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 doctor says I don't 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 me. 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.
Written by Wolfgang Riebe: www.theriebeinstitute.com & www.wolfgangriebe.com
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