The Cab Ride
Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living.
When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would
just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away.
But, I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door.
This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. 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 80'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, 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, 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, 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.
You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send it to ten people.
But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending it on. Thank you, my friend....
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.
Every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special.
Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a GIFT!

( eine wahre geschichte eines bekannten meiner freundin)

die schönsten herbstfarben
ob auch stein die kälte fühlt?
he du, ja du mensch, haste mal ne nuß für mich?
auf dieser bank wird sich heuer keiner mehr niederlassen
diese ente sieht paradiesisch aus, als wärs aus plastik
danach ein guter kaffee
in einer kleinen meierei, wo die leute ganz *leise* sprechen

dieses da find ich wirklich nett!

"To meet everything and everyone through stillness instead of mental noise is the greatest gift you can offer to the universe. I call it stillness, but it is a jewel with many facets: that stillness is also joy, and it is love." [tolle]
°°°°°°°°°
ja, gefällt mir, das werde ich mir für heute vornehmen!

Skrupellose Irre erobern die Chefetagen
US-Forscher warnt vor steigender Zahl der psychopathischen Führungskräfte
Ist Ihr Chef eine charmante Führungspersönlichkeit, die schnurstracks die Karriereleiter hinaufklettert? Falls ja, könnte er ein Psychopath sein, wie US-Psychologen jetzt herausgefunden haben wollen. Forschungen hätten ergeben, dass nicht alle Psychopathen brutale Killer seien, sagte der US-Wirtschaftspsychologe Paul Babiak am Mittwoch auf einem Wissenschaftskongress in Stockholm. Vielmehr arbeiteten viele in allen möglichen Berufszweigen und machten Karriere. "Psychopathen sind häufig liebenswürdig, haben Selbstbewusstsein und stehen auf Geld, Macht und Sex. Weil sie sich gut ausdrücken können, denkt jeder, sie hätten Visionen und wären zur Unternehmensführung geeignet", so der Wissenschafter. Hinzu kommt nach Babiaks Ansicht, dass Psychopathen oft ganz bewusst eingestellt werden - bedarf die heutige Geschäftswelt doch oft gewissenloser Chefs, die vor harten, schnellen Entscheidungen nicht zurückschrecken. "Ein Psychopath hätte keine Skrupel, einen ganzen Betrieb zu schließen, während einer wirklichen Führungspersönlichkeit die Entlassungen Leid tun würden." Langfristig aber ist ein Psychopath ein Problem für eine Firma, wie Babiak betont. "Sie sind ungeeignet für die tägliche Routinearbeit und nutzen die anderen Angestellten aus." Der Psychologe warnte davor, dass die Zahl der Psychopathen in Unternehmen in den kommenden Jahren noch steigen werde. In seiner Karriere als Berater für US-Firmen seien ihm unter 100 Angestellten rund acht Psychopathen begegnet - alle in gehobenen Positionen. (apa)
/gefunden im Standard/