Giving Your Seat In The Bus

I was in the bus 502 going towards Orchard when I saw this family of three boarding. There was a kid (around 4 years old), his mother and his grandmother. I was standing along the railings at the side of the bus, waiting to see if anyone in the bus would give their seat up for this senior lady.

They walked along the aisle towards the back. There was an empty seat. The mother told the grandmother to sit, however, she declined and asked for the kid to sit instead which he did. In the end the mother and grandmother stood up. Interestingly, or should I say sadly, no one gave their seat to the grandmother. The commuters around seemed busy staring in space.

Anyway, there was this stop where someone alighted. The grandmother sat on it. The mother sat on the kid's seat with the kid on her lap. Before the grandmother could warm the seat, there was an old lady, more senior than her who took the bus. Surprisingly, no one gave their seat. In the end, she (the grandmother) had to give her seat up for this old lady who was more senior than her. Sad huh? The only comforting thing was that both senior ladies were of different races. The act of giving her seat was both an act that displayed civic-mindedness and racial harmony in society.

So what was I doing? I was leaning against the railing looking at this whole event. I had no seats to offer.

A few stops passed. There was this stop where someone boarded the bus. What's interesting about that person is that he looks normal except for the fact that he was wearing a denim skirt. Upon closer look, I finally realised that "he" was a "she".

From today's bus trip, I can conclude that we live in a very interesting society where people doze off automatically when a senior citizen stands beside them, ladies who look like guys yet still wear a skirt and how far Orchard is from Jurong.

Tags: Bus Stories, Family, Happenings, Racial Harmony, Singapore, Society