A long long time ago....when I was a wee boy only nine years old, my dad took me to a new school in a new town. When we went in he asked if I could find my way home from there. Having moved several times as a boy, I was pretty good with directions so I assured him I could find my way home.
When we were let out of school, it was from a different door and I got disoriented. I walked for a while on the right street but in the wrong direction. When I realized what I had done, I knew I needed help. I looked around and spotted a taxi stand. I figured I could get directions there. When I asked one of the drivers for directions, he told me it was too far to walk and it would be dark by the time I got there (I was on the later shift at school) so he'd give me a ride. I tried to refuse but he insisted. So, I told him I was sure my parents would pay him. He told me not to worry about it.
When we got to my apartment building I asked him to come in and get paid but he refused again. I learned something about kindness that day.
Many years later I too drove a taxi in another small town and got several opportunities to "repay" the favour. I'll never forget one episode when I was driving back to the taxi stand late at night and saw a lady standing beside her car near the high school. I knew she was in trouble so I turned around and asked if I could help. I'm pretty good with cars so I tried to get hers going but it was an old clonker and in pretty bad shape. It just wouldn't start. She told me it was OK and she'd figure something out. Of course, I couldn't just leave her there so I asked her where she was going. Turns out she was the sister-in-law of a local TV announcer that I often drove home and going to his place. He didn't live very far from there so I came up with a plan. I looked at both cars bumpers and knew I could push her car a little way so it would not longer be in a driving lane. I told her to get in and be prepared to move as soon as the traffic light turned green but to just go past the very first driveway past the light and park in front of that first house. She did exactly as I instructed. She then reluctantly got in my car, all the while telling me she had no money for the ride. I told her to forget about and told her to let her brother-in-law know that her car was in front of Mr. Brown's house ( I knew that they knew each other) so he could call and let him know they'd be picking it up in the morning. Otherwise the car might have been towed away. When we got to her destination, she insisted on getting my name so she could repay me. I scribbled my name roughly on a scrap of paper knowing full well she'd never decipher it.
I slept very peacefully that night.
When we were let out of school, it was from a different door and I got disoriented. I walked for a while on the right street but in the wrong direction. When I realized what I had done, I knew I needed help. I looked around and spotted a taxi stand. I figured I could get directions there. When I asked one of the drivers for directions, he told me it was too far to walk and it would be dark by the time I got there (I was on the later shift at school) so he'd give me a ride. I tried to refuse but he insisted. So, I told him I was sure my parents would pay him. He told me not to worry about it.
When we got to my apartment building I asked him to come in and get paid but he refused again. I learned something about kindness that day.
Many years later I too drove a taxi in another small town and got several opportunities to "repay" the favour. I'll never forget one episode when I was driving back to the taxi stand late at night and saw a lady standing beside her car near the high school. I knew she was in trouble so I turned around and asked if I could help. I'm pretty good with cars so I tried to get hers going but it was an old clonker and in pretty bad shape. It just wouldn't start. She told me it was OK and she'd figure something out. Of course, I couldn't just leave her there so I asked her where she was going. Turns out she was the sister-in-law of a local TV announcer that I often drove home and going to his place. He didn't live very far from there so I came up with a plan. I looked at both cars bumpers and knew I could push her car a little way so it would not longer be in a driving lane. I told her to get in and be prepared to move as soon as the traffic light turned green but to just go past the very first driveway past the light and park in front of that first house. She did exactly as I instructed. She then reluctantly got in my car, all the while telling me she had no money for the ride. I told her to forget about and told her to let her brother-in-law know that her car was in front of Mr. Brown's house ( I knew that they knew each other) so he could call and let him know they'd be picking it up in the morning. Otherwise the car might have been towed away. When we got to her destination, she insisted on getting my name so she could repay me. I scribbled my name roughly on a scrap of paper knowing full well she'd never decipher it.
I slept very peacefully that night.
