The Taxi Ride
I arrived here in Chicago about 1:30 Central Time. After a long wait for my luggage, I lugged (is that why it's called luggage?) it out to the Taxi Stand and got a cab. The driver asked which way I wanted to go to Hyde Park. From my previous experiences, I knew that there was a faster, more expensive way on the throughway and a cheaper, slower way through town. I told him that I wasn't in a hurry so take me the route that was less money. I don't think he was happy with it because he asked me again if I didn't need the faster route. "No, I'll enjoy looking at the scenery." He laughed at that. (The slow route is through some rather poor neighborhoods.) I asked him if he had been in Chicago long and he told me that he'd been here for three years. He's from Pakistan. We talked a little about the weather in Chicago (which was a NICE 54 and overcast today) and the Tsunami, etc. Then he told me how fortunate we were to be living in this country. "This is the place to be if you are willing to work," he said. He shared his plans to save his money and eventually buy his own business -- maybe a gas station. I believe he will make it. He shared his view that first generation immigrants are willing to work hard. By the third generation, "they want McDonald's and all they care about is whether the Bulls or the Bears or winning. They get lazy and fat." It was obvious that HE was not lazy and he wanted me to know it too. It worked. (I gave him a nice tip.) Anyway, as we neared Hyde Park, he asked me if I thought Americans hated Muslims. I told him that I thought many Americans were just ignorant when it came to religion. And I felt that their own religion was partly to blame - because it's so exclusive - and tends to paint everything as good or evil. He agreed and indicated that there were extreme Muslims who did the same thing. Then -- there we were at my door. So I said, "Well, we'll just keep on trying -- won't we?" And he said, "Yes we will!" So today is Sunday and I didn't get to go to church. But I contend that I had a religious experience anyway. Because I connected with another human being who *seemed* very different initially. And that connection more fully reinforced my desire to connect with others in this "interdependent web" that we have. Peace.