Who is really blind here?

What an odd morning this one has been..

I was on my way to catch the light rail to head to work this morning at the butt crack of dawn. It's a bit creepy walking the 2.5 blocks in the early morning darkness.
On this particular morning I noticed a man. A blind man standing before the light rail tracks... the vibe that I immediately got was one of a lost puppy dog.

I was in a hurry, but I am who I am... so I did what I do. I stopped and asked him if he needed assistance. He said his name was Ernesto, and stated that he hadn't been to the light rail, and didn't know the drill. I then reached out and placed my arm around his and walked him up the ramp to the ticket purchase area. He proceeded to thank me and hand me his discounted ticket money (only .75 for someone with a disability) and I proceeded to purchase his ticket for him.
After some small talk about him heading off to some immigrant work program and the crappy economy he told me he would be back Wednesday and Friday this week. I told him I would assist him again if our paths crossed. He also said that he wanted to give me his number (I'm assuming only niceties, as I have no reason not to) and I stated "Too late, train is here" and the "ding, ding" approached.
This whole time I wasn't noticing the eyes on us... the quiet judging eyes. Once his train came, I lead him to his door then directed him by saying "At 3 o'clock is seating" and we were parted until further notice.
I then walked down the ramp to where I would catch my train heading the other direction... getting stares.... people were staring at me as if by assisting someone I was asking for AIDS or something?!
What's happened to us? All I see everywhere these days is H1N1 scare talk, and how to avoid people as much as possible. Texting (which is underlined in red as I type this because it's not a real word), Instant Messaging, Emailing, Facebook.... all these things are more of a mode of communication that our lips. I am totally guilty of this.. (as I blog)... It's just sad that when given the chance to actually be a human being, and show some tenderness to someone in need that people are not only distant, but actually look down upon it.


Ahhh okay, I will get off of my preaching stool now and let you all come to your own conclusions.
It's just amazing to me that some people have lost the "human" in them, and seem more like robots on the light rail. I can't wait until I don't have to be apart of the rush hour crowd anymore... the early mornings are scary, and it's not because of the dark.

Mucho Love!!