New York Taxi Drivers Can Be Amazing!!!

I have taken lots of taxi rides, since I moved to New York four years ago.

Some men... I've only had one female driver!!!... want to have a conversation with me, which I usually welcome and appreciate. I've spoken with drivers from all over the world, who have created better lives for themselves here. Some who came here alone,  have married and have raised kids who have gone off to college. These guys are super proud; and well they ought to be. Some leave their families behind and ultimately bring them over. Others come with everyone: their own young families and their parents, the grandparents. Paying attention to my drivers have usually enriched my day and social horizon.

I can imagine having a Giant National 'Reunion' of all the people who came here and became taxi drivers over the past three decades. what a movie that would make! I am sure we would learn lots and be wiser for their stories.

Every taxi driver I've spoken to has a story and has never been sorry they've come here. Some left professions behind, because they were afraid they could not expand their prior lives. Here, they have acquired property and their children are now living the lives they envisioned for themselves.

The grandest story I've heard from heard is about a man who arrived here with no money and started working in gas stations. He soon started buying land around several stations. It took time but he built a small empire which now includes a summer home in Italy. Today his children and grandchildren are living the lives of the Upper Class.