23 Nov How long you here?

More than 40 years back I found myself in NYC in a taxi. Talking with the driver, it was clear his English speaking skills were weak. In mock pidgin English, I asked him “how long you here, short time?” He said: “Ten years, I don’t know if that’s long or short.”

Ten years is ten years. Long or short are classifications that mean different things to different people which makes classifications often meaningless.

In a banal conversation between strangers, a seemingly simple taxi driver awakened me.