The Three Wheelin’ Bicycle Broker – Times are Tough
I was playing tourist in my own backyard yesterday and, as fate would have it, a blog-o-chance rolled right over me. We parked at Seaport Village and were looking for the Seal Tour, but got lost and were headed in the wrong direction.
Just then along came Nick the Bicycle Broker. Noting that we looked dazed and confused, he offered to give us a ride (for a fee of course), but not before he kicked two former American Idol wannabes off his buggy. They were not fare payers, so were willing to oblige. Each broke out into song before shaking our hands and telling us about their brief brushes with small screen fame.
Back to Nick. He was quite a chatterbox. I typically don’t engage in small talk with strangers, mostly because of those people who will suck the life out of you with their self indulgent and long winded diatribes about their have-dones that neither matter nor have any great significance. But it couldn’t be helped, our cycling chauffeur seemed completely ignorant of the intention behind my short winded responses and hmmms. He seemed content with my lack of interest and happily jabbered away about this and that.
At the end of our ride (which was intentionally an expanded excursion), he offered me his business card. I expected to see a picture of his bike and maybe a cell phone number in case we got lost and needed his services again. But oh no, turns out our guy is a real estate broker. I kid you not! All that time and now he had something that I was interested in hearing about.
Seems the market has taken a toll on my new friend and he is having a hard time making ends meet. So he spends his days biking around downtown and the bay, picking up fares here and there. When I asked him if he had been able to garner any clients along the way he said, sadly he has not, but he has never had so much fun in his life. He genuinely enjoys cycling the city, meeting people from all over the world and learning about their lives. For all the small talk, I felt touched by Nick’s story and realized that his patience with others has given him a greater sense of the world beyond the simple confines of his own. I plan to take something from this experience and listen a little more often.
If you liked this post you might also enjoy:
Reversal of Fortune Real Estate Style
Mayhem, the Market and Messy Monsters (What a Whammy)
