This email has been around more than once, but such a lesson is taught.....Betty
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> I arrived at the address where someone had requested a taxi. I honked but
> no one came out. I honked again, nothing. So I walked 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 1940s 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, and 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 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. '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.
>
>
> PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, BUT THEY
> WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.
> Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as
> well dance.
> IN GOD WE TRUST---
About two hours later we were in New York City. We've driven there before but it looks entirely different from the sky.....
As we deplaned, the Captain and Stewardess greeted us. I thanked him for a first safe flight and asked if I might make their picture. She instead made mine with him...I had requested Sully but...well...you know.....
Some of the scenery down at South Street Seaport....
A water taxi....
The Brooklyn Bridge in the background.
Lunch at the Pacific Grill....LaRue, Joyce, Susie, Betty, Mary Jo, Delores, Nancy, Wanda and where is Jane? That's a picture of her purse......
Here's Jane...the pretty lady on the bottom left.....
Brooklyn Bridge...
Chinatown...Later, we went back to shop, eat ice cream .......
