Old Fella

continued from yesterday...

The old fella patiently waiting at the rank climbed aboard thanking me profusely and claimed he’d been waiting forty five minutes. I explained how the women had attempted to commandeer his cab but he was pretty philosophic about it. "Well, that’s people for you. There’ll always be people in life like that."

He was a seventy six year old widower and suffered from an long-standing neck injury. But rather than receiving treatment he’d only attended the hospital at the doctors' request, to serve as a ‘guinea pig’ for anatomy students. This was his second such visit in a week, a $20 cab fare each way making for an $80 sacrifice from his pension.

When I expressed surprise that given he was doing them a favour, they might at least have arranged his transport, he just shrugged and chuckled, "What can you do ?" So I changed the subject and asked, "How you going at home, you managing okay ?" "It’s getting harder all the time," he said, "but you’ve just got to keep going, haven’t you ?" Other than a daughter who did his weekly shopping he was fending for himself.

The least I could do was supply written details of the half price taxi vouchers for pensioners, plus the subsidized Homecare cleaning service and MediAlert security button. News of these ancillary services cheered him up somewhat and he promised to have his daughter organise the applications.

By the time we arrived at the old bugger’s house, he was in better spirits and obviously relieved to be home. Before alighting he offered me a handshake in gratitude, a claw-like arthritic hand with beautifully smooth skin. This coupled with his wave goodbye had me feeling like I’d received a bonus, and so the remainder of the shift was a breeze.

Comments

[LaLa]

Adrian, thank you for such a heart warming post.

Such small acts of kindness reaffirm my faith in the human race.

[Dataceptionist]

Here here LaLa!
I hope my great aunt and grandmother who take taxis are lucky enough to travel with you one day.

[Carnavore]

Adrian, I should know better than to read your blog from work, you've now caused me to be sitting here with a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat. You are a genuinely good man.

[Invig]

Ah, Adrian, disabusing free-market ideologues since...when did this site begin btw???

[John]

Good on you Adrian.
I lived in Sydney many years ago when it was a great place and most people were typical Aussies. Your blog is like a breath of fresh air and reminds me of the those days. But I won't be back.

[Goldstein]

Yup, the more our pathetic "governments" abandon what should be core business -caring for our sick and elderly -the more these issues spill into the streets -people suffering from mental illness wandering aimlessly, getting exploited and into trouble -a senior psychiatrist here in Adelaide said to a Coroner's Inquest, reported in "The Advertiser" on 3 August 2007: "The remand centre is probably the biggest psychiatric hospital in the state" and commented on how the mentally ill, neglected by the "system", were getting into trouble and ending up in the criminal justice system...
Driving cabs, you see mentally ill people all the time, you get old people starved of company, ill or frightened, and you do what you can.. I've had a coffee with many, chatting about their dead wife or the children they haven't seen for years, helped them fill out government forms they can't read or understand..

We have a Federal election soon -and nothing will change -Rudd is just as blind to most people's realities as Howard -smug, overpaid, pricks the lot of them...

[Aurelius]

It's quite uplifting how one positive experience can improve a dozen hours of banality, isn't it Adrian? Even now, years after giving up driving a taxi, I remember some of the positive moments much more strongly than I recall the bad ones.