I'VE BEEN staying in Singapore for five years since I came to visit my daughter and her family, who had immigrated here. I've felt an urge to tell everybody the kind of help I've received so far, and now I can't wait any longer.
The first incident happened about four years ago. My elder brother back in China was in urgent need of financial help. My daughter rushed to the bank, and got a draft of US$200. She put it into the addressed envelope along with a letter to her uncle, and hurried over to the post office. Then she left the whole thing on the bus when she got off.
We were anxious and frustrated, but could do nothing. Yet, five days later, my brother called from China, telling us that he had just received our letter and the remittance.
Gladly relieved, we burst into shouts of joy, grateful to the good Samaritan who had found the package and mailed it for us, paying for the postage out of his own pocket.
That's the first revelation to me that Singapore is not only clean and beautiful but also full of people who have a heart of gold.
The next story is about my grandson, a Primary 3 schoolboy. One day, he stayed back for extra tuition after school was over, and then had to take a bus home by himself. At the bus stopped, he noticed that his wallet was missing. Scared and nervous, he began to cry on the roadside. Then, a car pulled up beside him, and a man got out. On learning the boy's plight, he invited him into his car and drove him home.
It happened that nobody was at home. Then he asked our next-door neighbour to take care of the boy until we came back. Before leaving, he got our home telephone number. About 8 o'clock that night, we got a call from the man. We asked for his name and address so that we could thank him in person.
“Please don't bother,” he said. “I'm relieved now that the boy is back home safely. But I suggest you spend a bit more time tutoring and taking care of him.” What a nice and responsible man！
The latest episode took place on October 1, the Children's Day. My daughter took the boy out on a shopping trip. When they came home, she found she had lost her wallet.
The loss of a few dozen of dollars, and even the ATM and credit cards, was not a serious matter. But the loss of her IC and keys to our doors was worrying. It was getting dark then, and we had no time to get the door-locks changed before we could go to bed with ease of mind.
As we were at a loss as to what to do, the door-bell rang. I opened the door, and saw a stranger in front of me, with my daughter's wallet in his hand. We invited the man to come in, but he declined. “Just be careful in future,” he said, handed us the wallet, and left.
Eyeing him walk away, we stood stunned with mixed feelings —— amazed that the lost wallet was back in less than an hour, and overjoyed that we had been repeatedly blessed with such kind-hearted people.
Now, by telling my stories, I would like to express our deepest gratitude, through Lianhe Zaobao, to all the good Samaritans, who did not leave their names.
令人難忘的好心人
女兒一家移民新加坡,我隨后前來探望他們,在這里一住就有五個(gè)年頭。此刻,我抑制不住內(nèi)心的激動(dòng),非要把我這些年來的親身經(jīng)歷寫出來不可。
記得大概在四年前,我中國(guó)大哥家發(fā)生困難,急需用錢,我女兒趕去銀行匯給他們200美元,她把匯款單和信一起放進(jìn)信封里,然后乘搭巴士準(zhǔn)備路過郵局時(shí)把信寄出。誰知下車時(shí)竟把信遺忘在車上。
這事真讓我們一家急得暈頭轉(zhuǎn)向、一籌莫展。到了第五天,突然接到大哥的電話,說信和匯款均已收到,這時(shí)壓在我們心頭的一塊石頭終于落地了,不禁歡呼世上竟有這樣的好心人,代我們貼上郵票,把信寄走。
我第一次領(lǐng)悟到新加坡不僅外表清潔美麗,人們的心靈也是如此美好。
第二件事是我讀小學(xué)三年級(jí)的孫子。那天,他放學(xué)后留在學(xué)校補(bǔ)習(xí),不能乘校車回家。當(dāng)他走到巴士站時(shí),發(fā)現(xiàn)錢包不見了,急得在路邊哭了起來,這時(shí)一輛汽車突然停在他的面前,從車?yán)镒叱鲆晃幌壬?他問清楚了情況,立即叫他上車,然后載他回家。
正巧那時(shí)家中沒人,這位先生敲開了隔壁鄰居的門,把孩子托付給他們。臨走時(shí),他還記下了我家的電話號(hào)碼。晚上八時(shí),我們又接到了這位先生的電話,我們立即請(qǐng)教他的尊姓大名和家里地址,以便面謝,他卻說：“不用麻煩了,知道孩子安全到家,我就放心了。不過你們應(yīng)該多抽點(diǎn)時(shí)間教導(dǎo)和照顧孩子?！边@位先生是多么好心而負(fù)責(zé)??！
最近一件事就發(fā)生在今年10月1日兒童節(jié)這一天,為了讓孩子過一個(gè)愉快的節(jié)日,我女兒帶孩子出門買了很多東西?；丶液蟀l(fā)現(xiàn)錢包丟失了。丟掉幾十元是小事,錢包里的提款卡和信用卡丟失了,問題也不大,嚴(yán)重的是錢包里的身分證和連在錢包上的鑰匙。
想到這么晚了,換門鎖也來不及了,那今晚我們?cè)跄芩冒残模?BR> 正當(dāng)全家人愁眉苦臉、焦急萬分時(shí),門鈴?fù)蝗豁懥似饋?我無精打采地把門打開,一位陌生的先生手里拿著我女兒的錢包,出現(xiàn)在我的眼前,這時(shí),我一切都明白了,女兒、女婿立即邀請(qǐng)他進(jìn)屋坐,他卻說：“不必了,你們以后要小心?。 彼f完把錢包交給我們,就走了。
全家人望著他的背影,驚喜交加。驚的是不到一個(gè)小時(shí),錢包就失而復(fù)得；喜的是有這么多的好心人?。?BR> 我懷著無比激動(dòng)的心情寫下以上的親身經(jīng)歷,盼望通過《聯(lián)合早報(bào)》再次向三位沒有留下姓名的好心人,致以深深的謝意！
The first incident happened about four years ago. My elder brother back in China was in urgent need of financial help. My daughter rushed to the bank, and got a draft of US$200. She put it into the addressed envelope along with a letter to her uncle, and hurried over to the post office. Then she left the whole thing on the bus when she got off.
We were anxious and frustrated, but could do nothing. Yet, five days later, my brother called from China, telling us that he had just received our letter and the remittance.
Gladly relieved, we burst into shouts of joy, grateful to the good Samaritan who had found the package and mailed it for us, paying for the postage out of his own pocket.
That's the first revelation to me that Singapore is not only clean and beautiful but also full of people who have a heart of gold.
The next story is about my grandson, a Primary 3 schoolboy. One day, he stayed back for extra tuition after school was over, and then had to take a bus home by himself. At the bus stopped, he noticed that his wallet was missing. Scared and nervous, he began to cry on the roadside. Then, a car pulled up beside him, and a man got out. On learning the boy's plight, he invited him into his car and drove him home.
It happened that nobody was at home. Then he asked our next-door neighbour to take care of the boy until we came back. Before leaving, he got our home telephone number. About 8 o'clock that night, we got a call from the man. We asked for his name and address so that we could thank him in person.
“Please don't bother,” he said. “I'm relieved now that the boy is back home safely. But I suggest you spend a bit more time tutoring and taking care of him.” What a nice and responsible man！
The latest episode took place on October 1, the Children's Day. My daughter took the boy out on a shopping trip. When they came home, she found she had lost her wallet.
The loss of a few dozen of dollars, and even the ATM and credit cards, was not a serious matter. But the loss of her IC and keys to our doors was worrying. It was getting dark then, and we had no time to get the door-locks changed before we could go to bed with ease of mind.
As we were at a loss as to what to do, the door-bell rang. I opened the door, and saw a stranger in front of me, with my daughter's wallet in his hand. We invited the man to come in, but he declined. “Just be careful in future,” he said, handed us the wallet, and left.
Eyeing him walk away, we stood stunned with mixed feelings —— amazed that the lost wallet was back in less than an hour, and overjoyed that we had been repeatedly blessed with such kind-hearted people.
Now, by telling my stories, I would like to express our deepest gratitude, through Lianhe Zaobao, to all the good Samaritans, who did not leave their names.
令人難忘的好心人
女兒一家移民新加坡,我隨后前來探望他們,在這里一住就有五個(gè)年頭。此刻,我抑制不住內(nèi)心的激動(dòng),非要把我這些年來的親身經(jīng)歷寫出來不可。
記得大概在四年前,我中國(guó)大哥家發(fā)生困難,急需用錢,我女兒趕去銀行匯給他們200美元,她把匯款單和信一起放進(jìn)信封里,然后乘搭巴士準(zhǔn)備路過郵局時(shí)把信寄出。誰知下車時(shí)竟把信遺忘在車上。
這事真讓我們一家急得暈頭轉(zhuǎn)向、一籌莫展。到了第五天,突然接到大哥的電話,說信和匯款均已收到,這時(shí)壓在我們心頭的一塊石頭終于落地了,不禁歡呼世上竟有這樣的好心人,代我們貼上郵票,把信寄走。
我第一次領(lǐng)悟到新加坡不僅外表清潔美麗,人們的心靈也是如此美好。
第二件事是我讀小學(xué)三年級(jí)的孫子。那天,他放學(xué)后留在學(xué)校補(bǔ)習(xí),不能乘校車回家。當(dāng)他走到巴士站時(shí),發(fā)現(xiàn)錢包不見了,急得在路邊哭了起來,這時(shí)一輛汽車突然停在他的面前,從車?yán)镒叱鲆晃幌壬?他問清楚了情況,立即叫他上車,然后載他回家。
正巧那時(shí)家中沒人,這位先生敲開了隔壁鄰居的門,把孩子托付給他們。臨走時(shí),他還記下了我家的電話號(hào)碼。晚上八時(shí),我們又接到了這位先生的電話,我們立即請(qǐng)教他的尊姓大名和家里地址,以便面謝,他卻說：“不用麻煩了,知道孩子安全到家,我就放心了。不過你們應(yīng)該多抽點(diǎn)時(shí)間教導(dǎo)和照顧孩子?！边@位先生是多么好心而負(fù)責(zé)??！
最近一件事就發(fā)生在今年10月1日兒童節(jié)這一天,為了讓孩子過一個(gè)愉快的節(jié)日,我女兒帶孩子出門買了很多東西?；丶液蟀l(fā)現(xiàn)錢包丟失了。丟掉幾十元是小事,錢包里的提款卡和信用卡丟失了,問題也不大,嚴(yán)重的是錢包里的身分證和連在錢包上的鑰匙。
想到這么晚了,換門鎖也來不及了,那今晚我們?cè)跄芩冒残模?BR> 正當(dāng)全家人愁眉苦臉、焦急萬分時(shí),門鈴?fù)蝗豁懥似饋?我無精打采地把門打開,一位陌生的先生手里拿著我女兒的錢包,出現(xiàn)在我的眼前,這時(shí),我一切都明白了,女兒、女婿立即邀請(qǐng)他進(jìn)屋坐,他卻說：“不必了,你們以后要小心?。 彼f完把錢包交給我們,就走了。
全家人望著他的背影,驚喜交加。驚的是不到一個(gè)小時(shí),錢包就失而復(fù)得；喜的是有這么多的好心人?。?BR> 我懷著無比激動(dòng)的心情寫下以上的親身經(jīng)歷,盼望通過《聯(lián)合早報(bào)》再次向三位沒有留下姓名的好心人,致以深深的謝意！