No Words.

 No words....

Think back to the times in your life when you felt like you really made a connection to someone.  Now, think of the times where you made a bond or you had this shared experience but really no words were exchanged or at least no long, drawn out meaningful conversations happened between you and this person.

We have all had these moments in our lives where a connection was made through some kind of shared, mutual thoughts or even on a deeper level love of that moment. And in that moment nothing had to have been said for the both of you to “get it”.  

Some of you have had these situations where two people may have shared a great meal or watched a meaningful movie together.  Others it may have been a beautiful place in nature where it truly impacted you both and neither of you had to explain it to the other.  

For me in this instance, this kind of moment happened with the help of music... 

I found this moment on an Uber trip to my local Walmart.  Save the jokes as inspiration can happen anywhere...yes, even at your local Walmart

Cruising up to my local Walmart on a Monday night at 11 p.m. I noticed a man in his mid 20’s and wearing his Walmart uniform. I Rolled down the window, and asked assertively if he was waiting for an Uber? He nodded his head, opened the door, hopped in, and he seemed to let out a sigh of relief as if almost needing something to ease his worries and stress.   

This poor guy looked mentally and physically exhausted.  I am talking drained like he had been beat down by life. 

Yet, I didn’t know this guy, I could just tell he was battling something in some way or another. Maybe it was work, maybe home life, maybe relationship issues. I’ll never know, but in this case it wasn’t my place and I didn’t need to know. 

He sunk into my back seat and was not on his phone, just completely silent. 

So there we were, just two strangers riding in silence. I figured I would try to break the silence in the best way I knew how...I hit shuffle on Spotify and turned it up a little. 

Here is the beginning of our “shared moment / bonding”.  

I still can remember every song I played on that ride and in the exact order. And in just 4 songs, we somehow made a strange but meaningful connection. 

No words were exchanged, but then again we really didn’t need to. 

First Song: Somebody (by:Internet Money. Featuring A Boogie)

It’s always a risk playing music for strangers or friends because people’s music tastes are so wide spread that the possibility of them not liking the music selection is sometimes very likely. So when I pressed shuffle and this song came on, it was slightly to my surprise that I started to hear some sort of humming in the backseat. I zoned in a bit more, and there he was, “vibing” to the song. Shortly after that, he started to sing. He knew this song, and you could just tell this song was personal to him. Part of the chorus of this song goes like this, 

“I just want somebody- body, to treat me like somebody-body, and not like anybody- body, all you gotta do is love me for me, girl.” 

He sang these lyrics even louder than the actual music was playing. That is when you know the words are ringing true and have some deeper meaning to people.

Second Song: War ( by: Cosha TG)

“Sometimes you gotta look the other way for it to resolve. If we gonna war, gonna war wherever, might as well go to war together”. 

I love these lyrics myself, so when he started singing these, that’s when the music started to get turned up. At this point, I felt as if this man and I were not strangers anymore and related to some of the same struggles of life. Again...no words...zero. But the connection was beginning and it was a cool feeling. 

Third Song: So Real (by Polo G) 

I almost let a stranger break my heart during this one. He didn’t sing the lyrics of this song. At least none that I heard. I glanced back and monitored in the rear view mirror, and although it was dark in the car, I could see he had his head in his hands and was just slowly rocking his head with the beat. He felt this one in a very soft spot. Enough said.

Fourth Song: Fast Car (Tracy Chapman)

Like I said, my music was on shuffle. Everyone probably knows this song, and let me tell you it’s quite a bit different than the other three. The others were more R&B type rap, and “Fast Car” isn’t that at all. That didn’t make a difference though. He just about sang every word to this song. 

As we pulled up to his drop off location, it was an area crammed together with townhomes. It was late enough so I just stopped in the middle of the lane to let him out. He didn’t even say a word as he got out. I said “See ya Man” and he was gone.

I sat there, checking out of my Uber app for the night. I got a tap on my window. It was him. So I rolled the window down. I said “What’s up, man?”

He said his first words to me- 

“Thank you....and not just for the ride.”

 “Thank you” he said softly again.

Now, I don't exactly know what that first or second “thank you” held in it. And I really don’t need to know. 

But I know it had something more than a regular “Thank You”.  For me, it was him going through so much and I got to be a part of a moment of release through our short ride together and through the music.

This ride didn’t “change” my life or give me some deep message to share with you. It was rather simply this- 20 minutes that I hope I never forget.  

Two guys, going through life but made a connection through just four songs. 

Take what you want from this story.

I hope you are doing well, Music Man. 

-Dalton