 1 dollar or 50cents to help
this old man in the picture he used to sell tissues in yishun
i saw him a few times on the streets and i saw him on tv once..
it was some charity show and he appeared on screen because his wife has some illness and he was down with stroke. the place they stayed in was dilapidated. i can never forget what i saw on tv. i never saw him again thereafter.
it's really not easy standing on the streets the entire day under the hot sun
if they are not desperate, they wouldnt have done that.
and i totally detest able-bodied man sitting on the streets asking for money. they shouldnt be begging when they can actually work. mcdonalds and singapore food industries hire lowly educated people and old folks as well. young man should make themselves more useful
xoxo,amy8:38 PM
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