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THE CAB RIDE
:THE CAB RIDE
Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living.
When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark
except for a single
light in a ground floor window. Under these
circumstances,
many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a
minute, then drive
away.
But, I had seen too many impoverished people who
depended on
taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a
situation smelled of
danger,
I always went to the door. This passenger might be
someone who needs
my assistance, I reasoned to myself.
So I walked to the door and knocked. "Just a
minute",
answered a frail, elderly voice.
I could hear something being dragged across the
> > >
> > > > > > floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman
in her
80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress
and a pillbox hat
with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a
1940s movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The
apartment looked as if no
one had lived in it for years. All the furniture
was covered with
sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks
or utensils on the
counters.
In the corner was a cardboard box filled with
photos and glassware.
"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said.
I took the suitcase
to the cab,
then returned to assist the woman.
> > >
> > > > > > She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the
curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness.
"It's nothing", I told her. "I just try to treat my
passengers the way
I would want my mother treated".
"Oh, you're such a good boy", she said.
When we got in the cab, she gave me an address,
then asked,
"Could you drive through downtown?"
"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.
"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm
on my way to a
hospice".
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were
glistening.
"I don't have any family left," she continued. "The
have very long."
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
"What route would you
like me to take?" I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city.
She showed me the
building
where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
We drove through the neighborhood where she and
her husband had
lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up
in front of a
furniture
warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she
had gone dancing as a
girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a
particular building or
corner
and would sit staring into the darkness, saying
nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon,
she suddenly said,
"I'm tired. Let's go now."
> > >
We drove in silence to the address she had given
It was a low building, like a small convalescent
home, with a driveway
that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we
pulled up.
They were solicitous and intent, watching her every
move. They must
have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to
the door.
The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into
her purse.
; "Nothing," I said.
"You have to make a living," she answered.
"There are other passengers," I responded.
> > >
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.
She held onto me
tightly.
"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,"
she said.
"Thank you."
I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim
morning light.
Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the
closing of a life.
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I
drove aimlessly
lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could
hardly talk.
What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or
one who was
impatient to end his shift?
What if I had refused to take the run, or had
honked once,
then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done
anything
more important in my life.
We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve
around great moments.
But great moments often catch us
unaware-beautifully wrapped in what
others may consider a small one.
PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT 'YOU DID, OR
WHAT YOU SAID,
~BUT ~
THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.
You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you
send it to ten people.
But, you might help make the world a little kinder
and
more compassionate by sending it on.
angel: angel
Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living.
When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark
except for a single
light in a ground floor window. Under these
circumstances,
many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a
minute, then drive
away.
But, I had seen too many impoverished people who
depended on
taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a
situation smelled of
danger,
I always went to the door. This passenger might be
someone who needs
my assistance, I reasoned to myself.
So I walked to the door and knocked. "Just a
minute",
answered a frail, elderly voice.
I could hear something being dragged across the
> > >
> > > > > > floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman
in her
80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress
and a pillbox hat
with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a
1940s movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The
apartment looked as if no
one had lived in it for years. All the furniture
was covered with
sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks
or utensils on the
counters.
In the corner was a cardboard box filled with
photos and glassware.
"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said.
I took the suitcase
to the cab,
then returned to assist the woman.
> > >
> > > > > > She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the
curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness.
"It's nothing", I told her. "I just try to treat my
passengers the way
I would want my mother treated".
"Oh, you're such a good boy", she said.
When we got in the cab, she gave me an address,
then asked,
"Could you drive through downtown?"
"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.
"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm
on my way to a
hospice".
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were
glistening.
"I don't have any family left," she continued. "The
have very long."
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
"What route would you
like me to take?" I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city.
She showed me the
building
where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
We drove through the neighborhood where she and
her husband had
lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up
in front of a
furniture
warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she
had gone dancing as a
girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a
particular building or
corner
and would sit staring into the darkness, saying
nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon,
she suddenly said,
"I'm tired. Let's go now."
> > >
We drove in silence to the address she had given
It was a low building, like a small convalescent
home, with a driveway
that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we
pulled up.
They were solicitous and intent, watching her every
move. They must
have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to
the door.
The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into
her purse.
; "Nothing," I said.
"You have to make a living," she answered.
"There are other passengers," I responded.
> > >
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.
She held onto me
tightly.
"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,"
she said.
"Thank you."
I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim
morning light.
Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the
closing of a life.
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I
drove aimlessly
lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could
hardly talk.
What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or
one who was
impatient to end his shift?
What if I had refused to take the run, or had
honked once,
then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done
anything
more important in my life.
We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve
around great moments.
But great moments often catch us
unaware-beautifully wrapped in what
others may consider a small one.
PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT 'YOU DID, OR
WHAT YOU SAID,
~BUT ~
THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.
You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you
send it to ten people.
But, you might help make the world a little kinder
and
more compassionate by sending it on.
angel: angel
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