"I guess its hard for people who are so used to things
the way they are - even if they're bad - to change
'cause they kind of give up. And when they do,
everybody kind of loses."
{Pay It Forward, 2000}
Today while I was waitressing, I overheard another server telling a story about her recent cab ride in downtown Hartford. She explained how the driver purposefully took both she and her friend for a joy ride to rack up his cab fare. When they eventually arrived at the destination, the cab driver demanded nearly double than what it should've been. My co-worker described her battle of words with this cabbie, completely shocking and blowing the minds of all of the employees.
Although her story was unfortunate, I couldn't help but reflect on the polar opposite experience I recently had with a cab driver in Washington, D.C. in late October. I was there for a policy forum for my internship and was dressed up rather fancily (with high heels included). Needless to say, by the 12399873th time I had made a wrong turn, walked up a flight of stairs, or wobbled down another block, my feet were absolutely killing me. My friend and I decided to hail a cab for the remainder of the walk back to our hotel room, which wasn't far. When we arrived in front of the hotel, I remember feeling a flash a heat travel to me face at the speed of light when I noticed the fare. We owed $21 and we only had $11. I quickly nudged my friend who also had the same look of sheer horror and panic. I'll admit that thoughts of tucking and rolling out of the vehicle crossed my mind - I felt like a complete jerk. The cab driver must've noticed the anxiety on our faces because he turned around and calmly said, "You don't have the money, do you?". I simply shook my head and held out my $10 bill. He looked at it, smiled and took the bill. Then he said, "No worries, my dear. Just remember to pay it forward - either here or up there."
I got out of the cab in complete astonishment of what had just happened. Not only did it remind me to rent the movie, but it also made me really think about what it means to "pay it forward" in terms of today's society. If only everyone truly adopted the PIF methodology for life, the world would be a much safer & saner place.
After reminiscing about my encounter with the lovely Angel of Cabbies, I couldn't help but think that right now was a perfect time to truly begin implementing PIF into my daily life and encourage it in the lives of my loved ones. So here it is! This is me encouraging (and challenging) you to PIF. It's really not that hard.
~In the spirit of giving & thanks, PIF~
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