I had been walking for half an hour along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, among my favourite places to walk in the morning. I can walk for miles and see beautiful sights along the way: bridges, palm trees, and people, like me, who have decided to start their morning with a walk. The time flew past. I was feeling a bit anxious – being away from home for a week is a long time – so a walk was exactly what I needed to clear my head.
When the clock of the Ferry Building struck eight, I knew it was time to head to work. I called a taxi.
I was expecting a quiet taxi ride, like many are. During those times, I like to gaze out the window and see the sights. In this case, the sights were tall buildings, of which I am in awe. I am tiny in form compared to the grandeur of a tall building. The journey started quiet, then the driver asked a question. I forget what it was, but, moments later, we were in a conversation.
I said I was in the city for a week and didn’t have a chance to watch a game of baseball since the Giants were out of town that week. The driver shared that he grew up following the Oakland A’s, then moved to San Francisco and started to follow the Giants. He shared that when they play together, he secretly roots for the A’s. That got us talking about why he moved. His career spanned the coastguard, among other roles, until he was offered a job in IT in the city. He moved, and fell in love with the city.
He started talking about the future. 30 years after living in the city, he said there was one thing that would encourage him to move: to be close to whatever college his son wanted to go to, if it was far away. He didn’t want to be too far away.
That morning, the day before I would depart back home, what I really needed was a story. I didn’t know it then, when I was walking far to clear my head. I knew that a story was what I needed in the moment – the moment when someone reached out to share tiny parts of their lives. I enjoyed being able to respond in kind, sharing tiny details like my affinity for baseball and love of the countryside.
My anxiety receded with every word of stories shared. I was ready for the day. I was left with a memory that makes me smile as much as I did when chatting with the morning taxi driver.
