Cabbie with a Heart of Gold

Recently while at the orthopedic surgeons office I witnessed an elderly lady come in with some difficulty.  She had evidently had a full hip replacement done recently and had arrived for her post-op appointment with her surgeon.  When it was her turn at the reception desk she gave her name and was told that her doctor was out of town that week and that she would have to reschedule her appointment.
"But my appointment was for today.  How can he be out of town?  Nobody called to cancel." she said shakily.  The receptionist proceeded to tell her that she was sure someone must have called but that it wasn't her responsibility since notification would have been handled by another department.  At this point the elderly lady began to cry saying, "But nobody called me."  The receptionist in an effort to prove her wrong called the other department only to find out that the lady had never been called.  Hanging up the phone she told the woman, "A notice went in the mail yesterday so you should receive it today." 
The older woman was truly distressed now and taking her new appointment card asked how she was supposed to afford another cab fare to get to the new appointment.  The smug receptionist just shrugged her shoulders and the woman left.
A few minutes later The Cabbie entered and walked to the front of the line.  Turning to those waiting she said that she was sorry but this was very important.  Now she had everyone's attention.  The Cabbie was a large woman, the big teddybear type.  She said that although it was her job to collect $39 for her fare, that she could not in good conscience collect it from the elderly lady who was only keeping her appointment as instructed.  She then put her hands on the counter and said she wasn't leaving until someone paid her $39.  The receptionist's smug look was gone and she quickly made hushed phone calls.  Within seconds The Cabbie had her check and turned to us all and smiled.  "Sorry to keep you all waiting," she said and she was off to drive the old woman home and pick up her next fare. 

Comments

[Rebecca]

Yay cabbie! If there were more people like that in the world, it'd be a much nicer place.

[SoulSniper]

The annoyed people in the line are insensitive sods. Poor old woman.

[Gimpy Mumpy]

My mom & I did (or at least gave her the thumbs up and head nod), but unfortunately I think most people in line were just annoyed by the wait.

[Timmargh]

Go cabbie! Did the collected people give her a round of applause?