DISPATCH #3

A couple of days ago I got a pickup request out at San Xavier Mission.

If you’ve never been there, it’s one of the most beautiful places in southern Arizona. The mission was completed in 1797 and is famous for its baroque architecture and painted artwork.

I pull up and a young woman smiles and waves.

Then she walks right past the car.

She circles around the back and checks my license plate.

Safety first.

When she opens the door I ask, “Am I me?”

She laughs.

“Just making sure.”

“You must be Gabrielle,” I say.

She nods.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Steve. I’ll be your driver for this trip.”

The app says she’s heading to the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures.

“Just taking in the sights?” I ask.

She says she’s visiting from Washington, DC, and she loves how different the architecture is down here.

Then she adds the most important discovery she’s made so far.

“The fry bread here is so good.”

Now she’s speaking my language.

I told her, “Yeah, and I love the history here too. This iconic mission was completed in 1797 and features beautiful baroque architecture and painted artwork…”

Then I paused.

“But you already took the tour… so gimmie my nickel back.”

She laughed immediately, which is always a good sign.

Turns out she’d taken a Lyft all the way from downtown to the mission.

“All the way out here?” I said. “Thanks for making me come get you.”

She laughed and said she appreciated the ride.

We ended up talking most of the trip about Tucson.

I told her if she really wanted to see something amazing she should go up to Mount Lemmon.

Beautiful pine trees, cool air, ski lifts in the winter, and little shops at the top selling fudge and desserts.

Only problem is getting a Lyft ride up there.

“Unless you buy the tour package,” I said.

We both laughed.

Then we started comparing cities.

She told me how everything around DC is built around the beltway.

I told her I’d only driven it twice in my life when I was trucking.

“Amazing how heavy that traffic is,” I said.

“Horrible.”

At the exact same moment we both said:

“For safety.”

Because apparently the best way to protect the nation’s capital is by making sure nobody can move.

Then she asked what it was like being a truck driver.

I told her I’d met a lot of characters over the years and had plenty of adventures.

“I’m actually finishing a memoir right now,” I said. “It’s about my life from trucking school to my last job in the industry.”

She asked if I had any stories.

So I told her about Jimmy Two-Toes. The funniest security guard around.

She laughed and said that was awesome.

By then she was telling me about the rest of her trip. After Tucson she’s renting a car and heading to Sedona, then on to the Grand Canyon.

I told her I was jealous.

“I wanna go,” I said. “Can I hire you?”

“Sure,” she said. “Let’s go.”

Then I warned her about the Grand Canyon.

“My dad always says to watch out for the McDonald’s up there.”

Apparently that’s where he got food poisoning on his honeymoon.

Nothing says romance like racing your brand-new spouse to the bathroom.

When I dropped her off I said,

“I miss you already.”

Then I told her,

“If you ever look on Amazon, the book’s called The Wayward Trucker.”

Turns out sometimes the best part of driving Lyft is the stories you get to trade along the way.

Well… see you next time.

— Steve
The Wayward Trucker

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