Sometimes hailing a cab was more than just a ride. That proved true when Richard drove us to the airport.
Richard worked in Human Resources management for most of his career. He switched to driving a taxi when his wife was diagnosed with cancer, and Richard needed more time flexibility to care for her.
Unfortunately, his wife succumbed to her cancer two years ago. A graduate of Boston University, she had been a professor of finance in Thailand for her career, and fought her illness for 4 years, with Richard in support.
Now in his late 60’s, Richard was still driving taxi in order to service the 4 million Baht (U.S.$100,000+) debt incurred over the course of his wife’s illness, above the costs covered by Thai insurance. (That’s a lot of money in Thailand, where the average monthly income runs about 16,000 Baht.)
While telling us this story, Richard apologized several times for his limited English. He needn’t have.