A kind cabby.

After getting my iPhone fixed at the Grove I was trying to catch a cab home to my apartment.

There was only one cab in sight. It pulled up and a flustered girl literally leaped out of the car. She turned around and with great vigor gave the cabby the middle finger. I looked around, still no other cabs in site. I was hot, I was in a rush and I thought, 'what am I about to get myself into.'

I hopped in. The starting fee instead of 2.85, was 6.95! I assumed this must have been the cause of dispute between the cabby and his past patron. I asked him if the meter was accurate, scared for what his response would be. He took a deep exhale and explained the whole situation.

The girl who had leaped from the cab, had only gotten in a few meters back. It was a Friday so the Grove was especially busy, traffic was remarkably dense on the main roads and in the parking lot of shopping center. There was no way to avoid the traffic, as there rarely is in LA. 'Flustered girl' decided the traffic was the cabbies fault and verbally abused him about it from the moment she entered the cab, to the moment she left, claiming he was purposefully placing her in traffic to run the meter. The cabby, who was clearly still fairly new to the english language, politely asked the woman to exit the cab if she was going to continue her angry accusations when he is trying his best to get her to her destination as quickly as possible. He tried to assure her that when they depart the parking lot he would do everything in his power to avoid the traffic. The woman continued to pester and yell, the cabby could only take it so long, and asked her to leave. Leaving the fee at 6.85 when I entered the cab.

I listened to his story, relived the frustration with him and responded genuinely. When we reached my apartment the cabby and my conversation went like this.

Cabby: "Thank you, it was so refreshing to go from such an unpleasant young person to such a nice, kind one. I'm sorry I talked so much"

Me: "No worries, I didn't mind at all. It sounded like it was a frustrating situation. Sometimes the best thing when you are frustrated is to simply have someone listen."

Cabby: "Forget about the fare"

Me: "What?"

Cabby: "Forget about the fare, you were so nice, you turned my day around, thats enough. Have a good day, and stay safe!"

Me: "Wow! Thank you!"

Before I left the car I managed to snap this picture of my kind cabby. Never underestimate the power of simply listening actively :)