A Ride to Remember
Jim, a Remarkable Man
“Hello love, what can I do for you?”, Jim answers, when I call him.
“You would like to go to Avebury? Sure. When would you like to go?”
“I’m ready, so preferably as soon as possible.”
“Okay love, I’ll just pop into the store to buy me a drink and then I’ll come pick you up”, he says with a cheerful giggle in his voice.
And so it happens.
Every now and then you meet someone, whose story, presence and / or energy stays with you. Jim is one of these people. I am most certain that over the years he has touched the hearts of many.
For me, it all started with meeting two lovely Danish ladies in Glastonbury, who had used Jim’s services and handed me his card.
“Grab it there,” Jim says, pointing at the bottom of my suitcase, “together we’ll put that suitcase of you in the car. My goodness, what did you do to make it so heavy?”, he says with a burst of laughter.
“Presents from friends and too many amazing shops here in Glastonbury”, I answer him.
He nods with a smile on his face. He must have lifted many heavy suitcases over the years.
“You don’t want to sit in the front?”, he says surprised, when I open the rear door. “Come sit next to me.”
I don’t regret following up on his invitation.
“You know, I have never met an angel”, he says.
While his eyes are fixed on the road ahead, I sense he is in a different time and place.
“If angels exist, she was one. Never did she speak a bad word about anyone.”
Jim was seventeen when, at a dancing class, he asked her to dance.
“Can you dance?”, she had asked him.
“No”, he had answered.
Despite the fact that neither of them had the experience, they danced, dance after dance. Halfway through the evening, he had asked her if maybe she wanted to dance with someone else. She didn’t.
“I couldn’t think of anything. I just wanted to hold her in my arms. I felt so much. In the end, I asked if I could walk her home. She was fine with that. So, I did. I just wanted to spend time with her. I didn’t even kiss her. I felt too overwhelmed. The only thing I asked her before saying goodbye, was if she would be back next week. She said she would.”
He continues, laughing at the memory.
“She lived at the other side of town. I had to walk back four hours to get home. I couldn’t have cared less.”
The next week both of them were back and danced all night long, before he walked her home again. When he turned nineteen Jim joined the army. Finishing his military service at the age of twenty-one, he asked her to marry him.
“She said yes. Can you imagine?”, he asks, as if he is still surprised that such a loving angelic being wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
“One night, in the middle of the night, she woke me up. She looked me in the eyes and asked ‘will you still love me when I am gone’. I answered, love, what are you talking about. You ain’t going nowhere, right? Three weeks later she got killed.”
It takes a moment for him to continue.
“She knew. Somehow she knew. She was the love of my life. With her I was the very best version of myself.”
He grieved, and he was given the time he needed. At work, family and friends, everyone allowed him his process.
While Jim is talking about that time, I sense what he may have felt all those years back. Wave after wave of emotions flows through me. Joy, pain and sadness. It is all offered to be released.
“They let you down, right?”, Jim asks with a smile. “Those bloody Ubers, whenever they can get a better ride, they simply don’t show up.”
Jim clearly isn’t impressed with the service level of Uber drivers in Glastonbury.
I had wondered what was going on, asking my spirit guides for help. The message I got was that the right driver hadn’t arrived yet. I waited and waited more. Till finally I reached the point that I was done waiting for an Uber, and had called Jim. Who had only just returned to Glastonbury…
His head swings towards me, while he says “I am glad you called me. I am really enjoying the ride.”
And so was I. I had just had a good laugh over Jim’s stories as a lorry driver, when he had to deliver loads to all kinds of interesting destinations, including sparsely dressed women, who enjoyed teasing the young man, who gave it his very best not to look at them.
“When I get back to Glastonbury, I am going to pick up my wife and then walk the dogs”, Jim says.
Whenever he is away for longer drives, he brings his wife to a care home for the day. On other days, he has a caretaker coming in a few times during the day to care for her.
It has been forty-one years since his wife became physically handicapped. A few years ago she got dementia as well. She no longer recognizes Jim as her husband, despite the fact that he takes care of her needs every day.
“She is my responsibility”, he says with a clear voice. He does not wish for their children to help him. “She is my wife and I promised to take care of her in good and bad times. And that is what I do. This year we’ll be married for sixty-one years.”
Of course he has picked up on me doing a quick calculation in my mind. Sixty-one years with his current wife. He married the love of his life at twenty-one. And there may have been a few years in between.
“How old do you think, I am?” he asks with twinkling eyes.
“Eighty-four?”
“Eighty-seven, young lady”, he says with laughter in his voice.
“Do you feel safe”, Jim had asked me earlier, turning his head towards me. “Because, if you don’t you need to tell me.”
I felt perfectly safe.
Laughing - Jim loves to laugh - he had told me that he has signed up for an advanced driving course.
“People think I am crazy. But, I want them to tell me what I can improve. You know, you’re never too old to learn.”
Not only is Jim putting time, money and energy towards the advanced driving course. He also had extensive medical check-ups done for his driving license renewal.
Only three months ago, in March, he bought himself a brand new car. Jim isn’t planning on giving up on driving any time soon. As long as his health allows, he will drive people, while sharing his stories and good vibes.
Do I feel grateful Uber didn’t work out that day? I sure did.
Did Uber let me down? No way. They served me well, having me waiting for the right driver to arrive in town: Jim.
I cherish the memories of the ride with Jim. And, when I will be back in Glastonbury, I will certainly check if Jim is still driving.
If you happen to go to Glastonbury, and want to book a ride with Jim - whether it is in or around town, or for a longer distance - he’ll be happy to hear from you.
Glastonbury Taxis: +44 7768 741950