I was in a bus heading for Alfee's school when I noticed an annoying sound. Somebody left a plastic bottle in the bus and it was rolling around as the bus moved. I looked at it and decided to pick it up when I had to alight later.
Then an old man sitting near me, beat me to it. He reached down and picked it up. Then he held on to it together with his bags of newspapers and used plastic bags. He's probably the garang guni man, I told myself. He soon got off with his load. Instead of walking off, he put his bags on the seat at the bus stop and dropped the bottle into the bin nearby.
I was speechless! While I was grumbling to myself about the lack of civic mindedness in Singaporeans, this unassuming old man just did what he thought was a naturally right thing to do. I wouldn't procrastinate or hesitate anymore!
Then I saw a very young boy and his dad board the bus. The cheerful chap sat beside another old man who looked like his day could have been better. And it did. The boy smiled at him, flashed his EZlink card proudly and attempted to make small talk. The old man was amused and grinning by the time the duo alighted.
This reminded me of what CK and I discussed the night before. His Korea-born Australian colleague noticed that Singaporeans in general are grouchy, impatient and competitive. We wear a frown and avoid eye contact with strangers. We criticize the virtues and social behaviours of western kids and teenagers yet our seemingly educated lot seems to be rated much worse.
My Caucasian neighbour, whom we always bump into in the lift, smiled and say 'good morning!' to us even though we don't know each other. Although we responded, we never initiated any conversation and that must be regarded as unfriendly or rude to non-locals. We aren't the worst though. Sometimes, I would hold the lift or ask which floor others need to go, without getting an eye contact or even a reply from them.
