Thank you, Titus.  Friends and loved ones, read on: 

Subject: FW: The Cab Ride

I arrived at the address and honked the horn.   After waiting a few minutes, I walked to the
door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something
being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a
print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was
covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers
the way I would want my mother treated'.

'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked,
'Could you drive through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in soft
voice. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.   For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me
the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in
front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home,
with a driveway that passed under a portico.   Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were
solicitous and intent, watching her every move.  They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse.  'Nothing,' I said
'You have to make a living,' she answered.  'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.   'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,'
she said.   'Thank you.'
I squeezed her hand, and they walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk.
What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?   What if I had refused to take the run,
or had honked once, then driven away?   On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But, you might help make the world a little kinder
and more compassionate by sending it on and reminding us that often it is the random acts of kindness that most benefit
all of us.   Thank you, my friend...
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

"In God We Trust"
My thought "Remeber we will be old one day how do we want to be treated"

How fairy tales really end: Cinderella Snow White Little red riding hood  Sleeping beauty Jasmine (Alladin) Belle (Beauty and the beast) The little mermaid

Fairy  of New Years and other New things,

Wishing you and yours a very Pofitiable New Year in Love, Joy, Faith, Hope and yes even Work
May therir always be room for more friends at your table :

Please read quietly then send it back on it's journey


To realize
The value of a sister/brother
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.
 
 
 To realize
 The value of ten years:
 Ask a newly
 Divorced couple.
 
 
 To realize
 The value of four years:
 Ask a graduate.
 
 
 To realize
 The value of one year:
 Ask a student who
 Has failed a final exam.

 To realize
 The value of nine months:  Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.
 
 To realize
 The value of one month:
 Ask a mother
 Who has given birth to
 A premature baby....
 
 
 To realize
 The value of one week:
 Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
 
 To realize
 The value of one minute:
 Ask a person
 Who has missed the train, bus or plane.
 
 To realize
 The value of one-second:
 Ask a person
 Who has survived an accident.
 

 Time waits for no one.
 
   Treasure every moment you have.
 
 
 You will treasure it even more when
 You can share it with someone special.
 
   To realize the value of a friend or family member:
 
 LOSE ONE.
 
 
 
 The origin of this letter is unknown,
 But it brings good luck to everyone who passes it on..
 
 Remember...


 Hold on tight to the ones you love!
 
 
 Do not keep this letter.
 
 
 Send it to friends & family to whom you wish good luck
 And don't forget the one who sent it to you!
 
 Peace, love and prosperity to all!

feel free to copy this to your emails and pass this one on  ~_^

what they don't tell you is her mother was watching in horror from her car that was in front of her daughter's car ! Please my family here this family needs your prayers! she has major injuries !

thank you !

Airborne truck tears roof off car

By VICTOR A. PATTON
vpatton@mercedsun-star.com

A 32-year-old Modesto woman was hospitalized with major injuries Monday following a two-car collision on Highway 99 near Atwater.

Donna Thomas was flown by helicopter to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. The driver of the other car, 67-year-old James Hudson, of Atwater, suffered minor injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash was reported around 10:30 a.m. on northbound Highway 99, south of Westside Boulevard. Hudson was driving a 2000 Ford F-150 southbound in the slow lane of Highway 99, at an unknown rate of speed, said Shane Ferriera, CHP spokesman.

MARCI STENBERG

Merced Sun-Star - A California Highway Patrol officer investigates an accident on Highway 99 on Monday morning. The driver, a Modesto woman, suffered major injuries.

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Hudson's truck drifted onto the right shoulder. After losing control, Hudson's truck traveled across the southbound lanes and into a ditch, Ferriera said.

The Ford F-150 then became airborne and traveled into the northbound lanes. The rear tires and undercarriage of the truck struck Thomas' 1995 Honda Civic, which was traveling northbound in the fast lane.

Ferriera said the force of the collision tore the roof completely off the Honda. The front of the Honda then struck a guardrail, while the Ford F-150 cleared the right shoulder and guardrail, overturning on its left side.

Hudson was taken by ambulance to Mercy Medical Center Merced.

Drugs or alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the crash, Ferriera said.

Reporter Victor A. Patton can be reached at (209) 385-2431 or vpatton@mercedsun-star.com.

here's the web link www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/972919.h...    so i'm giving credit to those who wrote the story!