As I said earlier, the only thing I can't accept here is the sight of old women begging.
I went to get a few groceries last night. There was a poor old woman begging in front of the corner store. My neighbourhood is middle-class and the store is nothing special: only a few aisles of canned goods, frozen meats, deli items, breads, yoghurts and cleaning supplies.
Everyone ignored. I can't imagine how it would feel to see people coming in and out of a store carrying food. You know they have money because they're there to buy. Her hand was trembling and people just pushed her aside.
I decided to buy her some food, but then realised that this would be impractical. Almost everything needed a can opener, cutlery or a refrigerator. Then I decided to give her money. The lineup was very long and I was worried that she would leave before I got to the door. Luckily, she was still there. I pressed a 100,000 lei bill into her hand. She crossed herself and blessed me.
I should have given her more. I should have brought her into the store and told her to get as much as she wanted. I should have brought her home and cooked a warm meal.
Should have should have should have.
Of course, all that is impractical.
I'm just glad I was able to help someone eat, at least for one night.
3 Comments:
You're so sweet.
You are sweet.
100,000 (unless things have changed) is a *lot* of money, or at least it was last year. The other thing is, even though people are going into stores, they generally only have enough money for themselves. Not many people I know in Romania can even support themselves, much less strangers.
100,000 is about $4.00 CAD.
I know money is tight here. But I was just thinking from the point of view of the woman, that the people entering the store *would* have money.
I haven't seen her back since, which I took as a good sign. My friend told me that most old women use money to buy liquor and that I should give bread and cheese.
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