My driver and I were having a conversation about side hustles this afternoon on the very trafficky ride home from LaGuardia. Jerome, a brilliant med student, now doctor, picked me up over a year ago when he was working as a Via driver. He’d responded to a signal from the company (Via – a Lyft and Uber competitor, only more humane). Since we both live in Washington Heights, he was the first to respond and drove me to Metro North Harlem 125th. Unlike many other cars I’ve been in since moving to the city, once inJerome’s, he and I yammered the entire way. He was playing Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me on his audio, so I liked him immediately.

At the end of that first ride, I asked if he would ever drive me beyond the city limits. He said yes, and has helped me out many times with rides near and far during his off hours.

My street is Overlook Terrace

In addition to hearing about his wanting to write science fiction, our conversations are wide and varied. He listens to podcasts at 2x the speed (he’s a Millennial) so he can consume as much as possible. I respect his input on politics and culture. I was telling him about a favorite Netflix series I watched called Shtisel. I told him I’d text him the name so he’d have it written down. As soon as I did, his audio dashboard lit up with my incoming message. I burst out laughing when I saw how he’d added me to his contacts.

It pays to be kind!!