Merry Xmas from this Blogger, Activist, Musician, and Lyft Driver

Last night's Lyft driving got really under my skin, seeped into my heart.  So much pain, so much story, so much humanity out here on these streets.

Those who pray: please pray for Alejandro as he flies back to Sonora, Mexico to help his family in a hard time, leaving a good paying job in Birmingham.  He was intrigued that I knew people in Agua Prieta, near where he lives, as most people in Birmingham, MI only know about Cancun.  Lyfted him to the airport last night.

Pray for David who left his drug dealing after time in county jail but has had to move away from his children out to Romulus to be close to his job in Ypsilanti. He tried to find work aside from drug dealing for years, but nothing came in Detroit. 

Pray for Ruby: she broke my heart tonight. As I drove her down 8 mile where she used to make $1,000 a weekend at the strip clubs 10 years ago, she's angry at Jesus for not showing up for her, yet. 8 years ago her brother was murdered while she was in nursing school, and it threw her life off course. She knows her Bible, has been hurt by a greedy pastor, and she just preached a half hour in my car, holding all the wrapping paper she just got at the dollar store and called Lyft because the Detroit bus didn't come for 3 of the times it was posted that it would.

Pray for Gail: after her divorce, she's been raising her three college-aged kids on her own.  She needed a Lyft because she let her oldest child have her one car.  She lives in the Suburbs of Wayne County, so her car insurance is very high, just like my more immediate neighbors.  Her job is set to expire in early 2017, so at this stage in her life, she's still living paycheck to paycheck and nervous about her resume.  

A few nights ago, I got to drive Gary, the owner of a liquor store in my neighborhood, back to his home in West Bloomfield.  He's been the owner for decades, and is proud that he's made peace with the African-American community he serves, hires from, and I wanted to say, probably overcharges them for groceries.  He talked about voting for Trump, and I verbally disagreed with his logic, but I had to humble myself and listen to his life as a Chaldean boy in Iraq, his family feeling forced to leave as Christians.  He said he would hook me up with my favorite whiskey if I stop by again.   

These were not passengers in the surge zones, but I'm glad I didn't chase the money tonight. I drive people to bars sometimes, and sometimes I get the honor of driving people at a very critical moment in their life.

Before you judge our neighbors living south of 8 mile, drive a few miles with them and listen. 

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Peace by peace by silent nights and heartfelt prayers,
+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt