Looking back on my blogging history, it’s easy to say I took a hiatus from Uber blogging for the summer. Nothing in June or July. But, sadly this is only my second Uber blog of 2018. Guess I need to drive more to experience more content. Or I need to develop the content into substance. Truth is, the idea of blogging about being an Uber driver sounded fun and interesting at first. So many cool stories of people and moments. Then to sit down and put it in black & white (or voice to text it to my phone…much easier but requires much more proofreading), required more work and thought than I anticipated. Worse yet, the more I blogged, the more I started to judge and devalue the experiences and stories.
“Does this really sound interesting?”
“Would anyone actually want to read about this?”
“Was that even worth writing about?”
The perils of writing/blogging.
My new philosophy? Fuck it. Write for myself and for the sake of writing.
‘Twas an interesting summer in the rideshare world of Tulsa. Seemed to be a new infestation of drivers. Heard a rumor that there were a bunch of teachers that started driving. If that is the case, there should be a noted drop-off of drivers in the coming weeks. That is one thing I have noticed over the 3 years and 4 months I have driven. The ebbs and flows of new driver traffic. Its always noticeable in January. People trying something new and/or needing extra coin to pay off their maxed out credit cards from Christmas. Summer is always a time to notice more drivers as well as big events in town like Oktoberfest, Chili Bowl, Hop Jam, St. Patrick’s Day, MayFest, and big name concerts at the BOK Center. That also brings back out drivers who have stopped for one reason or another. They come out for some easy money for a night or a weekend and then keep driving for another week or so, only to quit. Again. People like to quit things. And they’re good at it. But, that’s another blog for another time on a different blog site of mine.
I have noticed a trend or two in recent months. More people sit in the back these days. Some of them are still friendly and engage me in conversation, but the increase in rear seat choice has been measurable. I read an article late last year, some link from Facebook or Twitter, that was about Do’s and Don’ts for Uber Riders. Obviously it piqued my interest. I remember either the #2 or #3 thing was don’t sit up front when by yourself. Makes me wonder how many people read that and took it seriously. Several times a week I get asked as they approach my car, “Where do you want me to sit?”
I always reply, “Wherever you are comfortable.”
Another trend, which is fine by me, is younger folks with their earbuds in or even those Beats headphones. Totally on board if that’s what they want. I still get to listen to my music, no awkward attempt to converse from them and studies show these are people who don’t care what route you take. They trust you know where you are going. They kick back and enjoy the ride. Yes, some people are very specific on routes to take and want some serious input on the trip. Not to say they should just shut up, but on the other hand, trust me, I do this a lot. I know where I am going. I am aware, especially in Tulsa, there are drivers (new and seasoned, sadly) that don’t seem to know where they are going half of the time. They need to find something else to do besides drive or quickly get to know their city. They make riders apprehensive and suspicious about their driving. At least three times I week, I want to bluntly say, “Check out my profile. I’ve given over 8,000 Uber rides (5,000 Lyft rides), I know how to get there and what the fuck I’m doing.” I don’t. Well, I sort of have…recently. More about that next week.
While on my hiatus, I had this thought about altering this blog, titling it “A Day In The Life…”. Instead of blogging about things I notice and trends and humorous moments and maybe sharing one or two instances with each bog, I would hone in on one passenger. The reason I was thinking of a day in the life, is because while most of my riders are business travellers and some are just going to work or from work and of course there’s always the people that are going to the bar or out for dinner, at least once a week there is that one person that might be taking a simple basic ride, but there’s more to their story.
I don’t know what it is about me, or if it’s actually them, but sometimes people really share a lot about themselves. I’ve really mastered the ability of asking questions over the years to get to know people. That was very vital in my career, and I’ve always joked that you give me a stranger and 7 to 10 questions and in less than 30 minutes I’ll know all that I need to know about their life.
Sometimes in the car, I don’t have to ask a lot of questions, and sometimes I only have to ask, “How is your day?” That alone often sparks a conversation, and that’s how these interesting stories come about. Or at the minimum, they share enough about their life that it prompts my writing mind to want to share a fraction of their story. Like a short story encompassing just one day with all of their extenuating circumstances.
Obviously, I haven’t done that yet. Something I’m kicking around.
One of the more impactful stories from a ride happened a couple of months ago. It was just a random weekday morning, around 10 a.m. if I remember correctly. I pulled up to a hotel to pick up my rider, but it wasn’t at the front door or even a side door. He was along the side doing some landscaping work. We will call him Pete. He seemed excited when he climbed in my car with his backpack and he quickly apologized if he smelled like sweat and dirt. He had been working for several hours already.
I saw I was taking him from Broken Arrow all the way out to the west side of Sand Springs, which is a pretty good jaunt. Roughly 30 minutes. He seemed excited and all I did was ask him that one simple question.
“How’s your day so far?”
Pete quickly shared what is essentially a bittersweet story. I’ll share it in the order in which he shared with me.
He said awesome. I’m going to get my son today. I’ve been fighting for custody for almost two years now, and I get to go get him today.
Sensing this was a potentially precarious conversation, I still felt he wanted to share more, so I asked him, “so the court case went well?”
Actually, he said, my ex tried to kill herself last night. As soon as she is discharged from the hospital she’s being admitted to a mental facility. They called me this morning and said my son is in the system until I can get down there and get him. He’s in Texas and as soon as you drop me off at my truck, I’m hauling ass down there to get him.
He did speak with some remorse about her situation. And as it turns out they both were addicted to meth and she had a bit of a pill habit. She eventually left him shortly after the birth of their son and moved to Texas. He went to another state, got himself clean and then moved back to Tulsa when he felt comfortable and had eliminated all of his old associates that he used with. And now being clean, he had spent around $15,000 in court cost and attorney fees to try to get his son back. He was hearing rumblings that his ex was using and was really starting to hit rock bottom, but those rumors were not helping him get custody of his son. He said he hated to see her hit rock bottom, but he knew she wasn’t parenting well and that she needed help. But most importantly, this seemed to be the big swing legally for him to not only get shared custody but probably full custody of his son.
From there, he shared his story of his past and how he got clean. I asked him about the day-to-day struggles and his triggers and we talked about the failures of those that go through treatment but then continually struggle and fall off the wagon. It’s all about who you hang with, was the most important thing he said, which is what I had always figured and had heard from other recovering addicts.
He proved to be a man in victory. Been clean 18 months, got a dependable job, bought a house, was trusted and supported by his boss (who paid for his Lyft and was giving him paid time to go get his son). And, it appeared he was coming full circle now as he was about to go and “rescue” his son and make a new home with him.
Sometimes people share stories and they’re just cool to hear or fun or heartwarming and that’s the end of them. Sometimes there are stories, like Pete’s where I find myself wanting to know the rest of the story and how it turned out. That’s kind of the bummer of being an Uber driver. Ninety-five times out of a hundred, they step out of your car at the end of the ride and you never hear from them again.
As we pulled up to his truck, my fatherly instinct and need to share some wisdom kicked in. He reached out to shake my hand and thanked me. I gave him a firm grip, held it and said, “hey, I know you’re excited and you should be. But don’t drive like a bat out of hell down there and either get a ticket or get in a wreck. Your son is there waiting on you. Make damn sure you get there.”
And instead of ending the ride and driving away as I always do, I made a u-turn in the parking lot and then sat there as I watched him back away, pull out onto the road and take the on-ramp to the highway.
Uber & Lyft: Everyone Has A Story 