lyft: blind date 😉

a few days ago, i picked up my first lyft assisted ride, which is for passengers who may need help with getting in the car, are hard of hearing or seeing, etc.

my passenger was blind, i’ll call him J

he was a little Mexican man dressed in a flannel and jeans, wearing a cap

after talking through the first bits of small talk e.g. how’s your morning going,

he shared that he’s going to a blind school/center to learn how to read braille, cook, and take care of himself

he said that when he first became blind, it was really hard for him, which led me to ask how he came to lose his sight.

he said, glaucoma.

deeyum.

i had heard about losing vision from glaucoma, but didn’t know of anyone who had actually experienced it – til now

he said the first few years, he was depressed

he didn’t leave the house,

didn’t do much,

didn’t feel like there was much to do.

which i totally understood.

kind of lol

but he said that after a while, he started opening up to the world, and really, himself

and he enrolled himself in a school/center for the blind where he met a few good friends, and he learned to start enjoying life

prior to losing his sight, he “only work, never party”

but after losing his sight, he “party a lot”

that made me smile and laugh BIG TIME.

he asked me about my relationship situation, to which i answered that i have a partner

he acknowledged it, and then at some point said, “i hope to see you again”

i laughed and said, “you mean like for me to give you a ride again?”

to which he said, “yes, that too, but maybe we go eat at a nice restaurant some time”

lolll my heart

me: “you mean like a date??”

J: “yes, something like that”

me: “aww thank you, but i’m not interested in going on dates with other people”

J: “well, at least i tried… us Mexican men, we always try”

L O L

me: “i agree with that haha”

J: “yeah, and women always cheating on their husbands, they’re never loyal”

me: “really? and do men cheat too?”

J: “… depends”

cue me cracking UP hahahah

J also laughed with me hahah so it wasn’t just me having the time of my life lol

he said that i seemed like a very nice person, asked me how old i was, how tall i was, and what i was wearing,

all of which i was happy to share, even though i could probably improve my description of what i’m wearing (“uhh, green loose pants and a brown button-up” lol)

at some point before the ride ended, he asked again whether he’d see me again, if we’d go eat, to which i declined again.

all in all, 10/10, would drive J again.

i loved hearing about his journey, from living so seriously and restrictively (though probably unintentionally restrictively), to experiencing such a life event as losing his sight, and then discovering himself in a new way, surrounded by good people that he enjoys life with…

i’ve willing to bet there aren’t a lot of ppl with sight that know the fullness of life J knows now.

what a gift that i got to hear his story as well as be flattered by his interest in me ha!