Member-only story
DoorDash Daydreamer
Just Enjoying the Ride
“So is it worth it?” I’m loading a couple of pizza boxes into my Red pizza bag, with DoorDash emblazoned across the top. I turn around to see an older gentleman looking at me, inquisitive and skeptical.
“It has its drawbacks but you get to meet a lot of great people.” I tell him, slyly alluding to the fact I just met him. I’m not sure he picked up my clever hint. He wasn’t expecting that response, evident by the way he looked down slightly, pondering over the value of what I just said. I quickly exited and got on my way.
I started DoorDashing as a buffer, or better yet, a hedge bet to protect me in case I lost my job. I’ve been unemployed 4 times in the past 9 years; once by firing and the rest by choice. I learned that in a world of uncertainty to have a couple safety nets. So I signed up for DoorDash.
I knew what that older gentleman was really asking. He wanted to know if you make good money with DoorDash. I’m sure many people wonder the same, and if it is worth the time, wear and tear on your car, and lucrative enough to quit your day job. So far, for me, I’m still learning the system, and it’s enough to get my bills paid.
But money isn’t everything.
I like to drive with my windows down. After 22 years of homesteading I need any connection with nature I can get. The cool September air rushes in, along with the sound of the crickets starting up their evening chorus. I can see the moon setting, an orange crescent, large and luminous as it gets lower in the sky. There is still some daylight left, but the sun has descended past the horizon and there are shades of orange and reds as I head west. I miss these country backroads.
“25 min” — the display reads on my DoorDash app. That’s how long my drive is to my delivery point. Any other driver would have declined this order, but I need it. I need the time away on these empty roads. I need the fields of soybean and tobacco. The smell of fresh picked tobacco is home to me, even though I’ve never smoked. I see the old school bus ahead, with the entire roof cut off and the back piled high with the freshly picked tobacco leaves.
The little country store with “Pepsi 5 cents ” painted in blue and red on the wooden shiplapped siding. The…
