tales of a pinay single mom

Remember the speech that I had to give during the my kid’s Christmas Program. This is a part of it. I was asked to talk about sharing and this was what I ’shared’.

A few days ago, as I was double-parked on some street, a kid in a battered blue shirt tapped on my window and asked for a peso. I was feeling generous that day and gave him 50 pesos instead. He was shocked and just stood there. I rolled the window down again and asked if he needed anything else. He looked at me, misty-eyed, and asked if he could clean my car in exchange for the 50 pesos I gave him. I told him not to bother but he was insistent. As I looked at him, I thought to myself that this kid had pride in him. He’s a beggar but he wouldn’t take advantage of anyone even if it kills him. I find it amazing that such people still exist. In this day and age, nothing surprises me anymore but that kid did.

Still, I’d had a dirty car for how many days now because some lowlife driving so fast decided to shower my car with mud diluted in water. When it dried up, it looked like I went through some volcanic eruption and I got all the dirt. Eventually the dirt became dirtier. I tried wiping it with a wet cloth but gave up. So here was this kid. Offering some help. Now who could resist that? Besides there was something disarming about this kid, something about his open expression and the way he looked as if it meant a lot to him.

He told me to park properly. He, then, got a pail of water and some cloth and went straight to work, throwing water, scrubbing, getting some more water, then scrubbing again. 30 minutes went by. He was almost finished. He was working so hard that his breath came in pants. Then he was done. ‘Ma’am, tapos na po.’ he said, proudly running his hand over the surface of the car. The mud was gone as if there had never been. “Galing mo maglinis,’ I said, and he beamed. He gathered up his tools, thanked me again and went home.

So what’s the moral of the story?

It’s not the best example of sharing but I had to tell this story because I wanted to let anyone who cared to listen that day that not all beggars and street children are good-for-nothing individuals. That they only need to be given a break or chance to prove to society that they can also be capable of good deeds. That they were just born poor and have little or nothing at all to begin with. I dunno. I just have a soft spot for street children.

admin Uncategorized, random, sharing sharing, speech, street children