Heart hardened I
I discovered a new lunching spot yesterday. At the suggestion of Richard, I ventured across the overhead bridge that spanned the AYE at the back of the office block. To my surprise, I found myself right smack in the middle of small light-industry estate - and lots of eateries. I was exploring a nearby hawker centre - I think it's called ABC Bricksworks hawker center or something similar - when I found a stall selling fish soup.
There was a long queue there and typical Singaporean senses immediately alerted me to the remote possibility that food being sold there might be worth a try. Since Dear was a fan of fish soup, I thought I might give it a try today and if it's good, perhaps I could bring her to eat it.
And so lunchtime came and I eagerly embarked on my journey across the chasm of tar and speeding metal, homing in for the hawker centre. There was no queue, which made sense, as I was early. I placed my order for a soup mixture of fried fish and sliced fish. Killing two birds with one stone but at the expense (yeah, pun intended) of higher expenses.
As I was savouring the tasty dish, I looked around and noticed the growing crowd. Not that it matters, since I already have a seat. As I was about to finish my meal, a scrawny, elderly man appeared at my side, holding out 3 packets of tissue paper in his right hand. I didn't give much thought to this "tissue seller" and waved him off. What happened next proved to be disturbing to me.
He went to the table in front of me, where a middle-aged and elderly lady were seated. The elderly lady had her back towards me but from her silver crown and attire, it isn't that difficult to see that she is anything but young. She reached for her handbag the moment the elderly man approached the table and took out some coins. I didn't see how much it was but the elderly man certainly looked happy. As he swept the coins from the table, he muttered his thanks profusely. He left the 3 packets of tissue paper on the table and reached into the plastic bag that hung loosely on his left arm for 3 more before moving on to the next table. The two dames simply resumed their meals and conversation.
As I observed the elderly man making his rounds to different tables, I was wondering how the elderly lady might have felt seeing her contemporary hawking packets of tissue paper to scrape a living, while she is enjoying a nice meal. It was then when I felt a pang of guilt. I reflected on my actions and I felt ashamed of myself. To think that I actually waved the elderly off, without so much as a look. It was one thing to reject someone; it's another to be callously rude. Perhaps I wasn't expecting anyone to buy from the elderly man, which is why when the elderly lady did, I felt real bad. I could have done the same but I simply did not.
Looking at the shrinking silhouette of elderly man, I contemplated going up to him to apologize for my actions and even, to pass him the 2 dollar note that is tucked away in my shirt's breast pocket. I closed my eyes momentarily, took a deep breathe and stood up. Then, with heavy strides, I walked in the opposite direction.
There was a long queue there and typical Singaporean senses immediately alerted me to the remote possibility that food being sold there might be worth a try. Since Dear was a fan of fish soup, I thought I might give it a try today and if it's good, perhaps I could bring her to eat it.
And so lunchtime came and I eagerly embarked on my journey across the chasm of tar and speeding metal, homing in for the hawker centre. There was no queue, which made sense, as I was early. I placed my order for a soup mixture of fried fish and sliced fish. Killing two birds with one stone but at the expense (yeah, pun intended) of higher expenses.
As I was savouring the tasty dish, I looked around and noticed the growing crowd. Not that it matters, since I already have a seat. As I was about to finish my meal, a scrawny, elderly man appeared at my side, holding out 3 packets of tissue paper in his right hand. I didn't give much thought to this "tissue seller" and waved him off. What happened next proved to be disturbing to me.
He went to the table in front of me, where a middle-aged and elderly lady were seated. The elderly lady had her back towards me but from her silver crown and attire, it isn't that difficult to see that she is anything but young. She reached for her handbag the moment the elderly man approached the table and took out some coins. I didn't see how much it was but the elderly man certainly looked happy. As he swept the coins from the table, he muttered his thanks profusely. He left the 3 packets of tissue paper on the table and reached into the plastic bag that hung loosely on his left arm for 3 more before moving on to the next table. The two dames simply resumed their meals and conversation.
As I observed the elderly man making his rounds to different tables, I was wondering how the elderly lady might have felt seeing her contemporary hawking packets of tissue paper to scrape a living, while she is enjoying a nice meal. It was then when I felt a pang of guilt. I reflected on my actions and I felt ashamed of myself. To think that I actually waved the elderly off, without so much as a look. It was one thing to reject someone; it's another to be callously rude. Perhaps I wasn't expecting anyone to buy from the elderly man, which is why when the elderly lady did, I felt real bad. I could have done the same but I simply did not.
Looking at the shrinking silhouette of elderly man, I contemplated going up to him to apologize for my actions and even, to pass him the 2 dollar note that is tucked away in my shirt's breast pocket. I closed my eyes momentarily, took a deep breathe and stood up. Then, with heavy strides, I walked in the opposite direction.
posted by hg @ 12:29
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