Friends with cars

Anyone with a car is a friend.

This must be a blood-sucking commuter's mantra. This commuter will soon die.

But let's be realistic about it. It is nice to be, once in a while, in a company of someone with wheels. Convenience and comfort are a commuter's unspoken desires. When I have extra buck to spare, I take the cab or FX or the special tricycle trips. However, I am just a salaried employee; most of the time, I hustle my way into a crowded or sometimes-not-so-crowded jeep or bus. When a good friend offers a ride, I gratefully accept, a respite from a commute. I am thankful. How does one show gratitude for the ride? A thank you and smile might do it. Sometimes, it would be appropriate to offer to share gas or pay for the toll fee or parking ticket. The rider should also be an adorable travel companion, and not be the overbearing master that he/she is not. The adorable travel companion should know how to fasten the seatbelt, and let the driver be the driver. The dashboard and the wheels are the driver's; don't change that station unless the good driver permits. And lastly, don't do anything that would put the life of the driver and its passengers in trouble. Again, be grateful.

Back home, in Mindanao, many many miles away from Manila, I don't get to commute as much as I do here in our nation's capital. I've got a nice enough brother and father to drive me to places. I never got to learn how to drive. The most I ever got to hold the wheel was a one-minute supervised drive of our old (non-passenger) jeep. That was it. Our jeep has long retired since. It might take long before I get to see the road from the driver's seat. My dream of retiring from public commute is another story. Until that happens, I will continue writing the experiences of this person as experienced from the passenger side of any car.

Para mis amigos quien ya dale munta conmigo, Muchas Gracias! (English: To my friends who offered me rides, Thank you!)

to be continued....