It was a big day in the shuttle bubble yesterday. That’s the first time I called it a bubble. There’s something to that. It is a different zone. We are near strangers together and no one is trying to sell anything. It's a short ride we may never take again. And people open up.
Anyway - as I say - a big day. I met a Puerto Rican preacher, a Chinese cook, a retired Milwaukee zookeeper, a young-ish self-employed computer jockey, a retired railroad worker, and the first chiropractor to take a ride with me.
Mind you we are not all riding together at the same time. A day like this is busy with individual riders rather than small groups.
The preacher and I talked about El Dios, fluctuating congregations and his good-old-days as a cabbie in San Juan. Man, that was when a hundred dollars was worth something.
The Chinese cook - John - told me how to make very tender chicken breasts. Well, he didn't just blurt it out. I asked him. That's one of the benefits of driving people. I get to ask questions.
Even though John has been in the U.S. for 20 years, he has not been practicing his English. So, good luck with the chicken breast, David. The recipe involves a quick, short boil in corn starch water. As for amounts? We are on our own.
The computer jockey had a dozen boxes in his car before he had to get towed in. He should have rented a car. We loaded them into the van. Not only did his car get towed in for emergency service, he is now unable to deliver his products. I took him home and we unloaded in front of his garage. I hope the mist doesn't get any worse or his cardboard will get all wet.
The zookeeper talked about feeding steak to Sampson. That was before we knew what gorillas preferred to eat. Can we remember a time that far back? He can. And, according to him, Sampson died of a heart attack.
The retired rail worker took a look at the actuarial tables and decided he didn’t want to work and then die. So, he retired. We talked a lot about food quality and organics. Quite the Christian, too. Lots of volunteer work in his days now.
The chiropractor? My very first chiropractor in the shuttle. A story unto itself. He’s my age. His name is David, too.
And, he’s about 25% along the way to recovery after having been stung by a jellyfish off the coast of Georgia last May. He’s got a long way to go.
As you might imagine, we talked about bodily systems, good food, general well-being and two types of chiropractors (straight and mixed). A mixed chiropractor invests in a complementary discipline. His is nutrition.
He said things as a health practitioner that we don’t want to hear. For instance, most of the damage we do to ourselves (think 80%) is caused by what we put into our bodies.
So, here is the summing up for the day. Pray to God you eat less steak, more veggies, boil your chicken quickly and retire as early as possible. Oh, and don’t leave your cardboard in the rain.
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ShuttleBug - Thursday mornings in Greenfield Patch - stories with people in an auto dealer customer service shuttle van.
More stories here.
