Good ride

My day started out bad, with everything being as difficult as possible. Every ride took five minutes to appear, the tips were small or non-existent, and though traffic was light, I seemed to be constantly stuck behind slow vehicles.

My last ride began in a similar (bad) way. The guy wore a black suit, but not a business suit. It was more like a semi-casual thing. He carried a soft-side briefcase that said CBS on it, and his baseball cap (looking out of place with the suit) said CourtTV. His cowboy boots looked to be snakeskin. He said his career has been to film documentaries for various media companies.

His name was Wendell, and he was from Tennessee, complete with a Southern accent. He wanted to find a place where he could buy a few disposable cameras. During our journey around town he said he has cancer and was in San Diego for surgery that was explained to him as very risky. So he is staying at an expensive hotel, and his lunch today cost $100. He said the expense seemed right, if things didn't go well in the morning. He wanted the cameras to take some pictures during the evening, just in case it was his last.

He wasn't looking for pity, by any means. These things just came up in conversation. After I dropped him off, back at the same hotel where I picked him up, it struck me that my day isn't so bad.