“I’m just happy to be looking down at the grass and not up at the roots”

That’s what the shuttle driver said. 

My truck was having issues, so after getting it to the dealership, I got in a shuttle to bring me home while it was being looked over. 

When I told the driver I was sorry to hear about something they had been through, they said with a smile, “I’m just happy to be looking down at the grass and not up at the roots.” What a line.

When I told them that I liked to write, and I wanted to reference that later, they responded warmly, and then continued to tell me a bunch of other stories on the drive back. Some of the stories included their childhood, seal hunting in Newfoundland, pesky kids, their kind mother, playing the lottery, along with a few others. 

I don’t think that they realized how valuable that interaction was. This person was much older than me and I have always believed that we could learn a lot from our elders.

At the end of dropping me off, we didn’t speak of the vehicle as the last sentence. 

I said thanks for the ride and wisdom, and they smiled and said “good luck with your writing.”