One tear and one smile!
Thought everyone might
like this one........
Subject: Last Cab Ride
Last Cab Ride* -
*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.*
*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.*
*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.*
*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.*
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Now a smile:
From: LLRodammer@aol.com
Date: 9/25/2013 11:53:55 AM
Subject: The Pilot
Cometh. . .
For our pilot
friends !!!!!
Once upon a time, after the Great
War (the war to end all wars), a former Army Air Corps pilot, caught by
nightfall's rapid approach and dwindling visibility, realized he better
find a landing spot fast. At the last minute, the intrepid aviator
glimpsed a field of new mown hay through a hole in the clouds.
Much
relieved, he landed and taxied up to the nearby farmhouse. The farmer
came out onto the front porch and said, "You can spend the night in
the barn, but stay away from my daughter."
As he
lay down, starting to doze off, said daughter brought him a
plate of supper. The conversation led to romance and the farmer's
number one requirement was disregarded.
As
dawn broke, our hero was long gone.
Some
seven years later, the pilot (now flying the U.S. Mail)passed over the farm and
decided to land and pay a visit. However, as he approached the house he
saw a six-year-old boy standing in the front yard with the object of his
former passion.
The
farmer's daughter, sensing his question said, "Yes, this is your
son."
"Why
didn't you let me know, I would've done the right thing," he said.
The
daughter replied, "We discussed it, even prayed about it, but in the
end we thought it was better to have a bastard in the family than a
pilot.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It Took 70 Years
... If you don't get it, ask an adult ...
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