“Thank you anonymous driver of the Durbanville route for giving me hope today”. Jenny Webster, a self-described “blindish woman”, recently shared an experience that made her day thanks to a taxi driver’s kindness along a busy road.
Durbanville, South Africa (19 June 2024) — In a special moment on a busy morning where a little consideration went a long way, a taxi driver’s kindness made Jenny Webster’s day.
Jenny, who has a degenerative eye disease and describes herself as a “blindish” woman, recently shared the story of how a taxi driver’s kindness on her morning walk reminded her that there are good people everywhere, and even went as far as to add that it gave her hope for our nation.
On one of her frequent early morning walks, Jenny, her mobility cane, dark glasses, security siren and bright ‘stay alive 365’ bag tag waited at a pedestrian crossing.
“I see vehicles like blobs of colour and can usually make out the shape to identify it as a taxi or bus or hatchback,” Jenny explains in her blog.
That morning, one taxi was right in front of another, causing them to almost morph into one very long taxi from Jenny’s perspective. While the first one prevented her from crossing after it merely stopped at the crossing, the second did something quite different.
“Surprisingly, the second driver stayed put when the other taxi moved ahead. The driver gave me a friendly beep-beep hoot to indicate that it was safe to cross,” says Jenny.
Jenny waved her thanks and ventured to the middle island, but the taxi driver wanted to make sure she finished the stretch of the crossing with a pair of backup eyes—his.
He made sure to tell Jenny when it wasn’t safe to walk, and waited as cars went by until it was okay for her to walk.
“The whole interchange happened so fast, yet it was such a surprise. That one taxi driver made my day!” Jenny recalls.
Expressing how much a simple act like the taxi driver’s kindness means, Jenny shared:
“There are good people everywhere, being kind to one person at a time. One taxi driver helping one blind lady on one day has given me hope for our nation. Let’s build up our country by serving one stranger with one [act of] kindness at a time. Thank you anonymous driver of the Durbanville route for giving me hope today.”