Meeting new people. This is my job, I love it because I love meeting people. That’s what makes me happy. Yeah, man. As soon as people put a smile on my face, I put a smile on their face. I’ve had everyone in my van and everyone is the same to me. I treat everyone the same. I don’t treat you different about anybody else. I just treat everyone on the same level. Like what’s the use, I’m going to treat you different than I treat the other person and all the money is the same. I don’t worry. I take every day at it’s merit. I’ve always been this way, I don’t know. Don’t worry man. I don’t think about ‘eh, what am I going to do tomorrow.’ No. Tomorrow will come. Even if I go home with 100 Rand in the morning, I just say thank you because I know that that was put out for me that day. It wasn’t put out that I was to make 10,000 rand and I only made 100, no man, it doesn’t work like that. The other day you say ‘come paraglide with us’ and I said no. There was a reason for that also, I told you that also. I could have [skydived] if I was another type of person. But you, you work for that money for your holiday. You worked for it, you put it away, that is not my holiday. And at the end of the day you’re going to spend it on me? Which isn’t right. I didn’t work for that money, you did, not me. So, you must spend it as you wish. Not on me! Another driver told me, ‘eh, you’re mad. Why didn’t you go for it?’ But me, I think a little bit further than that. These two sisters [me and Naima] worked hard to make that money, who knows how long they saved to get this money together to see the other side of the world. I cant do that. I don’t want you to waste your money on me. I don’t want you to regret for that to happen in your life. At the end of the day, you are going to be responsible for what you did with your money. I can waste all your money for you, you wouldn’t know, but I’m not like that. I never take advantage because I don’t like people to rob me, just like I don’t like to rob people. It’s just working hand in hand. If I rob you, what am I going to gain out of it? I’m not going to gain nothing from that. At the end of the day, I’m going to lose more than what I robbed you of. If I rob you of 10 Rand today, I could lose 100 Rand in the next day. It’s gone. It isn’t in my faith, my faith also tells me this but as a person, I am an individual myself. That is how I was… I always try to think fot he easy, short way [to drive clients]. Other taxis can take the long way and drive around and you wouldn’t know, but no. I go the short fast way. It’s not my money to waste. It’s tough life, it can get tough for you and you can create it yourself. If you do good to others, others will do good unto you. That’s how I take it. Merit every day on it’s own. If there isn’t money tomorrow, I just go home empty handed. I’m okay. I just say thank you. I had a job. I had a job to do, I did my job to the fullest of my capacity. I go home, I’m happy. Here’s your money, I don’t owe you a cent. I’d rather go home without money, but I’m not going to keep 10 Rand or 15 Rand in my pocket and say ‘I’m short 10 or 15 rand.’ You know how many guys do that? It doesn’t work in this life. You gonna cheat people? You’re cheating yourself.
[AK: Are you like this in your marriage? So easy going.]
Marriage is how you make of it. If you got your trust for each other and your love for each other, what is there else you need? You must work on marriage. Marriage isn’t every day the same. My wife and I, we sort it out in the bedroom and that is where it stays. Then it’s finished, it’s done. We don’t talk to friends and it goes from this story to that story and it gets big story. Then you don’t know where did that story come out… then the story is so massive and everybody is bad mouthing you. He told them this story and she told them this story. Nah-uh, it doesn’t work like that. If I see there is a problem, I say to her ‘what is this? This isn’t right.’ We fix it. She say ‘okay, let’s try it like this.’ If it works out that way, then okay, happy. Now we settled. We don’t go on tomorrow… she just leaves me alone. If I come tonight to her and say ‘I have got a job doing this thing.’ She’s not going to say [yelling] ‘why, you didn’t ask me?’ No, she’s just going to leave me because she knows I know what’s better for me. And I’m not going to do it for me, I do it for her and my daughters. I’m doing it for me alone. She trusts what I’m doing, and I trust her whatever. If she wants to go out with the kids, go. Here is the money, just go. They are independent. If I go to work, she don’t call me every two minutes ‘where are you? What you doing?’ no, they don’t worry about me. At night they will SMS me ‘how you doing?’ That is how it should be.”
-Sedick
47, Cape Malay Taxi driver, Cape Town, SA
[transcribed using his diction and smiling at his unique Afrikaans accent]
NOTE: This is Naima and Sedick right before we went skydiving. He stayed to cheer us on and take pics. :)
