We're used to seeing them bulldoze through crowds and hobble around MTR exits in hopes of collecting your free used newspapers, but there's a new kind of senior that's been spotted around several MTR stations (including CWB).
This time, they're the shaky, near-death seniors with goggley glasses, spotted skin, missing teeth and a bright red bag of boxed cookies slung over their sloped shoulders.
"Please buy my cookies," they repeat, one after another in toad-like croaks. Although I'm usually immune to their tactics, I just couldn't walk away this time from one severely hunchbacked granny.
It took me a few cries of 'por por' before she noticed me, but she eventually
(read: in slow motion) turned around and extended a box of cookies towards me. Turns out that they were raising money for the
Helping Hand society, which runs several old folks home here in HK. Seeing not only that was she old, tired but missing her right thumb as well (sob!), I decided to buy a box for 35 dollars and wished her a good rest of her life.
When I got home, I did some research on what kind of organization would put these frail, old seniors (that they had vowed to protect) in the middle of rush hour traffic only to feel the harsh sting of rejection 100x over. I discovered that I'm probably not the only one who felt that this was 'cruelty to seniors' because Helping Hand themselves had already posted several videos of their star cookie sellers, including:
I was surprised to see that many of them
actually seemed quite happy to be out there selling cookies (that or Helping Hand neglected to post any footage of the bitter and resentful seniors). Watching these videos made me smile, and I'm so proud of all the seniors who are brave enough to get out there and sell those cookies with no fear of being rejected, knocked over
(or even killed, shhh!). You go, Grandma/pa! :D
