Jennifer Jean Lee

While I was on the subway I saw an interaction so brief and small that it seemed to yield no reaction from the people who were sitting closer to these two people. It was a moment between a young man and an old man. Their interaction, even though it was very short, made me smile and feel happy for the rest of the day.

There were no seats left on the subway and it was somewhat crowded, but not to the point that it was packed. People moved on and off the subway like waves. The subway car stopped, the doors opened, people trickled out and trickled in. At this stop there was a old man who was the last person to get on the car. He moved so slowly, one could imagine the sound of old rusting machine parts with each one of his plodding movements. The seats were all full and the special seats reserved for the elderly, were filled. When he finally got on, he saw that all the seats were filled. The doors closed and the car began to sway as it moved along the rails. Looking a little disappointed he started to move towards the closest place where he could lean his brittle and fragile body on, while trying to maintain his balance. Then a young man got out of his seat and gestured the old man to sit in the seat he had just been sitting in. The old man looked as if he had become younger with this gesture from the young man. He said it was all right to the young man with a smile and patted the young man’s shoulder. The young man just responded with a smile and helped the old man to the seat. Both were happy. One was happy for giving and the other happy that such a small act of kindness was given to him from a stranger. A few stops later the young man left and said goodbye to the old man. A few more stops after that the old man also left the car.

So there you have it: this very small, short moment that happened made me incredibly happy for the rest of that day. I’m not sure why I felt so happy. Maybe it’s because I see the similar “give your seat to the elderly” acts, but you can see that the person giving it up isn’t doing it because they want to or people who are given the seat look as if it is the way it should be. When the car is full and younger people are already seated and a elderly person comes on and walks towards these seats, I’ve observed that some people decide to not make eye contact. Others are listening to music so they’re in their “own world,” while some that were awake become sleepers. Eventually, someone decides to get up and give them the seat. There’s usually a three to five seat radius. Most of the time someone gets up. There are the occasionally times when no one gets up.

Maybe it’s because although a small act, it truly seemed to be a genuine act of kindness that was accepted gratefully.