Commitment

Last week I picked up two young girls at the Denver School of Preforming Arts (near old Stapleton airport in east Denver). The destination— north of Boulder (39 miles). It turns out that they are both students there, and they commute there everyday, each way. They leave at 6:15 in the morning with rides from both parents or Lyft. They told me they average 25 Lyft rides a month. One of the girls is into theater and the other is a singer/ dancer. They were highly engaging in both their questions and experiences.

I said “This is quite an effort you make to go to high school”. They both said, almost together, (I think it wasn’t the first time) “If arts are your passion, this is just what you have to do”. I said “My son Mateo calls it ‘The Artist Curse’. In my experience—writers write, poets spin, painters paint, dancers dance, actors act and preachers drive LYFT”. They laughed and then said in unison “You’re a preacher? You don’t act like one”. I said, “Good, and you don’t act like future stars either, like I would know”.

It was an hour ride to the one girl’s home. It was a small farm north of town right at the mountains. The other girl’s mom was waiting for the drop off. I let them out and drove around the grounds to head out. The mom in the car flashed her lights at me to say something. I waited for her to pull up, assuming they had forgotten something in the back seat. “I just wanted you to know that my daughter said that this was the best Lyft ride she has ever had”. I said “You made my night, thanks for taking the time to let me know”.

You know when people take time to Lyft you up, it matters. Onward and Upward,

Mark