For a second everything goes quiet in the cab.

From Life is a Joke, 100 Life Lessons by John and Gordon Javna.

—47—Who’s Driving?

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

—William Faulkner

During a taxi ride, the passenger taps the cab driver on the shoulder to ask him a question. The driver screams, loses control of the car, nearly hits a bus, drives up onto the sidewalk, and stops just inches away from a shop window. For a second everything goes quiet in the cab. Then the driver says, “Look, buddy, don’t ever do that again. You scared the daylights out of me!”

The passenger, completely shaken, says, “Geez, I’m really sorry. I didn’t realize that a little tap would scare you so much.”

The driver thinks for a minute, and finally replies, “That’s okay; it’s not really your fault. Today is my first day as a cab driver. For the last twenty-five years, I’ve been driving a hearse.”