Samuel, Do you mind if I make a quick call?

That’s the request my Uber driver, a bi-racial man in his 60’s made to me as we drove up the 101 away from San Francisco.

Sure. No problem.

I already knew basically his entire life’s story at this point. The ride had started in silence, which suited me just fine. I enjoy looking out the window, soaking in the scenery. But today, that wasn’t in the cards.

After a few moments, my driver—Lowell—broke the silence. “Everything okay? Just checking in. We’ve got about an hour to go.” Maybe he sensed that I was tired from my early-morning flight or that my mind was replaying a conversation with Samantha I wished had gone differently. Either way, his voice pulled me back to the present.

So, I engaged. Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit tired. Long flight. Got a few things on my mind. Where are you from originally? I didn’t expect the story that followed.

Born in Korea to an African American father and a Korean mother, Lowell was adopted at two by an African American family in the U.S. Both his biological and adoptive fathers had served in the military. He grew up in Southern California, near where the wildfires had recently raged, and spent most of his adult life in the Bay Area—Berkeley, to be exact. When he wasn’t home, he was traveling the world, with Ghana, Zimbabwe, and other African nations holding a special place in his heart.

He shared his work alongside the late Rev. Leon H. Sullivan, organizing high-profile gatherings of Africans and African Americans throughout the 1990s. A quick Google search later confirmed that these efforts were part of a long legacy of Pan-African collaboration, echoing the visions of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and others.

This guy has lived. Like several lives. And here I was, just lucky enough to be on the receiving end of his wisdom.

So when he realized he needed to make a call, it didn’t feel like an interruption. I guess we had just reached a level of comfort with each other that comes with telling your whole life’s story. He made his call, resolved an urgent issue, and by the time he hung up, our ride had come to an end.

As I arrived at my destination I couldn’t help but wonder… what if I had never engaged?

What if he hadn’t prodded me out of my daydreaming?

I’m glad I’ll never know, because I met a pretty dope person today.

SDW3