lyft: cvs + a very long story

i picked up J yesterday

he was an older gentleman who had finished work at cvs

he seemed jolly

even as he shared some horror stories of working at a cvs near downtown long beach

here are some stories he shared:

• one dude pulled his shorts down and took a shit in the cosmetics aisle
• another dude came in with a hammer and used it to wreak havoc in the cosmetics aisle – what’s up with the cosmetics aisle??
• one chick walks around stark naked, except one time she wore socks one day. another day, she tried to steal a toilet bowl cleaner, to which J commented, ‘she’s just not in her right mind, she doesn’t even have a toilet bowl to clean. she needs to steal some food’. dead.

he mentioned that he was originally from cincinnati (spelling?) and naturally, i asked how he made his way to the west coast.

boy

he really took it upon himself to scrape up any and all details that were remotely related to his move and share them with me

as part of his narration, he mentioned his mother got alzheimer’s and he ended up taking care of her for a few years

and then put her in a psych ward or something, where she spent her last 10 years

he said, ‘if i had known she was going to live that long, i would have put her out of her misery sooner’

okay that sounded a lot funnier in the moment

but i digress

because his mother died… 25 years ago

that was when i started zoning out…

he shared about his siblings,

how he was close to his sister,

one of his brothers was a douchebag but was his mother’s favorite,

the other brother was a good guy,

etc etc etc

he shared about family drama until i forgot what i original question was

then when we pulled up to his home, he lingered a little longer,

because he still hadn’t answered the question

and his answer was, ‘ultimately, i was tired of shit at home and i wanted a change of scenery’

i was impressed that he remembered the question

and how far back in his memory he went to paint a picture for me

as i drove away, i couldn’t help but laugh at everything i had heard

laugh at how long it took to get to the end.

but as i write this, it’s interesting to realize that…

yes, our stories did start somewhere,

somewhere way before,

seemingly irrelevant,

unrelated,

inconsequential

but really, so close to the present moment,

not in terms of time,

but in terms of meaning and the way we hold it in our lives.

when i started writing this post, i was going to say that i wish he had cut out all the stories and just got to the point,

but i change my mind.

it’s beautiful to see the journey,

and not just the journey,

but the journey through his particular lens.

i look back to my past and am grateful it doesn’t have to be and isn’t a flat piece of paper stored in a folder in a file cabinet,

but a full experience that ultimately led this time, space, and place now.

so, thank you J, for being oblivious and happy to share what came up for you when i asked the question. good luck with everything, enjoy long beach 🙂

9/10