Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A cab ride I'll never forget (1999)

kentnerburn.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 174 posts

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

#101

Post by hammyhavoc »

don-code wrote: post #97
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…

Back in high school, I fulfilled my community service requirement at a local nursing home. Several of the residents there had no local friends or family, and as a result, no visitors. I was tasked just with giving them someone to talk to. What surprised me is that most of the residents did not want to talk to someone - they wanted to be left alone. Many assumed they'd be going home, and didn't want to build any frien…

You're a top bloke.

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

#102

Post by butterfi »

This hit me right in the feels. Decades ago I was a paperboy whose route included an old age home. I'll never forget that place - it was a soul-less 50's 4-story building that stank of strong disinfectant. It was unnerving, even for a somewhat clueless kid. I was very into WWII airplanes and struck up a friendship with a former pilot who shared his stories and gave me a few photos. He was a very nice man and I remember thinking how sad I was he was alone. I'm a lot closer to that age now and it still breaks my heart.

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

#103

Post by butterfi »

bithead wrote: post #37
zahrc wrote: post #19

Small acts of kindness are more than enough to make someone else’s day. They sometimes even change lives. I hope this story reminds people that this is not just an empty platitude.

In a sense, there are no small acts of kindness. They are all great.

That was beautiful.

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

#105

Post by JKCalhoun »

sequoia wrote: post #63
shepherdjerred wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I've been a hitchhiker and I've picked up hitchhikers though not in years as they're less common today where I live and I've been a parent and I won't pick up hitchhikers with my kids in the car. So while I was going to say "I don't think there's much risk" I guess I must admit I do acknowledge some risk involved, given that I won't do it with my kids aboard. But overall hitchhikers are people just like you and me, t…

Yep. Hitchhiked from/to Alaska many decades ago. Trust me, the hitchhikers are nervous too.

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

#106

Post by JKCalhoun »

wintogreen74 wrote: post #66
shepherdjerred wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I've experienced both sides, and been more afraid as a hitchhiker than as the driver, mostly from terrible driving vs. any direct bodily threat. I'm a large male too, though maybe always-connected & cell phones would actually make this safer for women?

A guy picked me up when I was hitchhiking out of Whitehorse, Yukon (or maybe it was Haines Junction?). I should have been suspicious since he had just left a bar (and for some reason had hundreds and hundreds of empty bottles in the back of his pickup truck — for recycling?).

Yeah, he's swerving on the highway. He even let me know the RCMP were very serious about drunk driving. I offered to drive but he declined my offer.

It was the only time I saw the Northern Light in full spectacle — he pulled over for that. Blew my mind (although, at the same time, I was running on very little sleep).

This was back in the mid 1980's, I believe.

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

#107

Post by markstos »

One after a yoga class I got ride home with the teacher. I didn't know him well, but I knew he was also studying to be a chaplain. He seemed shaken.

He shared that earlier that day he had visited a nursing home to hear the story of an older woman. Just listen. She told him her story and then, just died. He had this strong sense that she was just waiting to tell her story before she let go.

I wasn't impacted like he was, but like the taxi ride this carpool created an intimate space to share a personal story. It's been a couple decades and I have not forgotten this one.

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

#109

Post by hutzlibu »

jll29 wrote: post #100
nus07 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is another thing which cell phones have killed. Today odds are you would be trying to call or text to get in or just browsing on your phone with no time to listen to some old man’s stories .

Perhaps, once a year, there ought to be an "Official offline day", where all cellular networks are down, so humans can have such moments of serendipity again.

I would vote for more cellphone free areas. But I would be totally in for the offline day everywhere (minus real emergencies).
Post reply on HN