Career in HR: 44 Years and Retired Career at Uber: 8 Days and Fired! Driving for Uber, Part II
Well, not exactly fired, but I'll get to that part later.
The most delightful aspect of Ubering is the incredible surprises you learn, sometimes upon pickup, other times during the ride, about the riders. In my short time behind the wheel, here are a few examples:
The woman who was scheduled to appear that evening on Hardball With Chris Matthews, and who spent the entire ride on the phone throwing hardballs at her husband;
The 13 year old who I picked up on the Upper Westside and took to Poly Prep in Brooklyn, a $45 ride that was repeated on the way home and every school day of the year. That may be God's way of telling the parents they make too much money.
The 22-year old graduate of MIT, soon to start a carer with a top consulting firm, who as a native of Germany was able to tell me more than I ever imagined about the Germanic origins of my last name;
The hilarious Father/Daughter/Husband trio that kept all of us laughing the entire ride;
The film crew of people in their 20's who were headed to interview and film Condoleezza Rice about her new book;
The woman who told me she was going to her doctor for an emergency visit, who went into a coughing fit and then into a period of complete silence, lying down in the back seat, actually causing me to think she might have expired. Still stuck in traffic, I was ready to pick her up and carry her to the Doctor's office. I pulled over, parked the car, and got the reassurance that she was, indeed, still alive;
The two Asian men who conversed the entire ride in Mandarin, except for two English phrases that are X-rated and can't be repeated in this G-rated blog. Check with me personally and I'll share it with you;
Not the riders but the pedestrians in Manhattan who NEVER bother to look left or right in crossing the street, and whose motto as a New York walker seems to be: " If I don't look at the driver he's not allowed to hit me";
The other pedestrian who, at a very crowded crossing at Grand Central Terminal, banged on my window and threatened to have me sent to Rikers Island. I still can't figure out what if anything I did to earn his ire;
The three different riders who I transport to different hospitals on the Upper Eastside, and who needed to talk and pour out their hearts about the life-threatening illnesses of the people they were visiting, or of their very own;
And then sometimes, the weird things you notice, like the sign on the Korean restaurant that advertised "Mutton Vermicelli"
I hope you gather from all the above the sheer delight I derive from listening to, and getting to know just a bit, the riders that I will likely never see again. Yet, you somehow feel connected to them, if even so briefly. And you find yourself, upon completion of your ride, wondering what surprise and enjoyment the next ride will bring.
And I think I drove well, better than I do when I'm driving just for myself. I made no wrong turns - - probably thanks to the Uber/Google map driving app. And not everyone rates their driver, but all those who did gave me a five star rating, and I find myself being truly proud of that.
So back to getting fired! After my last ride, to Staten Island, I headed back to the city. On the way I got a pickup request which I hoped - - you don't know the destination when you accept the ride - - would be a paid return to Manhattan. When I got within 1 block of my pickup, I was sideswiped on the left by a very big van . . . . my first "accident" in 40 years. Unfortunately, the leasing Company decided it was 1 accident too many for a short term car lease, and would not provide another car.
My sideswiped Uber and a parking ticket for good measure!
