One Last Drive - A Story of an elderly dying lady-very touching and a story to remember.
One taxi driver picks up a fare that changes his life.
By Kent Nerburn
There was a time in my life
twenty years ago when
I was driving a cab for a living.
It was a cowboy's life,
a gambler's life,
a life for someone who wanted no boss,
constant movement, and the thrill
of a dice roll every time
a new passenger got into the cab.
What I didn't count on when I took the job
was that it was also a way to be a difference.
Because I drove the night shift,
my cab became a rolling confessional.
Passengers would climb in,
sit behind me in total anonymity,
and tell me of their lives.
I encountered people whose lives amazed me,
ennobled me, made me laugh and made me weep.
And none of those lives touched me more
than that of a woman I picked up
late on a warm August night.
There was nothing more to say.
I squeezed her hand once,
then walked out into the dim morning light.
Behind me, I could hear the door shut.
It was the sound of the closing of a life.
I did not pick up
any more passengers that shift.
I drove aimlessly, lost in thought.
For the remainder 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?
Main Index
When days are filled with sunshine
How close we hold a friend; it's good
to share the laughter,
the dreams that have no end.
And it is fun exchanging
some episode of fun
and finding much in common,
in all that you have done.
But when the days are shadowed,
Perhaps with pain or grief,
The Bonds of Friendship tighten,
almost beyond belief.
And burdens aren't so heavy,
when someone takes your hand:
And not a word is needed,
to prove she understands.
The world would be so lonely,
In sunny hours or gray,
Without the gift of friendship,
to help us ,every day.