"If I'm Going To Be A Father"

"...I'm going to be a good one."

I found a cab to take me to the soccer field where my department would be playing its biggest game to date. "Astaka Field," I said. "Near Tun Hussein Eye Hospital?" He seemed timid, but then eagerly began to nod. Being late, I jumped in.

"You're my first customer," he admitted. I looked around the taxi, and it did not seem new. "You mean today?" "No no. Ever. Driving a taxi." I stammered, "Oh, lucky me! What an honor." Inside my stomach was churning. I would never get to the field on time.

As we spoke more he told me about how he had just been discharged from the hospital at 3 pm that day. It was nearing 6 pm. "What were you there for?" I found out that he had had heart surgery and had been bedridden for 3 months.

"Please don't strain yourself," I insisted. "Are you okay to drive?" He said, staring far ahead, "I'm just thinking of my kids. They allow me to drive."

After he had been discharged from the hospital, he went home, craving food with flavor. He sought out some rice, but found his wife had not prepared any for his arrival. She finally confessed to him that they had run out of money for food three days prior. Her and the three children had only been eating bread since then. Their entire savings had gone into financing his open-heart surgery.

So there he was, fresh out of the hospital. "What will the children eat when they come home at 6:30?" He quickly phoned a friend, asking just for a bit of money to cover food supplies. Not having much to offer, this friend said he could use his taxi for two hours to get money to buy food. Two hours.

I was his first passenger.

We spoke about a lot of things, but mostly I left him space to tell his story. By that time, the soccer match had been canceled due to rain. "God is funny sometimes," he joked. By the game being called off, he now had a secured passenger to go home. Pointing to the meter (which was running pretty high by then), he smiled and said that he could now provide for his family.

"It's my responsibility. If I'm going to be a father, I'm going to be a good one." Such simple words, but really, his position took it to the extreme - straight out of the hospital, heart surgery, no food. Wow. As I left the taxi, I gave him a bit more. It might seem a lot in Malaysia, but for me, it's like $5.

It could mean a day of food for his family.

In retrospect, people might say, "he's conning you" or "everyone has a sad story." I can't bring myself to subscribe to that. It takes an incredible amount of humility to admit that you are in dire straights and I want to be able to give people the benefit of the doubt when they are in their greatest time of need.


That man had a responsibility, and he has lived up to it despite the most incredible of conditions. His love and dedication towards his family shone through. That truly made and inspired my day.