Generosity

Monday is my day off so my new routine includes water aerobics (I love it— that makes me like an official old guy), and my Lyft driving.  Last Monday’s rides were about as perfect a Lyft day as I could’ve wanted. Every ride seem to flow into the other and each person I took was appreciative, friendly, engaging and unique. I picked Jack up in what is now called River North. The area used to be the warehouse district along the railroad tracks and now it is gentrification on steroids.  Jack was headed to the car rental place in the center part of the city. I quickly found out that he was from Claremore, Oklahoma, the home of Will Rogers, and my lifetime friend, Eddie. It turns out of course, that he knows Eddie and respects his work as an educator.

I asked him what he was doing up here in Colorado and he told me a great story of what he does every year for the people that work for him. “I have a heating and air-conditioning business, and every Fall I take my whole crew on a week of fun. This week we came up here and went trout fishing, we went to the Bronco game yesterday, and today we’re loading up in a couple of cars and going up to the mountains again”. I told him, “And I bet all your employees have good health insurance and retirement plans”?  He smiled and said “I couldn’t do it any other way. Without these folks I wouldn’t have a business”.

I dropped him off to get his rental car. As he walked away I recognized that I was in the presence of a truly good and generous man.

Onward and Upward,

Mark