Taxi Drivers

Today, my most meaningful conversation was my last. I don't say this because the rest of my day lacked value. Indeed, I spent the whole afternoon and evening with close (and very amusing) friends. But it seems that the most memorable conversations always happen with strangers. Nothing can really top connecting with someone you've never met before.

Tonight, the exceptional stranger was my cab driver. After sipping a beer with friends at Rosewood bar (plopped in the midst of the ambiguous transition from Chinatown to North Beach), I decided to wander home. BART (public transportation) was closed and I resorted to the bus. The 14 never came, so I began flapping my wing streetside for taxis to see. A mini van pulled over and I hopped in.

"Valencia and 16th, please."

Note the polite tone. I love talking to cab drivers. They are such mysterious people - men (and very occasionally women) of the night. Plus, your life is in their hands. Might as well make friends, eh?


Tonight my driver had dark, dark skin and a noticeable accent. After some initial questions, I ask where he is from.

"Sudan," he says. "Ever been there."

(Of course I haven't).

He is driving the cab to save money for school. He will get a bachelors from Berkeley in political science, then a masters in international relations.

He left Sudan because otherwise he would have been killed by the Sudanese government, or the Egyptians, whichever got to him first.

I, on the other hand, grew up one hour away. I just had a night of drinking with my buddies. My work does nothing to save any lives or land.

"Thanks for the nice chat," he tells me as I pay him $10. God no, thank you!

We all ultimately live a life defined by our own thoughts, our own heads. It keeps us from completely understanding others and what the rest of the people on this Earth are doing or fighting for. I suppose that it is a sign of hope, however, that chance meetings with people we do not know and will likely never see again can evoke awareness of issues and stir us towards action. With the slightest effort, we can find camaraderie and inspiration from one another. Even from the back of a taxi cab in San Francisco.