This post has me on a soapbox. I witnessed something today that enraged me and I really need to talk about it.

As a bit of background, gas purchases need to be prepaid in BC. When someone lifts a nozzle at the pump, there will be a grating beeping sound inside until the pump is activated by a cashier. Today, this sound went on for five minutes as I dealt with customers. I was becoming increasingly annoyed with the person who had left the nozzle in their tank while they came in to pay. I was incredibly busy, but as the line dwindled down I concluded that the person whose pump was shrieking wasn’t in the store. The alarm finally turned off, but I could still see a car parked at that pump. For some unfathomable reason, a feeling of dread overcame me. Something just felt wrong.

I still had several customers waiting in line and I told them to wait while I went outside. There, I found an old woman sitting on the curb, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I fell and I can’t get up,” she whispered. The first responder in me kicked in and I did a quick evaluation. She seemed okay, although her knee was swelling up a bit. I helped her up, no small feat as she was quite heavy set, got her pump started, and helped her gas up. She assured me she was okay to get home and that she was going to be seeing her doctor tomorrow. Remember that I still had a lineup of people in the store as I was doing this.

When I came in, I apologized to everyone for the delay and explained what had happened. Two people replied “Yeah, we saw her go down as we came in” in the same tone that they would use to state that the sky is blue.

WHAT?! While this poor woman was on the ground crying two men just walked past and ignored her. They were about my age and I have to say that this sort of apathy is too common within my generation. I feel ashamed.