Taxi Cab Confessions No.2

A very nice cabbie picked me up for my ride to the airport. When he learned that I was headed home on a flight to Chicago, he told me that he was considering moving here. He had never been to Chicago but had a friend that was encouraging his move. He had lived in New York, Boston, and was considering Florida.

Cab Driver: Boston can be a very prejudiced place, but I don't think it is so much prejudice about color. I drive a taxi and I can tell you that the most prejudiced people are men and women. Men, when no woman is listening say terrible things about women and women say the worst thing about men. I think that is who is prejudice.

I guess that summed it all up. I instantly fell in love with him. He was someone that I'd like to have over for dinner or talk to on the phone.

Cab Driver: People say that people in New York are crazy. Crazy is better than prejudice. At least they are educated. I think all people should become educated that will lead to less prejudice.

My driver told me that he was 62 and had three children. His 25 year old daughter is in law school and the 29 year old graduated from the university. The 27 year old son works in satellite communications in London. I told him that I was sure he was very proud of them.

Cab Driver: I am proud of my girls. My son not so much. He can do anything he wants, go where he wants, make a lot of money however he wants. But, in my country of Pakistan it is more difficult for women who want to educate themselves. My girls still live there and they've done well. For their education, I am proud!

He told me that the girls lived in the US for only a short time, hated it and returned to a place that they knew would be more difficult for them. I wrote this because, it is also the thing that stood out for me about the children in Ethiopia. I know many adoptive parents point to the tragedy of AIDS and malnutrition as reasons for choosing Ethiopia. For me it was when I read that 60-80% of the children would never go to school. That statistic was highest for girls.

Like my cabbies, I think that education is key. I just couldn't imagine a child growing up where an education was not guaranteed.