I thanked my driver for finding me. I also silently said in my head that I was glad he was alive, because I just saw another driver race down my usually incredibly quiet street going about 70-80 miles per hour and he would have met him head-on. I guess they were feeling bold because the courthouse was closed and there weren’t any cops hanging out, but even if that guy decided it was a good day to die, I don’t think anyone else had.

When I got in and asked my driver how he was, however, he told me he had been driving since 9 pm the night before, and it was 9 am. I asked him how he was feeling. He said that when he would do this kind of long shift, he felt like he wasn’t overly sleepy but he also would only smile and nod and agree to everything. Danger, Will Robinson, danger! That’s fatigue! But he kept seeing dollar signs in his eyes. He wanted to cash in on more incentives. The only way a driver can really do this long of a shift is if they go back and forth between the apps so they don’t stay logged in on one for too long.

We talked a little bit about someone I knew well who was also driving for Lyft and Uber, but he had to take time off for a procedure. I also educated my driver a little on the difference between benign vs. malignant, otherwise known as not cancer vs. cancer, because those terms were confusing to him. My driver was early- to mid-20s and my guess is that he’s pretty much healthy as a horse.

I mentioned men being expensive, and he said hey, that’s true! My girlfriend tries to buy me stuff all the time, and if I’m not careful and tell her no, all of the sudden I have a bunch of stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but I don’t want her to feel like I’m taking advantage of her. (I don’t think he realizes that that is her way of showing affection, to pay attention to what he needs and likes, and to provide all of these comforts for him.) My driver also said that he is really bad at gift giving. So I said that when I look for gifts, I remember back to conversations I’ve had with loved ones and friends, and I remember they like certain things, and I go from there. But I also like to have experiences with them. So it doesn’t have to be something you hold in your hand. You never regret a good time together.

My driver was truly a nice young man and I hope he got some serious sleep and gave those dollar signs a nap too. There isn’t going to be any love or fun if he is being peeled off the pavement.

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