Love And The Cabbie:
I was in New York the other day and rode with a friend in a taxi. When
we got out, my friend said to the driver, "Thank you for the ride. You
did a superb job of driving." The taxi driver was stunned for a second.
Then he said,"Are you a wise guy or something?" "No, my dear man, and I'm
not putting you on. I admire the way you keep cool in heavy traffic."
"Yeah," the driver said and drove off. "What was that all about?" I
asked. I am trying to bring love back to New York," he said. "I believe
it's the only thing that can save the city. ""How can one man save New
York?" "It's not one man. I believe I have made that taxi driver's day.
Suppose he has 20 fares. He's going to be nice to those 20 fares because
someone was nice to him. Those fares in turn will be kinder to their
employees or shopkeepers or waiters or even their own families.
Eventually the good will could spread to at least 1,000 people. Now that
isn't bad, is it?" "But you're depending on that taxi driver to pass your
good will to others." "I'm not depending on it," my friend said. "I'm
aware that the system isn't foolproof so I might deal with ten different
people today. If out of ten I can make three happy, then eventually I can
indirectly influence the attitudes of 3,000 more. ""It sounds good on
paper," I admitted, "but I'm not sure it works in practice." "Nothing is
lost if it doesn't. It didn't take any of my time to tell that man he was
doing a good job. He neither received a larger tip nor a smaller tip. If
it fell on deaf ears, so what? Tomorrow there will be another taxi driver
I can try to make happy." "You're some kind of a nut," I said. "That
shows how cynical you have become. I have made a study of this. The thing
that seems to be lacking, besides money of course, for our postal
employees, is that no one tells people who work for the post office what
a good job they're doing." "But they're not doing a good job. ""They're
not doing a good job because they feel no one cares if they do or not.
Why shouldn't someone say a kind word to them?" We were walking past a
structure in the process of being built and passed five workmen eating
their lunch. My friend
stopped. "That's a magnificent job you men have done. It must be
difficult and dangerous work." The workmen eyed my friend suspiciously.
"When will it be finished?" June, a man grunted. "Ah. That really is
impressive. You must all be very proud." We walked away. I said to him,
"" I haven't seen anyone like you since The Man From La Mancha." "When
those men digest my words, they will feel better for it. Somehow the city
will benefit from their happiness." "But you can't do this all alone!" I
protested. "You're just one man." "The most important thing is not to get
discouraged. Making people in the city become kind again is not an easy
job, but if I can enlist other people in my campaign." You just winked
at a very plain-looking woman," I said. "Yes, I know," he replied. "And
if she's a school teacher, her class will be in for a fantastic day."
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