The thing about charity....

Today, of all days, I went to work early. On normal days, I reach the office bout 8.45am-9.00am. But due to some early appointments, I was in by 8.30am. I looked at the parking lot, it was quite empty. The thought running through my head at that time was where in the world is my colleague's car. I was about to park my car in front of my office, when I heard tyres screeching. And then....*bang*. It was more like a *thud*

I looked to my left...and I saw this Kancil literally kissing my car's butt...on the left cheek:P My car was still a few feet into the lot.

Somehow, I didn't panic. I managed to get my car into the parking lot, and got out to check the damage. It wasn't much, except that the body above the wheels was dented here and there. On closer inspection, my wheels looked like it was slightly slanted. The impact might had shifted it off the axis by a couple of degrees.

All this while, the lady in the other car was apologising and explaining in Cantonese, and I had to bluntly cut her short and embarassingly explain I can't understand a word she's saying. She switched to English in a blink and I still couldn't process what she's saying. In my head, I was replaying the whole sequence. I was on my side of the road, she was following behind. I signalled left to turn in, and just when the signal went off, she runs into me. She must have been following me quite closely and at very high speed.

Through her incessant apology, I didn't have the heart to ask her to pay up then and there. She explained she was late for work, which was a couple of blocks down from my office. I was also rushing, so I just took her number and car number plate and told her I'll get back to her. She had that kind of 'blank/disturbed' look on her face. As if she was thinking of something else and was really deep in thought while this whole thing took place.

Later on, after processing everything, I smsed her to ask her how to settle it. She replied me that she's facing financial difficulty and she found out that her husband's having an affair with someone else. I really didn't have to know that. That was probably why she had that 'occupied' look on her face. Like she was thinking deeply about something else and wasn't aware that I had slowed down to turn. After hearing something like that...how could I still 'extort' money from her? But...maybe she was pulling my leg for some sort of get-a-way sympathy. I really don't know. But I really bought her story. What if she was really telling the truth? What is a couple of hundred bucks compared to having known your husband cheated on you?

When it comes to issues like this, I wonder if I am soft...as in, throw me a touching story, and I'll buy it...even if it's not real. I can't tell.

Later on I smsed her that if she hadn't banged my car, we wouldn't even have to pay a single cent. But now that it's happened, we should work something out. It's not my fault at all. It would be unfair for me to fork out cash for something I didn't even cause. I told her I'd get it fix and show her the bill. And she can pay me later on. I wished her all the best with her husband, and she replied that she would pay me when she gets her cash and thanked me for understanding.

Later on, I was walking around the hospital, and just as I was about to go to my car, this old man and a somewhat 'mentally challenged' kid comes up to me. He looked relaly poor and his shirt was really all grossed out wiht soil. He was speaking in Cantonese and I had to cut him by explaining I can't udnerstand him. And he switches to English in a blink (dejavu). He told me he needed some some cash to buy himself those asthma pumps. He had one in his hand, but he said it's finished and he needs to get a new one. The kid beside him had this 'spaced-out' look in his eyes. Halfway through explaining, the kid goes into a fit of sorts. And I bought into that. I thought...hey, maybe he's really poor, and his son is really retarded. So I gave him some money. I know that people would usually ask me to refrain from giving. But I didn't have the time to walk him to the pharmacy to actually buy one. So I just gave, hoping it would make a difference somehow.

The thing about doing charity nowdays, is that it has to be done through proper channels. If not, there are a lot of scams going on out there to suck your money. And eventhough you have good intentions, the help goes into the wrong hands and end up becoming support for a possible druggie. I really don't know.

When I did get to my car, I did pray and ask God for wisdom in the coming times. I really gave out of good intentions. I wanted to help. These people that I gave to, could be Jesus in disguise, the one where He told his disciples, that when you feed the poor, you're feeding Him, when you clothe the naked, you're clothing Him, when you shelter the homeless, you're sheltering Him. It could just be Him. So maybe, I give my part. What happens next, I leave it to God. What you sow, you will reap. So if it was a scam, the people behind it will reap their sowing when the season comes.

Anyways, I was talking to a friend later on about the incident, and she said that medication in the government hospitals is almost free. At most you pay, RM 5. That asthma pump would have been really cheap. So maybe...., just maybe..... I was duped! Well, life goes on. The sun shines on both the good and the bad. And God is still good.