I did an 'auntie' thing yesterday which I still felt tickled when I think about it.
As I was passing by the 'overwhelming' bakery shop at the centre (the bakery is often packed with people and the breads are always topped with stuff of all sorts that somehow makes the breads look literally 'overwhelming' to me), I caught a stealthy act in action from the corner of my eye.
I was amazed at my quick, if not instant, response.
"哇!可以用手拿面包啊?!!"
The uncles around turned to look at who made that loud and clear comment. The sales assistant immediately went up to stop the auntie who seemed oblivious to what was going on.
It was too late. Her hand had already "ravaged" the 2nd piece of bread with her "I-believe-yet-to-wash" hand. I didn't know buying bread now is similar to buying fish in the market where one can 'press' to test the freshness before making the purchase.
I wonder if she could have been an NEA officer in disguise, checking on the bread's freshness "first hand"...
Most bakeries are using bread covers to prevent breads from being exposed to germs/bacteria/ people's saliva. Even then, that still didn't stop some who still insist on "hands-on" experience. Especially in that crowded bakery, it was not tough to practice that. That auntie was taking her time to scrutinize the breads. No one saw what she was doing. I hope it was the case and not no one bothered with what she was doing.
With the recent hygiene scare and the eminent flu pandemic, some Singaporeans somehow still don't "wake up" their idea. Many people would lament and said it's "heng suay" (depends on your luck). But why leave it to chances when you can take a more pro-active role?
I'm definitely not a clean freak and I am not against the idea of "lap sup jia lap sup dua" (the belief that one's immunity would be stronger if he/she doesn't grow up in a totally clean environment), but to these people who might indirectly cause a series of unfortunate events happening, I think I have the responsibility to correct what's not right.
So besides litter bugs, spitters and inconsiderate smokers, I've now added unhygienic homo sapiens to my list.
It seems that it's always easy to spot an ungracious act as opposed to a gracious one. To a gracious act direct at me, I'd thank the person sincerely with a big smile. But for gracious acts which are directed at others, I suppose I could only give a smile to acknowledge the kind act. It's tougher to capture on camera as well.
Well, if you have ideas, do let me know. It's always better to share something good besides highlighting the not-so-good stuff. The world is already a tough place to live in, should try to make it better. And I'm trying to make it better by also "educating" those who are on my list ;p
