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I picked her up in the heart of the Baker neighborhood.  She came walking out to the car with a radiant smile on her face.  The destination address was on West Colfax about 20 minutes away.  She got in the back seat and quickly asked about my day and “Do you enjoy driving for Lyft”?   I gave my usual, “I love it, I’m not doing it as much as I used to. I still need to do it when I can, just to keep me grounded. I really don’t do it for the money, I just find that I…

It seems every year I live I become more like my parents than the year before.  Nowhere does that become more evident to me than when I am driving for Lyft.   When my dad Bill retired at age 62, he found the volunteer job of his dreams.  He went to work for the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce at the Southern Colorado Information Center.  It was housed in a red caboose which sat at the intersection of Highway #50 and Interstate 25.  Travelers from all over the world 🌎 would stop 🛑 there and ask for directions, suggestions, have a…

One of the fun tasks of a Lyft driver is taking folks to their expatriate sports team hang outs.  With 350 people a day moving into Denver, they bring with them their Penn State, Crimson Tide, University of Texas fandom.  There is a bar in Denver for about any team.  I am not sure about Slippery Rock (The Lions are 6-0 for the first time since 1962), but I am sure you could find a gathering of Toledo ‘Mud Hens’ on most any Saturday.    Last week I picked up Kerry who was let’s say, ‘a bit wound up’ as…

I picked them up in Park Hill at a lovely 1920’s Tudor style home 🏡 with a gorgeous yard full of flowers 💐, and ‘just right’ landscaping.  They came out of the house and walked down the sidewalk looking as if they were attending the Academy Awards.  They got in the backseat and we headed to the Brown Palace.  We weren’t a block away when a conversation (argument) broke out that had obviously started before I ever picked them up.  It never escalated to yelling or name calling, but I (as the fly on the wall) realized this was not…

I have resisted in these past months to play my pastor/narrative-theologian card.  What I have focused on is what it is like to give rides to the wide array of humans who just need a lift.  I have enjoyed reflecting on interactions with folks who might not have a clue that I am a pastor/minister/preacher.  Today I picked her up at a hotel close to the capital and she needed a ride to Union Station to catch the train to DIA, right in the middle of rush hour.  The GPS said we were in for a 17 minute ride.  She…

It seemed like an ordinary house in old Englewood. The destination was an office building downtown. She got in the car and said, “I hope you don’t mind, I have some errands to run”. “No problem, we will just change the destination at your stops”. I had no idea that we had five of them in our future .  Stop #1 was at her job in central Denver. She was dropping off some paperwork. The downtown traffic was the usual ‘sh__ show’ and there was construction all around it, which meant that trying to find a place to park might…

It was a while back about 10 in the evening. I was taken into a gated community that I didn’t even know existed. To say it was exclusive would understate the ambiance. I found the house then waited about 10 minutes for the rider to arrive. He had called me and informed me it would take time and asked me to wait. I had no problem with that, as I was listening to a Rockies baseball game. He came walking out of this palatial home to my car 🚗 as he negotiated winding stairs. He was carrying what I would…

It’s back to school time.  For my Lyft driving what this means is; look out for School Zones, and the morning traffic becomes even more let’s say, ‘clogged’.  In my two years of Lyft driving I have had a couple of dozen rides where an adult calls for a ride but the passenger is a child. I have done everything from taking two kids to a sleepover in a downtown high rise, to picking up four wild boys after baseball practice.  Often the adult who is ordering the ride will call to make sure I understand the situation, and to…

This must be my month for giving rides to families on vacation.   It was last Sunday and I thought I might entertain myself with some Lyft driving.  I picked them up in a classic old neighborhood in South Denver. I realized when I saw the whole crew standing in the driveway with four bags and a guitar case, that we were headed to DIA.  Putting all the belongings and two kids and a tall athletic dad in my car was a bit like solving one of those IQ test puzzles—we won!!!   They were from Western Montana (the mountainous…