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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)

#141

Post by disillusioned »

ajmurmann wrote: post #115
gk1 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lesson: People should hang out on stoops more often.

I just listened to a section in the audiobook We Should Hang Out in which the author describes how people in a Blue Zone in Costa Rica hang out in groups outside every evening and have bbq together. Families with neighbors we etc.. It seems so healthy and I want something like that. In the Portland, OR area houses are required to have porches to foster community, but still most of them are to small to be attractive t…

I'm fortunate enough to live in a 100-year-old home in Phoenix, which is a rarity. It happens to be a large neo-classical style (think: colonial) that has a porch that spans the entire front facade. Some times, we'll sit out there, and the number of neighbors we've met on walks and such has been really delightful. You don't have community if you don't have any place to commune, it turns out.

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

#142

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

FieryTransition wrote: post #120
bcrosby95 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> like how peaches/strawberries/etc can tickle the inside of your mouth, but much stronger This is a food allergy. It's not "normal" for food to cause tingling or tickling.

Except things like fresh kiwi or pineapple, those enzymes can be harsh.

Papain is notorious for it.

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

#144

Post by motoxpro »

mansoon wrote: post #134
neilv wrote: post #40

> it was possible to believe that I had been placed on earth for the sole purpose of providing her with that last ride. I suspect that a lot of people have a "heroism gene". In situations in which they're doing something selfless, and nothing matters other than helping the person before them who really needs it, there's an implicit "this is my purpose" or "this is what we do". I've wondered where that comes from, nat…

I did this for a friend once--housed a friend for 8 months during the pandemic--and it turned out they were just using me and deepening their addiction. I don't really believe in caring about people anymore. I argued against that conclusion, but I lost.

I'm sorry :(. I guess that's why it's hard, because it doesn't always turn out right. This person probably did thousands of drives in their life and only ONE of them led them to that feeling.

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

#145

Post by ceceron »

In 2014, I've met in Krakow a Ukrainian woman in her sixties, feeding pigeons just next to the Wisla river. It wasn't anything uncommon, during the Crimean crisis hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians migrated to Poland. She asked me in Polish/Ukrainian how to reach the main square — she has been in Krakow for many days but hasn't been able to see the city attractions. I had few minutes to spare so I decided to walk her to the old city (~15 min walk). The short walk transformed into a tour over the restaurants — we had to visit every kitchen to ask if they would employ her as a kitchen aid; then over the churches — she was an orthodox, I believe, but she prayed in every catholic church for her family, Ukraine and finally, for me. When we have finally reached the main square, she was so authentically delighted with the place — she stopped everywhere to admire and marvel on various old buildings and... tourists. She was so happy to be able to talk (me, being a poor substitute for a translator) with tourists from USA and western Europe. Tourists were also happy to give her some small souvenirs (e.g. very small American flag you can attach to your backpack).

All in all, the short walk took few hours, she was very talkative and I've learned a lot about her life in the central Ukraine and I've been invited to visit her anytime. The thing I will remember the most is how she appreciated the world around her, everything was so interesting and new — a world-view foreign to most of the people I know. It was a very enriching walk and I don't regret it, even if it destroyed my daily routine ;)

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

#146

Post by euske »

This article reminds me of my father. After my mother died, he's living alone in my home town. He spend most of his days without talking to anyone, but I know he's keeping a diary. And I'm sure he has a lot of story to tell, but the problem is how. As a shy Japanese man who's born in 1940s' he isn't a very talkative type, especially to his son. I think I should go back seeing him occassionaly, but I might still miss the opportunity of listening. I'm just writing here to remind myself. I should do something about it. Probably.

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

#147

Post by scooke »

In case you all have overlooked this fact, we are all going to be this old person, soon. We have time to show kindness, and we have time to live an interesting, fulfilling life. I'm at a point when I wonder, when I hit that truly old stage, who will even believe the stories I could tell, never mind listen. It might be better to write a book, before I'mn old, so that it won't seem like just the ramblings of an old person.

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

#148

Post by madaxe_again »

taxicabjesus wrote: post #23

I drove a taxi for about 3.5 years. Mostly it was random people going places. Taxi driving is not the most intellectually stimulating job, so I amused myself by talking to my passengers to figure out if they had anything to teach me. After a few shifts I became aware of a Metaphysical Matching Algorithm, where I was being sent specific passengers for reasons more than just 'transportation'. I'm still in contact with…

You’d like Arthur Koestler’s “Roots of Coincidence”, if you haven’t already read it.

I’d wave this away as metaphysical waffle if I also hadn’t had a few too many almost ordained seeming moments. Right place, right time sort of thing, what on earth are you doing in this cornfield miles from anywhere at 3am, never mind me?

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

#150

Post by phonescreen_man »

dang wrote: post #116
phonescreen_man wrote: post #79

ChatGPT3 makes me no longer trust online writing. was that writing part of the simulation program, I’ll never truly know.

In this case you will, because it was apparently published in a book 20 years ago.

Yeah according to the internet. In 1984 Wilson’s job is to change the internet in subtle ways so that the lies become the truth. How can we really be sure anymore unless we directly | personal know the author?
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