Taxi Drivers

They say that the taxi drivers are the same no matter where you go. I think they are right.

On my way back from Nashville, my flight was delayed. Out of my compulsion to talk, I started talking to this guy sitting on the floor right next to me. He turned out to be a Harvard business school grad. So we got into some quick discussions over consulting, M&A's, the Wall Street, VC's, and how freakin' expensive Harvard was.

Got to Denver, and I had already missed my connection. So they gave me a hotel room nearby. I came to the hotel and went to this eatery. Again, out of my compulsion to talk, I started talking to this guy sitting right next to me on the bar. He turned out to be a truck driver. He was very articulate and had opinions about almost everything. We discussed how the social security wasn't working right, how the interstate system was the biggest asset of America, what some of the most scenic routes in America were, and how Lord Jesus gave him peace by taking away his stresses everyday.

The more I talk to people, the more I realize the patterns in humanity. Just like the taxi drivers are the same, from Manhattan to London to Lahore to Makkah, all other genres are also the same. Instead of classifying people based on their ethnicity or nationality, we might be better off describing them by what they do. Truck drivers have the same daily routine anywhere in the world. They share the same concerns and headaches. So do business men, doctors, engineers, teachers, scientists, journalists, nurses, farmers, accountants, poets, musicians, actors, and so forth.

When you lead a nomadic life like mine, you start seeing the similarities more than the differences.