TODAY on a blind man, dog named murray and taking a bus

Today I decided to write about TODAY - everyday of an eventful encounter. In this age when people are living their life through smart phones there is no excuse not to spend that ten mins a day jotting down memorable events instead of just clicking likes on Facebook when it comes to reminiscing. But that's just me talking to myself. I'm sure you may possibly have better things to do.

So, let's begin...

Today I watched a blind man with his guide dog trying to catch a bus. He stood at the right spot where buses would stop. When the bus stopped people walked past him and hopped into the bus while the man tried to figure out where the door was. He then asked the bus driver if it was the bus he's after. I don't think he is 100% blind but seems close enough as I  saw him dragging his foot out to find the curb so he and his dog Murray could move closer to where the bus stops and away from the walking path. It was a dangerous action.  A bus could come so close and take his foot out but he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. I guess when you are lacking of one sense (i.e. sight) the others (i.e. hearing) makes up for it. What surprised me was there were possibly more than ten people at the bus stop but no one said or do anything. Most were just staring. Apparently there were buses which did not stop because well,  no one waved for the driver to stop. But surely when you see a guide dog and a man at a stop near the ear and eye hospital, some common sense would kick in right?

Wouldn't it be nice if someone guided him to the right spot at the bus stop?

Wouldn't it be nice if all the bus driver stops right where he stood and ask him what bus he's after?

Wouldn't it be nice if someone helps him onto the right bus?

I stood at the bus stop for about a minute, curious and staring at them just like the others did. I spent that one minute getting angry and feeling disappointed that no one went to help.

Then I decided to do something nice. I walked up to him and asked what bus he's after and told him I'll let him know when his bus arrives. I checked the time table on the board and his next bus would be in twenty mins. He trusted me while listening to buses after buses stopping and moving on. I'm not much of a chatter but in that short time standing next to him, I learnt that Murray has been of great help to him, mischievous when not on harness,  and is about 3 years old.

My bus was only going to be ten mins away. My husband was in that bus. I messaged him saying I may catch the next one after this man get into his bus and his first response back indicated he didn't understand why a blind man needed my help. One smack for him.

I looked around to see who may be able to take over. Two buses were coming and many seemed prepared to hop onto those buses. I asked the lady closest to me to find out if her bus was here yet and requested her assistance to watch out for bus 350. She did not hesitate and said if her bus comes she would pass it on to someone else. I mentioned that to the man and hopped onto my bus, but obviously not first person on board as I was trying to sort out a handover of task.

He thanked me. I thanked the other young lady, who had a lollipop in her mouth. When I got in and luckily, still managed to get to the empty seat next to my husband, he told me off for not being first in line (risk of him needing to give up the seat to someone else). Although he used a joking tone he deserved another smack. So duh.

As the bus moved away, I saw the lollipop young lady standing next to the man, talking to him. I smiled from my heart. For her. For me. For Murray and for the man whose name I did not know.