Inspirational story: The taxi driver and the grandmother

A New York taxi driver says:

 

I arrived at the address and I honked. After waiting a few minutes, I honk again. Since this was my last race of the day, I was thinking of leaving, but finally I parked and then I headed for the door and I cracked.

"Just a minute," said an elderly voice. I could hear something lying on the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A little woman of 90 years stood in front of me. She wore a printed dress and a veiled hat, looking like a 1940s movie character.

 

Beside her there was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment seemed as if nobody had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

 

There was no clock on the walls, no trinkets or utensils on the counters. In one corner there was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

 

"Could you carry my luggage to the car? " she says. I carried the suitcase to my vehicle, then went back to help the woman.

 

She took my arm and we walked slowly to the edge of the sidewalk.

 

She did not stop to thank me for my kindness. "It's nothing," I told him, "I'm just trying to treat my passengers the way I want my mother to be treated. "

 

"Oh, you're a good boy," she says. When we arrived in the car, she gave me an address, then asked, "Can you go through the city center? "

 

"It's not the shortest way," I replied.

 

"Oh, that does not bother me," she says. " I am not in a hurry. I go to the hospice center. "

 

I looked in the rearview mirror. His eyes twinkled. "I do not have a family," she said softly. "The doctor says I do not have any for a very long time. I quietly stopped the meter.

 "What road 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 worked as an elevator operator.

We went through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She made me stop in front of a furniture warehouse that was at that time a ballroom where she went dancing when she was a girl.

 

Sometimes she asked me to slow down in front of a particular building or in a corner and sat staring in the dark, without saying anything.

 

When the sun began to reach the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired I'd like to go there now".

 

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a small building, like a little convalescent house, with a portico to enter an alley.

 

Two nurses went out and headed for the taxi. They were very attentive and watched all the movements of the old lady. Obviously they were waiting for his arrival.

 

I opened the trunk and carried the little suitcase to the door. The woman was already sitting in a wheelchair.

 

"How much do I owe you? She asked me, opening her bag.

 

"Nothing," I tell him.

 

"You have to make a living," she replied.

 

"There will be other passengers," I replied.

 

Almost without thinking, I leaned over and gave him a hug. She hugged me hard.

 

"You gave a little moment of joy to an old lady," she says. " Thank you. "

 

I shook his hand, and turned around. Behind me, a door slammed, it was the sound of a life that ends.

 

I did not take any passengers the rest of my run. I drove aimlessly in my thoughts.

 

I hardly spoke the rest of the evening. What would have happened if this woman had to deal with an angry driver, or someone impatient and in a hurry? What if I had refused to take the race, or had honked several times, then left without waiting?

 

After thinking, I do not think I have done anything more important in my life.

 

We are conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments are often pretty little moments that we do not pay enough attention to. "

 

Unknown author.