On the Road

 I took a week off so that I could attend Lexy and Ellis’s wedding.  On my first day back, it was not as enjoyable for me and although I had no issues, the people in the car were okay but not interested in conversing until my last ride.  He was actually my first passenger when I began as a driver.  When I was sent to the address, I knew it was for a kidney dialysis patient.  I was excited when he came out and I recognized him and he recognized me.  We spent the ride home talking about Utah after I told him about the wedding.  He told me about taking his daughter up there once because seeing Monument Valley had been on her bucket list.  It is interesting how just one common word can begin a conversation.  I have run the gamut on dialysis patients.  Some have come out hardly able to walk, some who don’t seem like they had just had a major procedure done.  I have picked up one lady twice who gets in the car and asks me to turn off any cold air because she is freezing.  She is sure that they put the blood in a freezer before returning it to her body.  I don’t know what really happens in there but I always sympathize with her.   One of the things that touches me the most is that they know that they will be going back again and again and yet they are positive and upbeat in spite of that.

As I have mentioned before I would say 90% of the passengers I take and pick up have issues with drugs.  I picked up a man today who spent the almost 45-minute ride telling me about his cheating wife (don’t worry—I think it was mostly in his imagination) and how her boyfriend was coming through the attic grates to be with her.  He also told me that he had a dream and met Jesus.  He said it was really cool because Jesus had dreadlocks and all kinds and colors of lights emanating from him.   While on this subject I want to say one thing about marijuana.  Anyone who voted for and even thought that drugs like marijuana should be legal should spend the day with me watching one passenger after another who have hardly any life left in them.  I believe drugs have destroyed more lives that we can even comprehend.  I am never afraid to transport them but more often than not I grieve at the life that has been destroyed because of a weed wrapped up in paper.