Sitting in the front is so different than in the back. When you're in the back, the plastic barrier between you and the driver makes you talk about the weather, tourist attractions that you happen to pass by, how business is...if even that. In the front, you talk about life. The driver was from Morocco. In Morocco, he used to be a physics and math teacher; but, after coming to the U.S., he could not find a teaching job and had to become a taxi driver to pay his bills. When he is not driving, he spends his time reading physics books. Wow, I became intrigued...
"Can I teach you two lessons that I've learned in life?" Of course I say yes, and he proceeds to share two very simple principles that we've all heard since we were babies:
- Don't talk behind anyone's back. Just the day before I complained to a friend about a mutual friend's "immature" behavior...
- Don't steal. I thought I was safe from this one until the driver reminded me that you can steal time. Do I Gchat/Facebook a tad too much at work?
We were now parked at the train station, and I thanked him for everything. His final words to me were, "If you were Moroccan, I would ask you to marry me." So there you go: my first quasi marriage proposal. The front really is a different place: try it, it's refreshing!
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2 comments:
I really like this post. A lot. The reason being that it naturally succeeds at being simple, attractive, informative and instructive. Reading this I was reminded that Mei likes your writing persona quite a bit, and it is easy to see why. It’s things like this that tempt me to try blogging. Le sigh. Anyway, I go tangential. What I really like is that there are, as it were, two lessons – and the more important one is hidden behind the obvious one. The driver’s advice is timely and relevant (especially the time theft bit that you elaborated on), but more important for me is the simple joy from meeting and talking to people; taking interest in them and sharing their concerns. But, to do that is not an easy thing. One needs to leave the shadows and shores of his own isle and sail on uncharted waters; go boldly beyond the plastic, which is to say artifical, barriers we have placed between ourselves for the sake of “safety”. I am happy you brought tidings to toughen the timid from the “different place”. Needless to say, if I were Moroccan …. ;)
Thank you! It's almost been a year since I brainstormed the idea of Jelly Theory with you. I have found blogging to be an enjoyable process. With blogging, anyone can hold a microphone and promote him/herself, so I'm still getting over the narcissist factor. (Do I sync my blog with Facebook Notes?) And, as you can see, my posts have been few...unlike a true blogger, I don't feel the urgency and inspiration to post everyday...yet.
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