Sunday 14 September 2008

Taxi driver on the left, thank you

I left on 28th of August with a handfull of bags and turned right heading towards the beach avenue. As I was late, I thought the best would be to get the bus that goes along the seaside.

It was a quick decision, I don´t know why I looked to my left. There was a taxi driver cleaning his car. He was smilig and waved to me. I guess.

Probably it was a question of empathy, I don´t know why I suddenly decided I would take a taxi. Bags, hurry, the smell of the sea at night.

We only exchanged a few words, because a friend phoned me and, unexpectedly, we talked for quite a long time. When I left, he wished me "peace and health". I thanked him and wished him the same.
It was only when I arrived at the restaurant that I realised that I had lost my cell phone. Probably it simply fell down when I stepped out of the cab. But the driver was already gone.
I love to hear the bus driver saying "Be with God"*, when getting off the bus on my way to work. Oh, I will. Oh, we will.

It´s like the Brazilian version of the namaste.

I suppose I don´t need to tell you the end of the story, do I? It seems so obvious that taxi drivers that wish you "peace and health" will find a way to return lost cell phones to their owners, even if they are blocked by a password or have their batteries down.Honestly, I was not surprised. However, this has not diminished my gratitude to him an inch.

* Litteraly in Brazilian Portuguese saying would be "Go with God".

2 comments:

Squared said...

I guess this is one of those pay it forward moments.

Nice. :)

bella see said...

Dear 2, or would it be 4 (squared...)?, thank you for your comment & link. Actually there was no money involved and that´s why it was so valuable to me.

But yes, indeed the concept "generalized reciprocity" makes a lot of sense to me. :)