I helped someone
the other night. It was just a random lady who’s bicycle chain came of the gears. She needed someone to prop up her bike while she tired to place the chain back on the gears.
At first I just held her bike for her while she was trying hard to put the chain back. Then I could she her problem, it was one of those guards you put over the chain near the pedal so your trousers doesn’t get stuck in them. I told her I’d go back and get a screwdriver and asked her to wait there. After getting my screwdriver everything was done in less than 5 minutes.
She was rather grateful but I could tell she was still surprised that I actually took the effort to go home get a screw driver and come back and get my hands dirty. In fact most people are taken aback by my willingness to help not just that lady the other night.
Honestly speaking, I don’t really see what the problem. It strikes me when people approach me for help and sometimes I just do what I can to help and my effort seems more than what they were asking for.
I guess its just me, most of the time I don’t mind helping people out. And I don’t think you should hold back your effort when someone genuinely needs your help. That’s right genuinely need your help, not those who pretend to need help but are just lazy asses. And just how do you identify these lazy bums? Well through experience really which brings me to another point.
However I don’t normally help people when it comes close to anything dealing with money. Call me a materialist or whatever but the feeling of losing money just upsets me. I can still remember the incident that changed my attitude towards lending money to those who are “desperate”.
I just reached the gate to my house after walking back from the bus stop. You know regular college kid, back pack slung across one shoulder, text books and files balanced in the other arm while trying to find the key hole to the lock with the other. Out of nowhere, a car screeched to a halt behind me and this old man, I say in his late 50’s, starts asking me for money.
The story he told me was that his wife was just in an accident, and she’s on the way to the hospital and he’s rushing there. He needed some money to get some petrol because he was low. He saw the reluctance on my face, as I can show expressions pretty well with my face, and said he’d pay me back once everything was over. He even told he’d was renovating a house two blocks away from mine and I could go there and look for him to get my money back.
At that time it seemed to be legit. The clothes he was wearing with paint spots over them, the occasional dash of plaster or cement stain that cant really be washed away, his fingers were covered in either plaster or cement while trembling and gripping hard on his steering wheel. He’s tone of voice, not demanding, but desperate.
I took out ten bucks, a weeks worth of lunch money in college and gave it to him. And he sped away tires screeching almost how it sounded when he stopped right behind me. Everything took place in less than a minute, I was out ten bucks, and at that point in time hoped his wife was alright.
It didn’t bother me much after that day passed but when it came to the end of the month I was out of cash. And then I remembered why. And I had a that sinking feeling of being conned outa my money.
A few days later my dad and I went for our daily evening walks around the neighborhood after dinner. We walked to the two blocks. I couldn’t see which house was being renovated, which kind of makes sense cause its been almost 3 weeks, perhaps they were done? I did see a skip on a pavement along the street, but the houses around it looked pretty un-renovated to me.
Oh well, out ten bucks. Lesson learnt. I do want to believe I did help someone. But I do tend to think negatively about people sometimes.
But anyway this is getting abit stupid. Point is I don’t mind helping anyone as long as it doesn’t involve money.
