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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

A Touching Story: A Sweet Lesson on Patience.


I read this very touching story from Facebook, liked by 1,538,712 , shared 298,715 times and 174,289 comments.

The story may not be true, but the thing is it gives us hope that there are still compassionate and decent people in this world who are willing to offer kindness to a stranger unconditionally. It's the simple things that can mean the most to someone especially the elderly who needs love and understanding more than anything else in this world.

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.

21 comments:

  1. how touching!!! :)

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  2. What a touching story indeed...melt my heart while reading it. You seldom see a taxi driver with such a genuine and caring heart. I hope that GOD will bless him and his family :-)

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  3. WOW. It got me teary-eyed upon reading the story, typical of me though. I am very emotional person but we all are, I guess. Oh that man is one of a kind. Lesson learnt is, always think of others and be considerate and offers a hand when needed. It's like the bus driver here yesterday in the bus I took to picked up my kids at school. The driver was impressively patient and kind towards these two couple who's wife was in wheelchair. He got out his seat just to give a hand to this passenger with disability. It was my first time to see such kind driver. Mostly, they just put their stairs low then watch the passengers struggles to climb or lift up the wheelchairs or worst drive-off even if the passengers are not seated properly yet. After that, I gave that driver a praised. And all he said was, he is just doing his job. What a good man indeed!

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  4. this story is very touching indeed...bless his heart!

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  5. It is very touching indeed. All the old woman wants was to enjoy her last freedom before going into a nursing home or a place like that. How kind of him to do such a wonderful thing to an old woman. Bless his heart! :) It is a lesson to learn to be kind and also enjoy our lives while we can and while we can still travel and enjoy the world. Everyone should read this. :)

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  6. This is a wonderful story not many just like the driver of that taxi cub. In this generation only rare this happen...

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  7. This may not be a true story but it did make me cry. The lesson quite hit me. There are times that I get to be very impatient to things and to people. I wonder, If i happened to be the driver in the story, will i do the same thing that good driver did - patiently drove the grandma around. As I am reading the whole story, i am like imagining it as it happened, picturing it my mind. I am seeing my grandma, who is now in her 80's as the old woman. Thankfully my grandmother has us to take care of her.

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  8. amazing story, i got into it and i teared my eye. kindness is something that people lacking these days. that taxi driver is one of a kind. it does feel good though when we do something good sincerely and heartily to someone regardless if we know that person or not. great story indeed

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  9. I have read this post in FB too and it made me cry. Even if its not true it is still a good story where we learn something. It wont hurt to do one random act of kindness

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  10. I have read this on FB post of one of my friends, it is very touching.Even it's just a little thing, it will bring smile to someone's face, then it's the biggest to those who have it.

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  11. It's very seldom that we meet sensible and sensitive people nowadays...what an awesome heart!

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  12. awww, nice to hear moments like this. it's different in NYC, i don't know, i always think people there are in a hurry and good thing this driver took a moment to give some companionship to this old woman.

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  13. I read this story in FB and it made me cry. Living in a fast-paced world, we tend to be impatient with older people. This is very touching.

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  14. it made me cry, even if it's a true story or just an imagination from the writer, the message was very clear for the all the readers, although money is very important, the act of kindness is still the most precious thing to give and receive.

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  15. such a touching story. I'm sure God purposely assigned him to pick up the old lady :)

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  16. :D very nice. sometimes, we don;t know what life brings us. they may look like hindrances or bumps but they are actually God-appointed stopovers.

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  17. wow this is such a beautiful story. i believe there are still people outthere who would stop and willing to help. when my car broke down in the middle of winter season in the country, out of 10, there was like 2 cars who stop and asked if they could help me. i said no because i already called a tow truck to tow my van. it sure feels nice. maybe in the country u will find a lot of nice people. but in the city? out of 100, there might be just 1. life in the city is pretty tough, you can never trust anybody, even your own friend.

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  18. Bless his heart for being patient. Seldom you can find someone that will think of others not his living. Touching story indeed and a random act of kindness.

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  19. this is a very touching story. It surely is worth the read.

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  20. It is a very nice story wrapped around the story of respect for the elderly and love for other people. Not many people in the world are like this person.

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