Gracious act

Today, as I took the bus home, I noticed a gracious act that really warmed my heart. This is what happened.

The bus was packed to the brim today. Standing with the majority of us was a frail, old Chinese man with a hunched back and head with a few pathetic strands of white hair. Sitting beside him was an Indian lady who was rather plum and listening to her i-pod. At first, I thought she was going to ignore the old man by pretending to listen to her i-pod, but contrary to my thoughts, she stood up, got off her seat and offered it to the old man. The old man hesitated for a while but after much persuasion by the Indian lady, accepted the act of kindness readily.

Although this was just a small act of kindness, I think it goes a long way to show how Singapore has progressed over the years. A few years back, this would have been a rare occurrence, but nowadays, more and more people are beginning to give way to the elderly, whether it is in the bus or on the MRT. This also shows that people are not so concerned over the race of a person and are now learning to accept people of other races.