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[quote]
A sweet lesson on patience.

A NYC Taxi driver wrote:

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up 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 90'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 1940's 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 to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and 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 in a soft voice..'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, and 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.
[/quote]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=378240028894999&set=a.249378811781122.77990.189287804456890&type=1

Beautiful example of kindness!
Thx for sharing..

An NYC cabdriver fluent in English and polite to boot?

Spin me another fairytale brother hahahaha

blueandgold saidAn NYC cabdriver fluent in English and polite to boot?

Spin me another fairytale brother hahahaha

This!

But a great post.

Ok! I have a lump in my throat.

wow. just wow.

Great read!

blueandgold saidAn NYC cabdriver fluent in English and polite to boot?

Spin me another fairytale brother hahahaha

I was thinking the same thing as I was reading it. Nice story but I bet it's a fabrication.

I liken these types of stories that make the rounds of the Internet and e-mails (you know you have at least one friend or relative who likes to e-mail these types of inspirational stories) to the miracle and morality plays of the Middle Ages. Everything old is new again!

faith in humanity restored!

RAWyalty said

blueandgold saidAn NYC cabdriver fluent in English and polite to boot?

Spin me another fairytale brother hahahaha

This!

But a great post.

Yeah, I grew up near NYC, spent a lot of time in the city. Taxi drivers were seldom very literate, with a few rare exceptions, and nowadays most don't speak English at all. I can only believe in this story if this guy had a ghost writer or editor.

"There were no clocks on the walls [plural], no knickknacks or [kitchen?] utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware."

Pretty good observation skills for a guy who came to the door for a moment. Did he take a tour of her place? A nice story, but I think at least parts of it fabricated.

Art_Deco saidTaxi drivers were seldom very literate,

Incorrect.

Art_Deco said...nowadays most don't speak English at all.

Incorrect.

Well, that was a great story.

metta8 said
A sweet lesson on patience.

I think the point comes across whether is was fabricated or not.

...which is hold an old lady down the stairs.

...

Cute story, but also telling we are so attracted to stories of people being kind........because most of the time we aren't kind at all.

A sweet lesson in humanity. thanks for posting

UndercoverMan said

blueandgold saidAn NYC cabdriver fluent in English and polite to boot?

Spin me another fairytale brother hahahaha

I was thinking the same thing as I was reading it. Nice story but I bet it's a fabrication.

I liken these types of stories that make the rounds of the Internet and e-mails (you know you have at least one friend or relative who likes to e-mail these types of inspirational stories) to the miracle and morality plays of the Middle Ages. Everything old is new again!

I wouldn't call this a fabrication. I'd call it fiction. It is a short story and appears to follow the short story outline:

"Usually a short story focuses on one incident; has a single plot, a single setting, and a small number of characters; and covers a short period of time.

In longer forms of fiction, stories tend to contain certain core elements of dramatic structure: exposition (the introduction of setting, situation and main characters); complication (the event that introduces the conflict); rising action, crisis (the decisive moment for the protagonist and his commitment to a course of action); climax (the point of highest interest in terms of the conflict and the point with the most action); resolution (the point when the conflict is resolved); and moral." [Wikipedia]

The writer of this short story may be a taxi driver (doubt it), but he is definitely an author.

It is what it is. A cute short story. It is not a page from his diary.

It speaks to me the sheer level of cynicism modern society demands when we can't allow a little suspension of disbelief or have a kernel of faith that stories such as this might actually be true.

And even if it isn't, so what? Because, gosh, the masses have never ever been swayed by fabricated narratives before. Wisdom clearly never exists in fiction. ;P

I also got this on FB today. And shared it.

Beautiful story....I held back a tear.

yourname2000 saidI also got this on FB today. And shared it.

Beautiful story....I held back a tear.

same, tho I didn't share it.

Nice read though. I couldn't imagine calling a cab to go die. wow

Nice story.

A real tear-jerker if there ever was one. Very sweet and poignant.

blueandgold saidAn NYC cabdriver fluent in English and polite to boot?

Spin me another fairytale brother hahahaha

southbeach1500 said

Art_Deco saidTaxi drivers were seldom very literate,

Incorrect.

Art_Deco said...nowadays most don't speak English at all.

Incorrect.

You'll be surprised at the number of highly educated people that drive cabs and take on jobs that they are over-qualified for. For many immigrants with foreign degrees, taxi-driving and small jobs are a necessary recourse until they find something better.

Your cab driver might speak with a heavy foreign accent that makes you suspect he is not 'fluent', but it doesn't make him less capable of writing passionately and clearly.

The story might be fabricated, but lets not bash the collective literacy of a group.

Stories like that make us think how small gestures can make the difference in our daily life. Thanks mate, very good story.

Do you know that (according to Englishman Stephen Fry, and his tour around NYC and the NYC taxi cab system) 9 out of 10 cab drivers in NYC are now foreign-born?

Wow!

But how many have hearts of gold, insightful and poignant narrative, and casually use the word "pillbox hat"?

Not enough, man. Not enough.