Four Cab Drivers and a Wedding

© 2003 Boaz Rauchwerger

My girlfriend and I recently traveled from San Diego to Las Vegas to attend the wedding of a good friend.

During our two days in Vegas, we encountered four cab drivers who each seemed to exemplify a different segment of society. Eventhough they were each driving a vehicle, they were heading down distinctively different roads in life. Using fictitious names, I’ll identify them as Tom, Harry, John and Robert.

Tom picked us up at the Mirage Hotel for the ride to the Saturday evening wedding at the Liberace mansion. I’ve always been interested in people’s stories. Thus, I talk to everyone. A cab ride can either be filled with silence or it can be an interesting journey of discovery.

I asked Tom how business was and he said, “It’s kind of slow.” I asked why that was and he revealed an angry personality by snapping back, “What do you think?”

Almost feeling sorry that I had asked, I pursued the conversation further. I learned that Tom had been a fighter pilot off a carrier in Vietnam, a programmer for IBM for many years, and that he was now struggling with his diabetes due to challenges with his HMO.

In his late 50’s, Tom resented the fact that his single-engine military flying experience didn’t lead to a career as a commercial pilot. The veterans with multi-engine experience got those jobs.

Tom was angry. Life had dealt him an apparently bad hand and he was traveling down the road with heavy baggage from the store of resentment. If you have shopped too often at that store, perhaps you should start shopping elsewhere.

The day after the wedding we had tickets to the show “Mamma Mia” at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The cab driver who took us there was Harry. In his early 30’s, Harry seemed a little more upbeat about life than Tom.

He was originally from Louisiana and had a slight southern tone to his speech. Tom had been in construction for a number of years, much of it on the incredible new hotels that have sprung up on The Strip in Vegas in recent years. Since my father was a carpenter and builder, I wanted to know more about his work.

As we headed toward the Mandalay Bay, Tom stated that he assembled many of the ornate columns in the casino there. He also had a lot of experience in a variety of finishing carpentry work. However, he was now tired of that and, while looking for something new, was driving a cab.

Tom didn’t know what he wanted to do in life now. How many of us have found ourselves in that spot? The way to define a new road is to write and declare the following affirmation. “It’s (state a date a few months in the future). I have discovered my burning desire and I’m excited.”

By reading that affirmation aloud the first thing each morning and the last thing each night, without analysis, you’ll be directing your subconscious mind to search. Without focus and direction, the mind will simply go in circles and cause confusion.

Cab driver number three was John. He drove us back from the Mandalay Bay after we saw a wonderful, rousing rendition of the show “Mamma Mia.” John had a pest control company in another state for 30 years and didn’t want to do that any more. A few years back he moved to Las Vegas because there’s a lot to do there.

Now that he was in Vegas, his kids come to visit him more often. His wife of many years died a year ago. John loves driving a cab. He gets through each night around 1:00 or 1:30 and gets together with some of his driving buddies. According to John, “we get together and lie to each other.”

It was evident, from the moment we started talking with John, that here was a happy man. He had the courage to change direction in life when he wanted something new to do. He has found a way to love what he currently does. Although life had dealt him a difficult card with the death of his wife, he has found a way to be happy. John obviously understands that “attitude is everything.”

Driver number four, on the way to the airport, was Robert. He has a wife and an ex-wife. The first wife, who doesn’t drive, keeps their three kids. Although the two wives do not get along, Robert has arranged for the second wife to drive the ex-wife around. “That’s what she has to do since the ex takes care of the kids most of the time,” says Robert.

Robert, concerning the wives, is at least making the best of a tough situation. The same couldn’t be said for his son, who is twelve and has ADD. Although Robert stated that he loves him, he also said the following: “He never does anything. He’s not interested in anything. He’s always breaking his glasses.”

How much love can a son feel when his father is thinking and declaring such negative thoughts about him? We have to be careful what we think about other people. Such thoughts are transmitted even if we don’t actually say anything. This is significant with children, especially ones with challenges.

In Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” he states: “Look for the good and, as much as possible, disregard the bad.” In other words, whatever we focus on expands. Robert’s focusing on his son’s problems will actually perpetuate them.

Take a close look and see if you relate to any one of these four cab drivers. If your vehicle in life is not heading in a direction you desire, perhaps its time to take another road.

A Daily Direction Affirmation

Realizing that time is precious, I am adjusting the direction in my life.