A sweet lesson on patience.
An NYC Taxi driver wrote:
I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. ‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90′s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940′s movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.
‘Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. ‘It’s nothing’, I told her.. ‘I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.’
‘Oh, you’re such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, ‘Could you drive
through downtown?’
‘It’s not the shortest way,’ I answered quickly..
‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. ‘I don’t have any family left,’ she continued in a soft voice..’The doctor says I don’t have very long.’ I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
‘What route would you like me to take?’ I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, ‘I’m tired. Let’s go now’.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
‘How much do I owe you?’ She asked, reaching into her purse.
‘Nothing,’ I said
‘You have to make a living,’ she answered.
‘There are other passengers,’ I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.
‘You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..
I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
(A New York Taxi Driver's Story sharedon Facebook by WheninManilaContributor, Oct 7, 2014)
The 'Most Hated Mom In America,' Brenda Slaby, Provides An Update On Life After Her Tragic Mistake Posted: 10/08/2014 11:11 am EDT Updated: 10/08/2014 11:59 am EDT
For assistant principal Brenda Slaby, August 23, 2007 was supposed to be routine and uneventful, just like any other first day back at school for teachers. But from the moment her day started at 5:30 that morning, Brenda's normal routine was thrown off. Her husband, Gary, who typically handled the preschool and daycare drop-offs for their two daughters, had a dentist appointment and needed Brenda to take care of their youngest, 2-year-old Cecilia. Brenda rushed out the door with her daughter and was on the road by 6:00 a.m. It was too early to drop Cecilia at daycare, so Brenda ran a quick errand to pick up doughnuts for the teachers. She drove straight to school and dropped the doughnuts in the chorus room. "I rushed in, and the rest of the day was just a typical first day back for teachers," Brenda recalls.
Except, it wasn't a typical day at all. Late that summer afternoon, as temperatures reached 100 degrees, a teacher was walking to her own car when she happened to glance inside Brenda's. In the back seat was Cecilia.
The teacher immediately alerted Brenda, who sprinted out to the parking lot. "I grabbed Cecilia out of the car. I knew she was gone. As soon as I picked her up, I knew," Brenda says, crying. "I prayed harder than I've ever prayed in my life. But I knew she was gone."
Brenda shared her painful story as a wake-up call to other parents on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2008, supported by her husband Gary. Though Brenda referred to herself as "the most hated mom in America," Gary never blamed her for their daughter's death. Brenda couldn't view herself the same way.
"There's nothing compared to being that mother who spent their life trying to protect their kids from all these evil things in the world, and not being able to protect my daughter from myself," she said tearfully back then.
It's now been seven years since Brenda's fatal mistake, and "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" checked in with her to see how she's been doing since the tragedy.
"Life today is very different than it was seven years ago," Brenda says in the above video.
She is no longer with Gary -- "It was not due to Cecilia's death," Brenda says -- and focuses her time on her older daughter Allison, who she credits with helping her find the motivation to rebuild her life.
"She's the reason I got up every day. She's the reason I've done everything that I've done in the last seven years," Brenda says.
One of those things the grieving mother has done is refocus her career. Brenda was unable to return to the school system as an assistant principal, so she decided to further her own education and become a speech pathologist. Though it was difficult finding a school to hire her, Brenda eventually found the ideal fit.
"Through a lot of calls and a lot of other processes, we found a wonderful school in a wonderful district that was willing to take me in, to allow me to do my student-teaching," she says. "They ultimately hired me."
In a way, Brenda believes her new professional path connects her to her late daughter. "I'm working with a lot of severely disabled children -- nonverbal, autistic. I feel like, sometimes, that's the way Cecilia is working through me. That this is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life," Brenda says.
Her career is back on track, but Brenda admits that she still struggles with her self-esteem as a parent.
"I no longer feel like one of the most hated moms in America," she says. "But... there's always... in the back of my head that I allowed this to happen to Cecilia. So, I think I doubt a lot of things I do as a mom. It's very hard."
(Source: AOL "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.)
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An NYC Taxi driver wrote:
I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. ‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90′s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940′s movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.
‘Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. ‘It’s nothing’, I told her.. ‘I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.’
‘Oh, you’re such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, ‘Could you drive
through downtown?’
‘It’s not the shortest way,’ I answered quickly..
‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. ‘I don’t have any family left,’ she continued in a soft voice..’The doctor says I don’t have very long.’ I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
‘What route would you like me to take?’ I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, ‘I’m tired. Let’s go now’.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
‘How much do I owe you?’ She asked, reaching into her purse.
‘Nothing,’ I said
‘You have to make a living,’ she answered.
‘There are other passengers,’ I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.
‘You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..
I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
(A New York Taxi Driver's Story sharedon Facebook by WheninManilaContributor, Oct 7, 2014)
The 'Most Hated Mom In America,' Brenda Slaby, Provides An Update On Life After Her Tragic Mistake Posted: 10/08/2014 11:11 am EDT Updated: 10/08/2014 11:59 am EDT
For assistant principal Brenda Slaby, August 23, 2007 was supposed to be routine and uneventful, just like any other first day back at school for teachers. But from the moment her day started at 5:30 that morning, Brenda's normal routine was thrown off. Her husband, Gary, who typically handled the preschool and daycare drop-offs for their two daughters, had a dentist appointment and needed Brenda to take care of their youngest, 2-year-old Cecilia. Brenda rushed out the door with her daughter and was on the road by 6:00 a.m. It was too early to drop Cecilia at daycare, so Brenda ran a quick errand to pick up doughnuts for the teachers. She drove straight to school and dropped the doughnuts in the chorus room. "I rushed in, and the rest of the day was just a typical first day back for teachers," Brenda recalls.
Except, it wasn't a typical day at all. Late that summer afternoon, as temperatures reached 100 degrees, a teacher was walking to her own car when she happened to glance inside Brenda's. In the back seat was Cecilia.
The teacher immediately alerted Brenda, who sprinted out to the parking lot. "I grabbed Cecilia out of the car. I knew she was gone. As soon as I picked her up, I knew," Brenda says, crying. "I prayed harder than I've ever prayed in my life. But I knew she was gone."
Brenda shared her painful story as a wake-up call to other parents on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2008, supported by her husband Gary. Though Brenda referred to herself as "the most hated mom in America," Gary never blamed her for their daughter's death. Brenda couldn't view herself the same way.
"There's nothing compared to being that mother who spent their life trying to protect their kids from all these evil things in the world, and not being able to protect my daughter from myself," she said tearfully back then.
It's now been seven years since Brenda's fatal mistake, and "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" checked in with her to see how she's been doing since the tragedy.
"Life today is very different than it was seven years ago," Brenda says in the above video.
She is no longer with Gary -- "It was not due to Cecilia's death," Brenda says -- and focuses her time on her older daughter Allison, who she credits with helping her find the motivation to rebuild her life.
"She's the reason I got up every day. She's the reason I've done everything that I've done in the last seven years," Brenda says.
One of those things the grieving mother has done is refocus her career. Brenda was unable to return to the school system as an assistant principal, so she decided to further her own education and become a speech pathologist. Though it was difficult finding a school to hire her, Brenda eventually found the ideal fit.
"Through a lot of calls and a lot of other processes, we found a wonderful school in a wonderful district that was willing to take me in, to allow me to do my student-teaching," she says. "They ultimately hired me."
In a way, Brenda believes her new professional path connects her to her late daughter. "I'm working with a lot of severely disabled children -- nonverbal, autistic. I feel like, sometimes, that's the way Cecilia is working through me. That this is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life," Brenda says.
Her career is back on track, but Brenda admits that she still struggles with her self-esteem as a parent.
"I no longer feel like one of the most hated moms in America," she says. "But... there's always... in the back of my head that I allowed this to happen to Cecilia. So, I think I doubt a lot of things I do as a mom. It's very hard."
(Source: AOL "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.)
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