My Uber driver had a 5.0 rating.
Over 18,000 trips.
The car was spotless.
The music was low.
He even had bottled water waiting in the back.
Halfway through the ride, his phone buzzed.
He glanced at it, smiled, and said,
“My favorite passenger just requested a ride.”
I laughed.
“Favorite passenger?”
He nodded.
“Every Thursday. 6:30 sharp.”
When we got to my destination, I couldn’t help myself.
“So… who is it?”
He pointed across the street.
An assisted living facility.
He said an 89-year-old woman named Margaret booked him every Thursday to take her to the same little diner across town.
She always ordered grilled cheese, tomato soup, and a chocolate milkshake.
Then they’d drive through the neighborhood where she’d raised her kids before heading back.
I smiled.
“That’s really sweet.”
He looked at me in the rearview mirror.
“She doesn’t have family nearby anymore.”
I nodded.
He continued,
“Last year, she told me Thursdays were her favorite day of the week.”
I smiled again.
“Because of the diner?”
He shook his head.
“Because she gets to feel like someone is waiting for her.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Then he added,
“Her husband used to take her there every Thursday.”
“Before he passed.”
He paused.
“She said she didn’t want to stop going just because he was gone.”
We sat in silence for a moment.
Then I asked,
“So you’ve been taking her every Thursday since?”
He smiled.
“Three years now.”
I looked out the window.
“Does she know you call her your favorite passenger?”
He laughed.
“Oh, she knows.”
Then he said,
“She always tells me I’m her favorite driver.”
I smiled.
He pulled away from the curb.
And I realized something.
Sometimes, the people who make the biggest difference in your life…
aren’t the ones you expect.
Sometimes, they’re just the ones who keep showing up.
Every Thursday.
At 6:30.
For grilled cheese, tomato soup, and a chocolate milkshake.
🇺🇸 America
・Sex is seen as part of the relationship
・Kissing, hugging, and physical affection matter too
・Intimacy isn’t reduced to sex alone
・Feelings and desires are expressed openly
・Partners explain when and why they’re not in the mood
・Pain, stress, and fatigue can be discussed without shame
・Even after becoming parents, couples try to maintain their romantic identity
・It’s not forced, but it’s not simply neglected either
・Intimacy is viewed as something that can strengthen the relationship
・Most importantly, couples treat it as a problem they can work through together
That’s why problems can be easier to repair.
The real difference isn’t that Americans think sex is noble.
It’s that they’re more likely to treat sex as part of the conversation.
🇯🇵 In Japan, it can sometimes stop at:
“Tired.”
“Awkward.”
“Not the right time.”
But when the conversation ends there…
The problem doesn’t stay in the bedroom.
It slowly becomes a subject the couple is afraid to touch at all.
And eventually, they’re not just avoiding sex.
They’re avoiding the conversation about their relationship.
In reality, in Japan… 👇