The Old Man and the Cup

This incident happened many years ago.

On a busy sidewalk street, during a scorching hot, humid day, commuters and shoppers walked by an old beggar. The old man was crouched under the hot sun at his usual spot. He held a tin cup with which people can drop coins into, but very few did. If he had enough coins he would be able to buy some bread or noodles. The old man had deformed legs and feet, the result of a birth defect that left him unable to walk. He would get around by dragging his waist and legs over the hard pavement, looking for scraps of food or spare change from anyone who would pass by.

Suddenly there was a commotion - a loud startling sound. The clanking of coins and metal could be heard. The old man's tin cup lay on the ground tipped over, with the small amount of coins that used to be in the cup scattered on the sidewalk. The old beggar had thrown his cup to the ground and had a pained expression on his face, grimaced and anguish at the same time. I guess a walking bystander inadvertedly kicked or stepped on his leg, which was painful. The day was extremely hot and the old man was hungry, probably been hungry for days. So the beggar tossed his tin cup in a fit of rage. Life had not treated him too good. Being born unable to walk. Hot, hungry, looked down upon, and having no one else to turn to. And I think it was at that moment that he felt was the last straw, where he gave up. He had had enough of a life that was so cruel to him.

That vision still sticks with me up to this day.

I did eventually go back to that busy sidewalk. But the old beggar was no longer there.