That’s what he said. He was talking about chauffeuring people around for a living.
“I’ve only been doing this for a week,” my Uber driver told me. “I was working at restaurants before, but I got tired of that. Had to take a break for a while. Then a friend got me into this. I’ll do it for a few months. Then life will probably take me somewhere else again.”
“In a restaurant, you have to be always on, you know? In here, it’s like…if the customer wants to talk, then great. If not, then I’ll just have a quiet drive.” But of course, the best part was the same part that makes everything in this life great, he said: the people.
“You get all kinds of people. And you get to see what their values are. How different the perceptions can be.” A few days earlier, he drove a professional soccer player, he said. I asked him if the driving is okay in Munich. He said it was easy enough. “Berlin, Hamburg, those are much worse places to drive.”
I got into his cab trying to go to a beer garden to meet a friend. I got out with a lot of new perspective. “It’s nice that I get to do this.” What an empowering way to look at the world. So long, Mr. Uber driver. Perhaps we’ll meet again sometime. And I’m sure whatever you’ll be doing, you’re going to appreciate the moment’s gifts.
