You've probably noticed numerous references to our current means of transportation, taxis. There are times when this is a headache, like when we need to get somewhere quickly or if it's early in the morning or late at night when they're nowhere to be found. But it has its distinct positives as well, like not having to worry about auto maintenance or not knowing our way around the city. These pluses and minuses apply to taxi drivers as well. We've given nicknames to some of the more memorable ones like:
- Chimney - Considers it his own personal responsibility to save the tobacco industry by smoking as many cigarettes as possible while you're in the passenger seat Upon exiting his ride you smell exactly like an ashtray.
- Digger - This name comes from the time when P's driver successfully attempted to pick his nose the entire 15 minute ride to school. I know, gross, right?
- Mario - Mario, refers to either Mario Andretti or Mario Kart (the Wii game). As you can guess this driver has a bit of a lead foot. His sandalled foot is normally attempting to push the gas pedal completely through floorboard in an effort to obtain optimum horsepower.
- Kamakaze - He believes you can't get too close to another car's bumper and pot holes should be avoided at all cost, even if it means taking out a few pedestrians. Kamakaze doesn't mind if you wear a seatbelt in his car but he doesn't really think its necessary
- Mad at the World - This guy would rather die than smile. He has declared war against all other drivers and heaven forbid someone gets in his way. When our family is with a Mad we're extremely grateful the kids know only limited Arabic and none of the coarse talk he's using so profusely.
- Freshee - This one refers to the overly-friendly guy that has apparently never met a woman from the US. His intent is to see if Hollywood's portrayal of American women is accurate. Fortunately this doesn't happen often and has yet to happen when P is in the car with D.
- Pigpin - As the name implies this driver's car looks like it was just dragged out of dumpster. Don't worry about dropping trash on the floor. You'll never find it anyway.
All these, while based on our experiences thus far, are tongue-in-cheek. Our drivers, for the most part, have been very nice. Providing some great language practice and usually enjoyable conversation, from jokes to weather forecasts to gut-wrenching stories. For example, this afternoon, after language class, I met Khaled. As we were driving along he shared a portion of his story...
In 2000 Khaled was living in Bahrain and met a beauty woman named Deanna. They instantly fell in love, at least as "instantly" as their culture would allow. The only problem was their families shared different faiths. This caused tremendous conflict in their relationship. In spite of this conflict, and much to the chagrin of their kin, Khaled and Deanna were married. After one month Deanna became pregnant and they were very happy.
Two months later they were driving to the store and their car "went crazy," sending them into path of an oncoming truck, instantly killing Deanna and the baby within her womb. Khaled spent a long time in the hospital recovering from the injuries he sustained. He is still recovering from the emotional trauma he endured. To make matters worse an investigation proved that the cause of the accident was that the brake lines on Khaled's car were cut. Even worse, they were cut by Deanna's brother! Apparently he was attempting to "restore his family's honor" by eliminating the "shame" of his sister's marriage outside of their faith. Khaled said he will never marry again because, even after ten years his heart is stilled joined to Deanna and he says it's impossible to "make another woman happy." As we neared our apartment I told Khaled I would pray for him, that God will give him peace in his heart and that he will find freedom from this painful loss...freedom that can only come from his loving Father.
Please join me in praying for Khaled and the many other taxi drivers we come in contact with every day. We want to spread salt and light even if it's one bright, yellow car at a time!
