Saturday, October 10, 2009

We Don't Need Good Samaritans, Just People With Common Sense

Tonight, I witnessed something that convinces me further of just how flawed human nature is. We were leaving uptown damansara after my mother picked up some food for the people at home when we saw an old(ish) man fall down at the side of the road. The spot where he fell infringes on the middle of the road where the cars usually drove past. Concerned, we slowed down, intending to stop and give a helping hand. He was accompanied by his wife and she had just managed to pull him up when he fell down for the second time.

At that point, we stopped by the other side of the road, quite hastily and my husband jumped out of the car to help him up (for those of you who don't know, I recently had an operation and I am unable to even walk very fast, let alone "jump"to anyone's rescue.

Just as my husband scrambled to get the car door open, the car behind us attempted to ZOOM past, despite the fact that a man had very obviously fallen for the second time and that he ran the risk of being hit and severely injured. In exasperation,my husband of course gestured for the bugger to WAIT LAH ASSHOLE (not quite so eloquently, but those are the choice words I would LOVE to spew into his face had I been able to), ran across, helped him up off the middle of the road and escort him and his wife to his car.

Before I talk about that idiot driver behind us, I just feel like sharing something.

I had already felt slightly sad at watching this man fall twice and seeing his wife struggle to pull him up. When they were about to walk towards the car, the man turned his body to where our car was in order to grab a hold of my husband's hand, and my heart almost broke. The look on his face somehow opened up memory gates. His expression looked EXACTLY the way my late-grandfather looked, after he started getting sick. He looked confused, embarassed, in pain, helpless, vulnerable. And I cannot even begin to describe the way I felt when I saw him.

Anyway, to that driver, shame on you. You don't even need to be a good samaritan. You just have to have common sense. Does that parking spot or whatever crap it was you were rushing towards that just couldn't frigging wait really worth someone else's life (and car door, but that isn't the issue here)? Are you just so completely stupid or are you just that cold-hearted? Ugh.

So after my husband brought him back to his car (kesian, the family had just arrived and were about to have dinner. Needless to say, they cancelled their plans and either went home or to a doctor) we found out that the uncle had had a stroke or something before which had rendered him weak and unable to speak. Before my husband left his side, the uncle looked at him and nodded a few times. My husband turned to his wife and she said "Dia nak cakap terima kasih"

I hope he turned out okay.

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