IN SEARCH OF #4,000

Lyft sent my “stats update” yesterday and it showed that I had given 3997 rides in 26 months. I decided that before I could watch football today I had to get three rides. This was complicated by the reality that I wanted to drive to Greeley for our monthly ‘Men’s Breakfast’ at First Christian. My plan was turn on my Lyft app on the drive back to Arvada. The breakfast is always a treat. These guys even make me my own ‘vegan biscuits and gravy’. The program today was fascinating. We got to watch custom ball point pins made on a lathe. I admit I love the cheesy things we do in church to build connections.

Ride #1: It was about 10:30a when I got out to the parking lot and fired up my pink Lyft mustache. It didn’t take long for #3998 to summon me. Yesenia, at a dorm at UNC. She was there to meet me and The Walmart Super Store was her destination. “Shopping”? I queried. “No I work in electronics. I am back to 20 hours a week now that school has started”. She is from a farming town in the Central Valley of California. She is a pre-med student who wants to be an orthopedic surgeon. “Ah, a remodel carpenter with great skills. I know because I have watched knee replacements on HD”! We had a few more laughs and then I dropped her off. She shared enough to say she is part of a demographic who has been demonized by Mr. “Lie of the Day”. I bet she becomes a fine physician.

Ride #2: I was 14 miles south of Greeley when his ‘ping’ rang. My debate began: “Do I cancel or drive back to Greeley 14 miles to pick him up”? #3999 here I come. WAZE— brought me a secret way through beautiful farms, riparian landscapes, horse ranches, and oil and gas wells. Dave was out on his porch waiting. He hopped in and said, “Thanks so much for coming all this way to get me. I have to go to town and get my truck. I learned my lesson about drinking and driving”. We had a nice visit on the way to the VFW. Life in the “Blue Collar Lane”.

Interlude: I then drove 48 miles with my app on through the back roads of northern Colorado. I was listening to the ‘Coffee House’ channel on Sirius. It was one of those times of feeling completely connected with the universe. Neil Young singing, a Bald Eagle 🦅 flying next to me down the river and me just waiting for #4,000. I was coming down Hwy #285 in the middle of what I used to call farmland, which is now ‘new’ Lafayette. William dialed me up. I pulled in front of the townhouses and the app said “This is William’s First Lyft ride – be sure to welcome him”. I did as he hopped in the back with his buddy. “Hi, William on your First Lyft ride, I am Mark and you are my #4,000 rider.” The fun began. They were going to ‘Old Town’ Lafayette. They had both been born and raised in the area and we started in on ‘the way it was’. I lived for a year in the Camelot trailer park in the early 70’s. “It’s still there, we will drive right by it”. We reminisced about an Italian restaurant called the ‘Blue Parrot’. Although they were in their mid 30’s, they could remember Colorado before the mass immigration. It was the perfect way to chalk up 4,000 rides. In my world 🌍, today was as good as it gets, go figure. Bring on 5,000 rides!!!