Related to Late

Some passengers I really wish I didn't relate to.

A few weeks ago I had a passenger a couple of passengers get into my car that was going through a hard time. This is not uncommon, especially around this time of year.

As each of these women entered my car, they were both very engrossed in their phone calls. They were both going through some very similar things that sadly I could relate to.

The first woman was a woman whom when she entered the car was was quieter in the call. She was in a hurry to get to work... both of these women were actually... and was discussing it with the other person on the line.

The first woman was going from Inglewood to Culver City. I was quiet and left her to her call as she motioned to her phone and apologized.  But when she started talking about how her mother had died of heart failure my eyes started to swell with tears.

Having experienced my own loss with my sister, I sadly could feel the pain very close to home. I reached around for a card for a grieving group that I belong to and waited for a good time. I didn't know if there ever would be.

As we approached the destination, although she was still on the phone, I found the card and apologized profusely but offered it to her.

"I'm terribly sorry to have eavesdropped and I bid you please forgive me for that but I wanted to pass this card to you about grieving support and wanted to say my utmost condolences on the loss of your mother. I lost my sister this year and I found this group and I just can't say I am sorry enough about what you are going through. You don't have to take this card but just know there are groups out there with others that are going through pain as well."

She apologized to the person on the phone and started telling both me and them about how thankful she had been that I interrupted and gave her the information. At the end of the ride, when she was off the phone she thanked me again.

The next experience with this was connected to a woman struggling very hard to become an actor. She was working at Barneys in Beverly Hills and was sadly dealing with not only that struggle, but the fact that she was very overclocked with the passing of her grandmother on top of trying to having to make ends meet.

This woman talked about how her auditions were going with a hope. 

"Mom things are going very well. I have another audition coming up for [redacted] and my agent thinks..."

But when the phone call conversation turned to somber was when it really just dug into me. This woman was running late to work and her employer knew but was not kind about how she was in a grieving process.

I felt bad but I kept quiet this time until the end of the ride when I told her about my condolences about the loss of her grandmother but told her that I wanted to celebrate how she was holding it all together so very very well.

This passenger thanked me and went about her day as well. It really is sad having to see this pain coming in and out of my car. I hope that I was able to help make it easier for a moment.

And these are the stories of the week about rides. There will be happier ones coming but this week I felt compelled to talk about these two stories. Please remember that everyone is having a hard time, loss or not, and all it takes is one person to be compassionate to make things a bit easier for someone else. Be kind to eachother all. Hope you have a great week.