Every Tues, Wed, Thursday morning, I bring baby Elephant to his Grandma's place. Uncle R picks us up in his taxi. Each of those mornings, I receive an sms around 6.30am that says very simply, "10 min". So I make sure everything's ready by 6.30am, before I receive the sms. Then I bring baby Elephant down 5 min after I receive the sms, because I noticed he is always early and prefer not to keep him waiting, although he says he would prefer that he waits for us than us him.
The journey to Grandma's place takes less than 15 min, but over the course of several months, baby Elephant and I have grown used to and even fond of the routine. The faithful sms, the lively, jive-worthy Tamil songs playing softly as we enter the taxi, the very smooth drive, the stories that Uncle R tells us and his opinions on a variety of subjects.
He would always tell me that young couples need to save up, be content with what they have and to appreciate each stage of baby Elephant's development. He says he doesn't understand why some parents would complain that their child is naughty and constantly moving or jumping around and tugging on things. He once knew a young boy who could not walk, only crawl around the house and rarely spoke. This boy was later diagnosed with an illness and on the hospital bed, they did not know if he would ever recover. He was still as quiet as ever. Uncle R would visit him and just sit and talk to him and hand him his toys. One day, as he was leaving, the boy called out to him, "Uncle R!". Uncle R bounded across the room to hug the the boy. The boy passed away a few days later. I could see Uncle R begin to choke up as he talked about the boy. So to Uncle R, if the child can jump around, we should be thankful.
Uncle R told me about his family, about the sudden passing of his father, his relationships with his siblings, his wife, his three children, how he had been so strict with the eldest but that he misses him terribly because he's studying abroad, his previous company where he been a loyal employee for more than twenty years, until the company stopped operations in Singapore and the list goes on.
He is very passionate about his faith, often stating that prayer is essential, a non-negotiable, because without it, you shouldn't say you are a follower of the faith. He said he never fully learned to read the Koran when he was a young boy, and so as a young adult, in his mid-twenties, he felt a great sense of remorse at the number of years he was not a faithful follower and shame because when he went for prayers in the mosque, he would not understand what was going on. Slowly he learnt how to read the Koran, and made changes to his life so that he could live according to his faith. Since then, every year during the fasting month, he extends his fast by an extra week so as to make amends for the years he had not fasted. He has been doing this for more than twenty years. While we do not share the same faith, there are many things he has taught me about the attitude and posture of a follower of a faith.
This morning, he told me that today will be the last day he will drive this taxi. The main hirer for the taxi had been involved in an unfortunate accident and was in a coma that lasted a couple of months. After he had come out of the coma, he remained home to recover fully. For the past three months, the hirer's brother covered the night shift (as he still continued his day job) while Uncle R drove the day shift, with extended hours so as to help the hirer's brother a little. The main hirer has now fully recovered and will be resuming his full day shift duties. Uncle R showed such joy that his hirer had fully recovered, because it was nothing short of a miracle. Prior to this hirer, Uncle R's previous hirer had to return the taxi because he could not meet the rental charge, even though Uncle R was always faithful in paying for his portion. So Uncle R had to search for another hirer and found the current one.
There was a time gap of slightly more than a month between the first and second hirer. Uncle R had no job during that time, but he told me that he would remember me and would call me when he got another hirer. Honestly, I thought he would forget all about it, because he was under no obligation to help me. But he did call, and resumed picking us up on three mornings every week. This morning, he told me the same thing, that he would call me if he found another hirer and if he was going to continue driving a taxi. He had been recommended for another job, as a security guard. The job location is far away and he would be getting half his current earnings, but the job is not half as exhausting as driving a taxi. The company has not yet given him a firm offer, but he says the likelihood is quite high. If he doesn't get the job, he will most likely search for a new hirer. He views his hirer's notice as a chance to take a well-deserved break and to see where God leads him next. Again, I learn from him here again.
He has always told me he does not like the job of a taxi driver, but he had few career options after being retrenched. Despite this, he does an excellent job daily and never fails to meet his rental charges and still take home more than enough for the family. Even though baby Elephant and I would be delighted to receive his call and the next "10 min" sms from him again, we hope even more, that he will find a job he enjoys and will provide for him and his family. Baby Elephant recognises him and his voice. Once, when Uncle R was on leave and I had to call for a taxi, Baby Elephant stared at the driver for a few minutes then proceeded to ignore him for the rest of the journey. With Uncle R, he sits on my lap and listens, occasionally giving a shout or a chuckle. Uncle R says it may all seem like a dream to Baby Elephant next time. He will vaguely recall a particular person but will not be able to place who he is or where he met him.
All I know is, Baby Elephant never once cried in Uncle R's taxi and we were always ferried safely and briskly to Grandma's house. As a bonus, we learnt many things about life from Uncle R. So for now, we wish him and his family all the very best and maybe our paths will cross again :)
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