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I took her on Thursday morning from what can only be called the barrio in southwest Denver, to the campus of the University of Colorado at Denver. It was a 13 mile ride and I learned something each and every mile.  I can only write this out of my own experience, in that I was born a privileged white guy in Pueblo, Colorado. Pueblo has been 50% Hispanic for 100 years. My graduating class of 545 had 18 graduates whose last name was Martinez. I spent 23 years of my life living there. I also spent 11 years living in…

Almost three years ago I launched my Lyft career. After two test rides on a Thursday evening, I headed out at 5:30am on a Saturday morning from my safe cave on Washington Park.  From that first early morning adventure until last Saturday, I will tell you it is my favorite time to go Lyfting. One— you have the streets to yourself.  Two—most Lyft drivers have turned in to bed after ‘combat driving’ with drunks downtown on Friday night.  Three—you get two kinds of rides, taking hungover folk home or to their cars, or getting folk to work.  This past Saturday…

I was all set to write about three rides I had this Saturday morning when I was reminded that tomorrow is my AA sponsor’s 43rd birthday. I write this with his permission; you will notice his picture. The three rides I took, although interesting stories—can wait. Richard is now 91 years old, his mind is sharp, his heart is full, and his body is ever so slowly diminishing. I went to see him this morning in a rehab facility near his home in Capitol Hill.  I spent about 45 minutes visiting with Richard and when I finished I thought “I…

Every season provides Lyft driving with predictable experiences.  A couple of Fridays ago I had a few hours to go Lyfting in the early evening.  From my new point of reference in NW Arvada, it almost always means a trip or two to the finest outdoor concert venue in the world— move over Hollywood Bowl— Red Rocks Amphitheater. I had flown back the night before, from Belgium, through Atlanta.  On the Atlanta leg I was sitting by five 20-somethings who were headed to Denver to go to a Red Rocks Concert.   Now, I am definitely going to expose my…

So no Lyft driving this week because I am sitting here in my son’s place along the Rio Grande river.  It’s Friday and I am on my own personal “road trip”.  Yesterday I made my way on the well worn path I have carved between the Front Range and the Upper Rio Grand Valley.  This routine began in 1986, when we moved four kids, two cats, and Smiley the dog 🐕 to the San Luis Valley.  I lost track a few years ago, of my drives over La Veta Pass, when I had logged over 400 trips. Yesterday involved a…

I have missed you.   For over a year and a half every Sunday at 10a, I have been blessed to share a story from my little red car 🚗.   The idea of writing about these conversations was not my own. Occasionally I listen to those who know me and know what works.  My daughter Amy, my son Mateo and my friend Jim, basically said, “You need to write about these rides”. Since November of 2015 I have given 4,461 Lyft rides. Doing this has actually raised my sense of hope for the world we share.  The vast majority…

In 1965 while sitting in geometry class an announcement went out over the PA. I was a Sophomore at Pueblo East high school— “If you are interested in hosting next year’s foreign exchange student, as a host family, please pick up an application in the guidance counselor‘s office”. At that time in Pueblo the American Field Service selected one host family from each of the five high schools. It was huge deal as students came from throughout the world 🌎 to spend their senior year as an American. I thought to myself, “But there’s no way they would pick my…

If you drive for Lyft in the summertime in Denver you’re going to get to experience every kind of concert, concert goer, and slices of Americana, as riders range from Grateful Dead followers, to the Denver symphony. I  think my favorite concert groupies are the yearly invasion for the band Phish. The Phish bring in thousands of folk for a three day extravaganza. My claim to fame is that I heard them as the warm-up band for Carlos Santana in 1989, at The Colorado State Fair in Pueblo. Sharing that ‘claim to fame’ with Phish fans always gets a “Wow”.…

As we come up on our 4th of July celebration 🎉 🎊 # # # I want to share a slice of Americana from the “Queen City of the Plains” (our first nick-name, before the Mile High City.) Ride 1: I took my first passenger at 10am this past Friday morning. The request came from “Susan” but walking out of the house was a guy that looked like a Fourth of July version of the professor in ‘Back to the Future’🤡 . No kidding, he was wearing an American Flag # -tee shirt and red, white, and blue gym shorts…

Proudly Inspected by #7 I got something more powerful than a ‘fortune cookie’ prophecy… I think I heard from God. After five months living in our new place out in Arvada just a few miles south of Wyoming (hyperbole), a brand new King Soopers giant store opened. At this ‘Super’ Sooper store you can buy everything from garden hoses and clothes to the best vegan selection around. I needed some new shorts and so about a month ago I bought a pair hoping I would like them. They were great. I decided it was time for a second pair—bingo, I…