How about crossword puzzle?

A few days ago, I read this article “Crossword Puzzle Man” by Hayley Linfield from Reader Digest April 2006. This man is a common sight on the subway in Toronto. He has a crossword puzzle with him. He offers the crossword puzzle to the passengers. He is like a child asking an adult for help in his puzzle. He usually laughs for no reason. He does not speak. He is usually rejected by the busy commuters.

On a particular day, as usual, he looks for someone to help him with his puzzle. He approached a wealthy looking mid aged lady. The author believed that this lady will reject him, will be disgusted by him. But if the lady had really declined helping this crossword puzzle man, would I still be reading this story?

This lady smiled at him, asking how is him. He laughed. She saw his crossword puzzle. She asked is it he wanted help in his crossword puzzle. He laughed and thrust the puzzle closer to her. After looking at the first clue, she told him the answer. He laughed. She asked if he knows that answer and spelt the answer for him. He laughed and gave her the puzzle and a pencil. She wrote it in for him. He waited. She continued with the second clue. And it continues till she needed to alight.

The author says that after the lady left, he look around to see the commuters. They were smiling. Maybe they felt amused. Maybe they felt compassionate. Or maybe they felt admiration for the lady. The author concluded that
“Good Samaritans do not pick and choose whom they help. They offer assistance to anyone.’

After reading the article, I kept it in mind. But it did not occur for me to blog it till today. I decided to visit my friend’s forum because he complained I did not post anything. I went to his Madness Chatter corner. And a topic interested me. The topic is Sad Singaporean. The guy who posted this commented that Singaporeans put on a sad or expressionless face most of the time. He felt sad by this sight. And he tried to give them a greeting smile. But after one week, only 3 person smile back. A little boy, an old man and a cheerful guy. Someone asked him to try something else other than a smile to see if Singaporean will brighten up. I remembered this article and replied asking him to try a crossword puzzle.

And I remember 小土 article on 笨猪…