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I was at a store recently when I heard someone shouting: “Don’t touch my things!” An old woman’s motorised wheelchair had become entangled with merchandise displayed along the narrow aisle. A kind shopper tried to help free her, but was snapped at by the livid woman instead. Others might have retorted, but the visibly shaken good Samaritan just stepped aside while the seething senior continued in vain to extricate herself. A courteous cashier soon came to her aid, and the woman was wheeled away without further ado. Things would have unfolded very differently if the public-spirited shopper had snapped back or the cashier had been harsher. With a rapidly ageing society, it is inevitable that many more similar incidents will happen in Singapore. The empathy and respect that the kind shopper and helpful cashier demonstrated despite the old woman’s churlish behaviour are what we need more of if we are to build a more gracious society. May more people emulate such exemplary behaviour.