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A cab ride I'll never forget (1999)

kentnerburn.com

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Re: A cab ride I'll never forget (1999)

#71

Post by eezurr »

macintux wrote: post #34

I have been fortunate enough (privileged enough?) to feel comfortable picking up hitchhikers (or simply people walking along the road) over the years, and while most aren't particularly noteworthy, a few have been rough. One teenage boy had just been thrown out of his house, with nothing other than a torn shirt and shorts, by his drunk father. I drove him to his girlfriend's place. One desperate father had taken a bu…

I did this once while returning from a road trip from Boston to the northern tip of New Hampshire and back. Younger and dumber?

I picked up some 50+ year old man with very long brown hair (down to his butt). He was definitely an outsider. Told me stories, how the FBI interrogated him once for having a book (I forget which one). How he used to work as a guard at the local jail, then as a cook at a castle-like hotel (both in the area). How his stress free life and eating local herbs/forest plants has prevented his hair from graying. Talked about his tiny, simple house with two rooms. He told me about American ginseng (illegal to harvest btw), and we pulled off the side of the road to find some. The plant made part of my lips swell a bit. Had that "lots of enzymes" flavor (like how peaches/strawberries/etc can tickle the inside of your mouth, but much stronger).

He said he had an wife in Kentucky that he hadn't finished divorcing, and then he asked me to drive him all the way back to Boston. He didn't even request to stop by his house. I let him out in downtown and he walked off into the night, presumably towards the airport.

Edit: oh yeah, i forgot that craziest part. He said people have been lnyched during his time living there. (Sorry if this is too dark, but all things considered, its hard to believe everything he said)

Re: A cab ride I'll never forget (1999)

#72

Post by kibwen »

shepherdjerred wrote: post #56
macintux wrote: post #34

I have been fortunate enough (privileged enough?) to feel comfortable picking up hitchhikers (or simply people walking along the road) over the years, and while most aren't particularly noteworthy, a few have been rough. One teenage boy had just been thrown out of his house, with nothing other than a torn shirt and shorts, by his drunk father. I drove him to his girlfriend's place. One desperate father had taken a bu…

Are you not scared of picking people up? I would love to help others, but I've always been worried that it could go poorly.

While hitchhiking, I was once picked up by a mother with her young children in the backseat. It seemed odd even to me that she would take such a risk with a stranger, but in the course of the drive she explained that her eldest daughter was a serial hitchhiker and that it gave her peace of mind to provide the sort of positive encounters that she hoped her daughter would experience.

Re: A cab ride I'll never forget (1999)

#73

Post by me_smith »

gk1 wrote: post #39

Nearly 20 years ago my friend and I returned to his dorm building after a long long night out, only to discover we were locked out. With nothing better to do, we sat outside on the stoop and planned to chat the hours away until 6am when the doors would reopen. Before the dawn came, a man in his 80s almost walked past us. He stopped to ask for directions somewhere, maybe to a church. After our half-hearted attempt at…

Thank you for sharing your story.

When I was in college, I joined a community service fraternity. One of the most memorable and heartwarming event was our visit to a retirement home. We were there to help the staff, but the best part was sitting with the residents and listening to their stories. Stories of war, stories of love, stories of friendship. Stories waiting for an attentive and friendly ear. Sometimes, all you need to do is just listen.

I look back at that day with fond memories.

Re: A cab ride I'll never forget (1999)

#74

Post by gigantaure »

today I'm with my father, he we scheduled for angioplasty which was unsuccessful as he will need heart surgery. His heart is to clogged up. We are now waiting to see the doctor for the next steps.

As I'm seeing him age and become more fragile, I also don't think I've done anything more important that what I'm doing right now.

thank you for sharing this story.

Re: A cab ride I'll never forget (1999)

#75

Post by AnimalMuppet »

gk1 wrote: post #49
agentwiggles wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had two fairly magical musical experiences with old guys during my college days. One happened during my junior year. I lived in a house with two other guys, who were out of town for the night, so I was home alone. I was short on cash so decided to just stay home, and I was playing guitar out on the stoop of my house drinking from a bottle of cheap wine that was left over in the fridge. I was pretty delighted when t…

Lesson: People should hang out on stoops more often.

I think we had more of an actual civic life when they did. But two things changed: Television and air conditioning. Television meant that there was something to do inside. Air conditioning made it possible to go inside, at least in the summer. Now nobody hangs out on stoops.

Re: A cab ride I'll never forget (1999)

#76

Post by TonyTrapp »

linuxftw wrote: post #38

Reading this I got the impression that the person is a professional writer and fictionalized for emotional effect. Indeed, this is from an author. I'm all but immune to sentimentalism on the internet, and this story came across like a facebook chain letter.

From the previous thread on the same story: https://www.truthorfiction.com/cabbie/

TLDR: "He told TruthOrFiction.com that the story is true and happened to him in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the early 1980’s. At the time he was working as a driver for the Yellow Cab company and worked what he called “the dog shift” overnight."

Re: A cab ride I'll never forget (1999)

#80

Post by linuxftw »

TonyTrapp wrote: post #76
linuxftw wrote: post #38

Reading this I got the impression that the person is a professional writer and fictionalized for emotional effect. Indeed, this is from an author. I'm all but immune to sentimentalism on the internet, and this story came across like a facebook chain letter.

From the previous thread on the same story: https://www.truthorfiction.com/cabbie/ TLDR: "He told TruthOrFiction.com that the story is true and happened to him in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the early 1980’s. At the time he was working as a driver for the Yellow Cab company and worked what he called “the dog shift” overnight."

Fictionalized doesn't mean the entire story is fake, it's that fictional elements were added to it.

While I believe he was a cabbie, and took someone to hospice at some point, I think that's as far as the truth goes. For starters, little old ladies don't call cabs at 2:30AM to go to a hospice facility.

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