A cool little story on patience

Not your typical shift type story or funny thread, but I read this and I thought it was amazing…

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.

Wow, wish I heard more stories of kindness and decency like this instead of the violence and hatred we get jammed in our face everyday…

These are the kinds of stories that should be on the front pages of newspapers and magazines throughout the world. Thanks for sharing.

Thats a refreshing change

to be honest I was half expecting the guy to say one day a lawyer shoed up with a check for a million dollars from her… I’ve heard stories similar to this that end like that

but in the end I loved it, its why I always try to be as nice to everyone as much as I can and have as much patience as possible as you never know what the outcome of doing so may bring, even if its just a little happiness in knowing you made someones day.

Yeah awesome.

this.

What a truly great story. Thanks for sharing.

key word. but like everyone said, people now a days are to intuned to read about other peoples misfortunes as a sort of sympathy call to their own lives it seems. Instead of seeing, reading and comprehending stories like this and trying to act them out in their lives, people find it easier to dwell on the revolving door of bullshit going on in the world. Thats why I cant stand reading newspapers and watching the news on tv. I am the farthest thing from a pessimist.

If the government audited news organizations, fined them for false information or not enough due-diligence prior to publication, and made it a rule that more than half the publications for that day had to be positive and up-lifting… I guarantee the outlook for citizens would change for the better.

Awesome story man, hard to believe it came from NYC of all places.

You know I gotta say, ive gone down there quite a bit now, and aside from some dbags, I’ve met a lot of cool people down there. When I went down and took pics with matt, a few times we were stopped and talked to by people who live down there and they were cool as all hell even if they asked us not to take their picture.

There was one couple who sat and chatted with us for a good half hour talking about what its like to live down there, some of the shit you see etc, was pretty cool actually.

tbh i can’t accurately remember the conversations i had down there. :rofl

Great story

Yeah new yorkers tend to put up a shield just because the environment is so “harsh” and you see so many goddamn people every day but in the end most folks are nice enough.

:rofl :rofl :rofl

I can. Epic.

Lots of truth to this, some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my life was with no plan at all. Just winging it.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

Great story!

Im suprised it didnt end with a large a check. better that way however

Awesome read! The whole time I was hoping it wouldn’t end with a large paycheck(especially when he turned the meter off). Much more sincere this way.

Awesome.