What do you say to the Uber driver whose time you're wasting?
We were late. Awkwardly late. My colleagues were joining me for a thirty minute Uber ride and, at the agreed upon time, I scheduled the car.
I was there. They weren't.
They texted me that they’d be an additional five to ten minutes late. I didn't know what to do so I asked the gentlemen if he'd be willing to wait.
"Not a problem at all," he graciously responded.
I still felt guilty so I decided to chat him up. I even sat in the front seat so he could keep talking. I had no idea that this would lead me to learning his fascinating life story.
Bishnu was born in Nepal at the foot of the Himalaya mountains. He saw Everest but never thought about climbing it. He was raised as Hindu.
Bishnu took a job in Dubai and there met a girl from Philippines. He helped her get visa to the U.S. then said she would only go if he went with her. This was a problem as his family had already had a marriage arranged for him. So he decided to ask his mother about it and her response was simple:
“Follow love.”
With this out of the way, the couple had to convince her parents. They were Christians. Not sure it was a purely theological decision but Bishnu went to a church in Dubai and was baptized. They were married soon thereafter.
After coming to the U.S. they moved from Indiana to Baltimore and then to Dallas where I met him. I asked Bishnu how he likes Uber’ing and he said he likes it. Flexibility. Meeting new people like me. But he’s been robbed three times.
I’ll never see that guy again but I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation.
Talk to your driver.
A Man Named Bishnu