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Hospice
Please add the people in your area who are in Hospice. So many there have no close families to see them.
Got this story from a friend. If it's not true it should be. Blessing to all.
[SP][CENTER][FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT][/CENTER]
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[TD][CENTER][FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT][/CENTER]
[INDENT][CENTER][FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]I could hear something being dragged across the floor.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a
print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had
lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils
on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers
the way I would want my mother to be treated.'[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave
me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]voice..' The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me
the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and
would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]As the first hint of sun was
creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building,[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]Two orderlies came out to
the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were
solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to
the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'Nothing,' I said[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'You have to make a living,' she answered.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'There are other passengers,' I responded.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]Almost without thinking I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning
light.. Behind me a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had
gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What
if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B]Actually, [COLOR=maroon]I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.[/COLOR][/B] [/FONT]
[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.[/COLOR][/B] [/FONT]
[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully
wrapped in what others may consider a small one.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID OR WHAT YOU[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
[FONT="Times New Roman"][B][COLOR=maroon]SAID BUT[/COLOR][/B][B] [COLOR=maroon]THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.[/COLOR][/B][/FONT]
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Great story! Your are right, if it isn't true it should be.
Had a similar experience in the back of an ambulance some years back taking an elderly gentleman on what he knew was going to be his last ride. It wasn't an emergency so I told the driver to take his time getting to our destination. We spent the time talking about his life, his family and his work. I still can't drive by the house that was his home without thinking of him.