Umans of Uber

I took Charlotte and her son Sean home from the movie theater at Lynnhaven Mall. They had seen Trolls. Sean is a thirteen-year-old eighth grader and was impressed by my trays of water bottles and candy.

“This is the best Uber ever!”

“Yes, it is,” I replied. “Thanks for noticing.”

“Look, Mom–this guy’s got Jolly Ranchers and Tootsie Rolls! I’ve never seen anything like this.”

I found out Sean is an honor roll student who will be attending a large public school next year. This particular Virginia Beach school is in the middle of the wealthiest part of the city. I’ve driven a large number of students and alumni from this school and found a tragically high percentage of them are drug users.

“Hey, can I give you some advice, Sean?” I asked.

“Okay.”

“It’s going to sound corny, but–don’t do drugs.”

He laughed a little.

“I’m serious, dude. I drive a lot of kids from your school and many of them have drug problems. It’s pretty sad. They are smart and have lots of money, but they make really bad decisions and it’s hurting them. Don’t fall for that. Stay away from drugs and the people that use them.”

“Thanks for saying that,” Charlotte said.

They asked to stop at a 7-Eleven on the way home. It took them a few minutes longer than they thought because they ran into grandma inside.

When they came out they apologized.

“Do you have any food allergies?” Sean asked me. It seemed a bit out of the blue.

“No, why?”

“Because I got you this.”

He handed me a brookie. In case you don’t know, that’s a combination of chocolate brownie and chocolate-chip cookie. A strong combination, if you ask me.

“You got that for the Uber driver?” Mom asked.

“Yeah. He’s awesome. He gave us Jolly Ranchers and told me not to do drugs.”

“Sean, this may be the best tip I’ve ever received. Thanks a lot.”