fam-uber

I don't use my own family for novels or stories, because I want to protect their privacy. In this case though I couldn't resist. An image from the other day stuck in my mind and it was perfect for a story or novel.

Two sisters decided to go to the fair. There were the usual rides, carnival-type things and one of the sisters took a lot of hard-earned money out to set out and do them. But within a couple of hours they called me to give them a ride home.

The minute they got in the car they started screaming. I mean screaming too. It hurt my ears. The windows were closed on the Honda; it's a very small car.

Our route was very simple and went through downtown, past the coffee shop, past the one street of fine fancy shops, past the Children's Museum and Railroad Museum - all had people because it had been Railroad Days. They screamed loudly the whole way. At the Railroad Museum there was a train crossing, and you never know about this train. It's often three or four miles long; it often slows down or stops. I didn't want to take a chance so I backed up and went under the bridge. They didn't even slow down. They kept screaming all the way home.

The fight was over something trivial. One had perhaps made a rude comment and the other had requested she not do that. But somehow a lot of pent-up frustration and hard feeling, perhaps jealousy or stress from everyday life, being a minority in a small Illinois town - it was all coming out. They were hauling off at each other.

When we got to the place they both jumped out of the car and I realized: they hadn't said hello, or thank you, or anything like that; neither had. In a sense it was a reflection of the fact that they totally take me as background, giving them a ride when they need it, not jumping in and asserting some kind of basic civility. They both apologized later. But at the time I remember thinking, that was one of the wildest rides I ever gave, as a family uber driver. My ears are still ringing.