needful activity

I saw something that moved me deeply. It really was a fairly plain sight. I was driving to the library and was caught at a red light. To my left, Isaw a young man walking with an elderly woman ... his mother? He held a dandy shopping carrier in one hand; she held a walking aid - the kind that fans out into four small legs as it reached the ground. To my dismay, they turned the small corner and stood waiting for the light to turn green. To the dismay of the long queue of drivers now behind me, I stopped long enough for them to cross a full lane of the road before I inched slowly around the bend. She hobbled slowly. He did not hold her or even touch her; but he kept a half-step behind her and turned his body a little so he could see her steps. My heart warmed; and my mind swarmed with thoughts.
Why wasn't he at work? Where were they headed? They were not in the vincinity of any clinics (probably the most frequented place for someone her age). Perhaps a visit to a sister. The whirring of the world around stopped as I looked at the pair. One with a life ahead, one with most of her life now behind her. For him, life needed him to stride with the quick steps of an determined achiever; for her, life would often be an unsteady re-tracing of steps...but now, they walked together askance, slowly, slowly.
Here wasn't fabricated soppiness. He could be son, kindly neighbour, a religious affiliate. It didn't matter. He was there for her when she needed someone. He could be at the arcade, in the library, hanging out with guys, ogling girls. But here he was, in the middle of the afternoon, walking down Ang Mo Kio Ave 8 with an old woman; careful that she would be safe.
Now how many of us count that as worthy activity today? The steps they take are small and add not a whit to the grand wheels of economy. When I arrived at the library, there was much hustle. Students were decked out on every avaliable spae - in the cafe -- most of them around a basket of fried snacks and the fifty perent discounted cuppa. Busy with their own lives, and dreams, and apetites.
Being available for someone else. Not many of us count such needful activity today.

my swearing neighbour and her weight of love

as those who know me know, i am a feline lover. yup, it cat's rule and dogs drool for me. (i do like dogs, but they do drool).
one day when i came home, i found this notice at the lift landing:
"stop leaving your kittens at my corridor! i will CURSE you!"

that was strong. wow, the person who put up this sign must detest animals, i thought to myself.

well lo, yesterday i met the person who put up the sign. it was none other than the rather famous-in-the-nighbourhood cat-lady. she lives on the ground floor and has several cats outside her home on 24-7 surveillance duty.

she spewed the curses not out of hate for animals but for love of them. for every unwanted animal she finds at her door, she has to expend time and money to send them to the SPCA. i found out she works as a home-service masseue after her cleaning job's pay package suffered a dramatic 200-dollar reduction.

the weight of love.

she totally loses it that people will be so heartless and take her so much for granted.

i think those who dispose of their kitties at her place must have rationalised their way without thought for her. i was proved right when i bumped into someone and shared her plight. The reply: "but she loves cats what!"
She does love cats but she has not signed up to be the feline-rescue mission of the estate!

this only shows me one thing: it is so easy for us to think along our line of thought and completely miss another (perhaps more valid) viewpoint altogether.

as this episode goes to show, we can really get on each other's nerves without intending to. the only cure it seems would be to feel some other nerves on a regular basis - practice empathy - then, such wildly maddening things need not plague our communities small and large.