4.7.22
On Sunday night, in a Lyft to the Charli XCX concert with E, I was struck by how spiritual our driver was, so I started recording. Below is the transcription of part of the ride. C is Chuck, the driver, M is me and E is E. Chuck was older, balding, with blue eyes and a thick european-jewish accent.
C: …Mentally ill individuals on the corner of the streets.
E: Yeah.
C: And we have so much money and we can't take care of them.
E: Oh, it’s terrible.
C: We have the same situation in Denmark.
E: Yeah?
C: So you know, it's the same thing. So the fact of the matter is we've been looking at the wrong places for the right solution.
E: Mmmm.
M: What's the right solution?
C: Looks in the rearview mirror. You go inside your neck, down 12 inches to the left side of your body. And there is something over there, is pumping.
E: Ah.
M: What is it?...What is it?
C: You're teasing me. Aren't you?
M: Laughing. What?
E: Touching his chest. There’s something!
M: My heart?
C: Thumps his hand against his chest. Boom, boom.
M: Oh my heart.
E: Yeah.
M: Chuck, you've done it again.
E: Giggles. Yeah, no, it's true. It's true, compassion.
M: Count this another soul saved.
E: The compassion…the compassion.
C: You know, all this stuff that is here..it's unreal. So the only thing is real is the heart that you display to the world.
E: True.
M: How did your, um, front mirror, how did your front glass crack?
C: Look at her! Look at her. I am trying to teach her such a deep concept and she's talking about glass.
E: Well, I was curious too.
M: I'm curious. I…I got the concept.
C: Yep. You got the concept?
M: Yeah.
C: Okay. Somebody hit it. So what do you expect?
E: Yeah.
C: Something, a piece of rock or something.
E: It's an interesting shape. It's like a little, um,
C: Heart!
E: yeah, it is. Beautiful.
C: To remind me, constantly.
E: Yeah, wow.
M: How old are you?
C: I turn 98.
M: Shocked. What?
C: Yeah.
E: No, no…I don’t believe it.
M: No…you're lying.
C: I'm not!
E: You're not a day older than 65.
M: You're 62! You're not 98. Show us…show us your ID.
C: I don’t Have one. If I had an ID, I wouldn't be doing this job. That's why I'm doing this. Just because I can't get an ID.
M: You're 98? No, you're not Chuck. M and E laughing.
C: You know something? What's your name, sir? What's your name?
E: I'm E.
C: E?
E: Yeah.
C: Let her have it tonight. You know? She's not getting it.
E: Laughs a little. Oh no. She gets it.
C: She's not getting it yet. I cannot believe that. Oh my gosh. M and E laughing. Well, you know something, you're fun. I like that.
E: Yeah.
C: Okay, yeah. I'm 62. So what next question please?
E: Yeah, that’s more like it.
C: How much money do you make? Are you married? Do you get…
E: No. No, I'm not interested with such things.
C: How much taxes did you pay last year? Where was, where were you born? Where you grow up? Exactly. When you come to LA, what, uh, what you do before and what do you do now? Is it the only money you make? So yeah, you know the question, right? Good. I charge $1,000 dollars for every answer.
E: Oh!
C: So, do you think you have enough money?
E: Uh, no.
C: No takers so far for the last, last 7,500 [riders]. Ah, don't take my picture now!
M: I'm not, I'm not, I'm taking a picture of the license plate in front of you.
C: Okay.
M: Promise. I would never take a picture of a…saint.
C: A picture of a who?
M: You're like a, you're like a prophet.
C: I am not. I'm just displaying what your future is gonna bring to you.
M: Yeah. Listen, you sound so mystical. It's amazing.
C: Who do you want to be? That you haven't…you do not believe in that energy yet.
M: Like a grown adult.
C: Yeah. And did you know, by the way, the teacher will appear only when the students ready. So I’m not trying to be a teacher, but if you are a student, let's go flow in this life together.
M: Amen.
E: No, I feel it. That's good, I forgot about that.
M: You're right, man. I just couldn't agree more honestly.
C: Well, please go in the direction of your dream and do something great with it and just go forward.
E: Yeah.
M: Yeah.
C: I can't do the work of all the angels on the planet. Looks in the rearview mirror. You are one of them. If you choose to be, or you can be Charles Manson. M and E laugh. Or, you know, Al Bundy or whatever, Ted Bundy, Bundy or Kavinsky or somebody else. It's all your choice.
M: Are you talking to both of us?
C: I'm talking to both of you, especially your ancestors were killed by a man who had a dark, dark, dark heart. He was clever. His name was Adolf Hitler.
M: I knew you were gonna say Hitler.
C: That bastard, if he had not been born from the womb of his mother, the planet, we would be in galaxies already. We used all of our energy. We lost 200 million people. So many more displaced. So many lives were lost for nothing, for one sick guy.
E: So true. Such a waste of everybody's time.
C: And if you remember what someone said, a crazy guy drops a piece of stone into a water well for the city and 40 wise men cannot take it out. And that's the man who did it like that.
E: Yeah.
C: On the other hand, Mother Teresa didn't do it like that.
M: Right, Achilles heel
C: Yes. Any life should be heard, should be saved. It is here for a reason. You are not the creator. You don't take it away.
E: Yeah.
C: You didn't create it. It comes in here. It lives its cycle. And it goes.
M: Right.
C: None of our business.
E: Yeah.
C: Anyway guys.
M: It's none of our business. Life is short.
C: Glad we met. Yeah. Life is short. And uh, you wanna make sure that you don't have a lot of regrets at the end of the road.
M: That's true. I have no regrets in this car ride.
C: That's good. And remember karma is a biatch.
M: Who?
C: Karma.
M: Laughs. Karma. Yeah. Karma is a biatch, you’re right.
C: Remember whatever you put out, you receive from the other end.
E: It's true. You are what you give off.
M: Well, Chuck, If you're really 98, I hope you live to 198.
C: I appreciate that very much. You wanna know something?
M: You might?
C: I talked to the universal power at times and said, thank you for bringing me all the way here.
M: Yeah.
C: And I say, one other thing. I said, jokingly, I said, help me live another hundred years.
E: Yeah.
C: And, and I say quietly, and I said, you're laughing, God? I have served your children. So I still want to do that. I have great intention. So don't be chancey. Give me another hundred years.
M: I hope you get it.
C: I, I hope I get it too.
M: Thank you, Chuck.
C: My pleasure, my pleasure. You know, something?
M: What?
C: I say the same to you because you have no idea, you are the one who came to my life and took me away from the path of that, that driver who was gonna hit me. Look at it this way.
E: Oh, when we slammed on the brakes earlier. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
C: No.
E: Oh, no, no.
C: I mean, it could be you know, anytime. You know, any situation, anytime.
E: Yeah. Yeah.
M: Well, I'm glad we're safe.
C: I'm glad I’m safe.
M: I'm glad you're safe.
C: Did you know that? Uh, I didn't know you before, but I prayed for you before. Not through the gods of theology, but through the power of the universe.
M: Thank you, Chuck.
C: I said, help me bless all the people that I have ever come in contact with and I will come in contact with the good, the bad, and the ugly. And he knows it, he takes care of it.
M: It’s very beautiful.
E: We all, we all have something innocent and loving in ourselves. You just have to see someone in the right dimension and coax out that dimension.
C: Well, the fact of the matter is you, you gotta, you got to display it and discover it and display it, and utilize it.
E: Yeah.
M: It's true. Do you have any kids?
C: Lets see, I knew she's gonna ask that. Yeah. Plenty of them.
M: How many?
C: Very many.
M: How many?
C: Like the sand.
M: I guess you're 98.
E asked for a phone charger and started charging his phone. I stopped the recording because the ride was almost over, but then I started it again because it was getting good.
E: What would an average guy really actually say?
M: What is the difference between a human being and an average guy?
C: Well, the fact is that a human, all human beings that focus in, in, inward, towards satisfying your own needs and wants. And everything, but has enough to think about another human being who's within your reach. Then you're Johnny average guy.
E: I see.
C: But if you have a greater motive, a greater purpose in life and think about all the people and do something about it at your level, whatever that thing is.
E: Yeah.
C: Whatever, you have an extra hamburger in your bag and you see somebody and you say, hey buddy…
E: I do right now. As a matter of fact I do.
M: I have an extra hamburger in my bag.
C: Tonight if that’s you, you tell the guy, take it.
E: I love that.
C: Make sure he is not crazy. He's not throwing it back at you and hurts you.
M: With the hamburger? Throw the hamburger and hit you in the head?
E: Laughing. Yeah.
C: Yeah, I’m just saying.
M: Meaty face.
C: They, they do that by the way, it has happened before.
E: The last time I gave a guy a hamburger…
M: You've been hit in the face with a hamburger?
C: Yeah. No, you say, I cannot give you any money, here’s a burger…
E: Third degree burns.
M: Shit. A hot patty to the forehead.
E: Yeah. No, it's true.
M: What kind of car is this?
E: It's a, it's a Prius no?
M: Ah, It's Prius.
C: Yeah. No, you’re talking about my car? It's a Corolla hybrid.
M: Ah. nice, good gas mileage.
C: It's good. Yes, mileage.
Chuck suggested we walk the rest of the way to the Greek because the traffic was so backed up. We thanked each other profusely and E and I got out of the car.