What I am about to share may not be very well understood by those who don’t live in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, many elderly living on poverty like those around 70s or more very often try to earn their living by picking up paper boxes in the street and gather them and resell them at like I think HK$1 (US$1.50) per kilo? Just last weekend, the moment I stepped out of the office with a colleague, we saw a very small built elderly grandma bending her problematic back/neck and pushing a cart filled full of paper boxes way higher than her height in the street. My colleague quickly searched her handbag and I asked her what she was trying to find, she said she has a cake coupon to give to this old lady, I then saw around 4 coupons with her, I dazzled my eyes and asked: “You always carry these with you?” She said: “People told me the grandma doesn’t like cash and does not mind cake coupon!” Then we ran after the old lady while she was pushing, and when she knew that we are not ‘bad’ people, she commanded us to push the trolley for her!! My colleague pushed it together with her for like 5 seconds, and they were literally blocking the whole road and many cars were flashing at them coz they couldn’t get through but probably embarrassed to hurry 2 women…I quickly took over and pushed the trolley to the side of the road and letting the cars move. And grandma rushed me and my colleague to push quicker! HUH! Strictly speaking we were passerby, and then I starred at my colleague and we said, lets continue for her!? Then old grandma was like a General behind us screaming at us coz she is rushing for the 7pm deadline and instructing us where to push the pulley of paper boxes, it’s actually very very hard to navigate and we 2 much stronger build people took a lot of strength to push the whole thing, and boxes came off! We felt so sorry and embarrassed coz grandma did not drop anything at all…and the road was bumpy and rocking the cart and I felt cars behind me were about to honk me, and then the cars in front were blocking and I have to find ‘strategic’ spot to move the cart! It’s soooooo difficult! After like 10 min of walk and pushing and running, we finally arrived at a street corner where we started to see many boxes and paper cartons piled up. A man suddenly with a bottle of beer on one hand and the other with a ciggi on the other signaled us to stop. We successfully sent the boxes to this ‘dealer’ in time!!! I bet he has never seen someone like me and my colleague dropping off the boxes. When we turned our back, we saw old lady holding 2 boxes (those which I dropped) and smiling…She caught the deadline! YEAH! I have never done anything like that…I visited street sleeper, I distributed food to homeless, I chatted with prison cell mates, but I never push trolley in the street before. People were starring at me I know, but I don’t care coz I have no time to fuss further. I finally have a ‘feel’ of how it feels to be an elderly trying to find a living in the street. I am speechless and still am. God gives me a very compassionate colleague which in turn gives me a chance to experience something valuable. Grandma lady, one day if I see you again, I will help you push the trolley again.
Quote of the Day
Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:32
I pray to God that I will cherish every chance He gives me in my life to taste what He wants me to do.
Postscript Quote
He thought that the world would make more rapid progress without the burden of old people.
Gabriel Garcia Marqueze, Love in the Time of Cholera