Post — Word On The Curb DC

Sunday, December 24, 2017

*Name changed to protect passenger identity.

I’d wager the inspiration for this posting dates back to early-October. When “Maria” got into the car that morning she said, “this should be interesting given that you’re a five-star driver.” I politely shrugged then welcomed her in. After I confirmed the drop-off to be Crystal City, she suggested a “very specific” route. I obliged, and off we went!... The conversation was polite. She asked how long I had been driving for Uber. I replied, over a month now. She asked how long I have lived in DC. I responded it had been 18 years. I asked where she was from. She said the Southside of Chicago. I told her of a recent encounter with a fellow-Southside Chicagoan who founded a hospitality consultancy. She said, “it’s what we do; we get things done.” I asked what brought her to Washington, DC. She said she worked in the Obama administration and now for a defense contractor. What followed was profound… She said, “its hard to not be part of the solution.” Seeing the Glory in this statement, I asked her to clarify for my pedestrian understanding. She advised that in pursuit of finding solutions to contemporary social crisis that affect everyday people, she found her most fulfilling work. However, the same sense of purpose is not matched in her current job experience. I totally got it… As I dropped her off in Crystal City near her employment, I told her there was tremendous purpose in our meeting that morning. She thanked me and, even at my refusal, pressed a five-dollar bill in my hand saying, “everyone appreciates cash.” That morning she bought my breakfast.

Fast-forward to mid-November, and I’m in the same neighborhood at roughly the same time when I get a ride request. God-incidence: the passenger was “Maria!” She bounded into the car, ever cheerful that our paths had crossed again. When settled she said, “what do you have to tell me today; how have you been?” I told her she was my “first repeat-passenger” and first passenger of the day, so I felt she had something more to tell me! Her last words, I said, had been so incredibly inspiring that I shared them with family and friends, especially those in lobbying, public affairs and ministry. All agreed that she was onto something. She was surprised that her words had such an impact. I reminded her that words matter. As I pulled to the curb she told me of her plans with family for Thanksgiving. She mentioned her mother from Chicago would be there, and that she was “excited” to be cooking for her. Again, we marveled at the opportunity to reconnect. And again, she pressed a five-dollar bill into my hand. That morning she bought my hot tea.

Then last Sunday… At the last-minute invitation of a new friend (he has a good face), I attended The Holiday Show presented by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington. It had been some years since I last heard them perform; but more on that in a moment… The first God-incidence: We only had one ticket for a reserved-seating-sell-out show. However, we approached the Lincoln Theater box office confident, if not disillusioned, that we would find two seats together. We presented the dilemma to the ticket agent who gazed at the computer screen in bewilderment at the absence of two seats together. Then the lightbulb went off. She turned her head slightly away from us and extended her arm across the desk. When she turned to us she said, “I just remembered someone brought two tickets back they couldn’t use. Balcony seats.” I inquired as to the cost. She said, “please, just take them.” I’m thinking, “why me God?!” The answer would be in the music.

TBH, recent events had not inspired my usual holiday joy. So, I viewed this concert as an attempt at a “pick-me-up.” And through the festive opening number and usual holiday carols, I felt my heart smile a little. Yet, by the second “childhood memory” offered by a chorus member, the dramatically-emotional staging of homeless characters, and the riveting arrangements of “Mary Did You Know” and “It Is Well With My Soul”, I felt renewal in my body. I started imagining the great cloud of witnesses. I saw Allison’s sweet face and the countless other friends who were in the cloud. I saw a purposeful path toward contributing to the solution. And I saw Auntie Joyce’s face and the countless other shelterless-kindred who need us all to commit to being part of the solution.

To be part of the solution means “being present” for the opportunity to serve. To be part of the solution is to “invite your whole self to rise to the calling.” To be part of the solution means “coalescing with like-minds who share the faithful-empathy to make an impact.” And, to be part of the solution means “acknowledging the Glory in reconciliation.”

My neighbor Abby (also an Aggie) saw need for a solution and created a GoFundMe for Auntie Joyce. Others, who may or may not know Auntie Joyce, contributed their resources to a solution. Earlier this week Auntie Joyce said she was looking for her Christmas miracle. When I drove by the train over-pass last night and tonight, upon return from Christmas Eve service at Foundry United Methodist Church, Auntie Joyce was not there. My heart leapt and my eyes watered from a deeply emotional place that wanted to scream, “Thank you Jesus!”

I predict the days ahead will be greatly trying for some fellow Americans. The widening chasm of inequality may displace more families, and likely more than we’d ever imagine. But, the greatness of America is always her resilience to see beyond the bleak and to the hopeful. Our collective greatness is beyond the petty bickering, the marginalization, the micro-and-macro aggressive attacks, the misogyny and the disenfranchisement. Our greatness exists because America has a heart. And this heart works to heal both the social and political maladies.

Our collective understanding should be that regardless of social and political division, America always births new vision and leadership; even in all of her states and cities and small towns and villages. Each of us is evidence of the birth. And, each of us has the power to contribute and impact our continued greatness.

Pursue hope… “Thank you Jesus (and your father, God) for Christmas!”