An error in judgment

Continued from: Shankar comes to US

...
The INS officer looks at Shankar. He smiles. He does not see a threat to America.
"Welcome to the United States" says the INS officer.
If only he knew how wrong he is going to be
....


Shankar worked his way through the terminal down to the luggage claim. As he got off the escalator, he was was greeted by the antiseptic smell of pine cleaner and a sign that read "Piso Mojado". He waited for his luggage to appear on the carousel.

In his breast pocket, folded away in a carrying case, was a pair of spectacles he had inherited from his grandfather. He toyed with them, thought about wearing them, then decided against it.

He did not know it at the time, but that seemingly trivial personal effect would transform his life and the lives of countless others; through it he would earn the respect, love and admiration of those around him; it would bring him face to face with some of the most powerful people in the world; through it he would accomplish, albeit without intending it, what some of the most powerful governments in the world had been unable to do, and it would ultimately alter the course of history. It would also make him the object of envy and drive him to the brink of madness.

But he did not know all that just yet. For now, he focused on the cardboard box that formed the last of his checked-in luggage.

He wheeled his luggage to the taxi stand and took the first one that was waiting. The driver greeted him courteously. Shankar gave him a little scrap of paper with an address on it. The driver nodded and said, "I know where this is". The driver loaded the luggage into the trunk and they set out.

Ten minutes on the road, the driver made an error that many others would make. He misread Shankar. He had pegged Shankar for someone fresh-off-the-boat. He thought of the I-405/I-90 ruse and decided to pull it. But there was no way he could have known that that right that second, Shankar knew that the driver was pegging him for someone fresh-off-the boat.

The driver said, "I will take I-90. That is a shorter router. It will save you $5". "No", said Shankar rather matter-of-factly, "Take 405 and then 8th street".

The driver was taken aback. Only a long-time native could have known that. He bit his lip, cursed under his breath and dreamed away of owning his limousine service in three years.

They pulled into the apartment complex and Shankar got out of the cab. The driver deposited his luggage on the ground and said that will be $50. Shankar palmed him the fare. The driver looked at him expecting a tip. Shankar gazed at him, as if to peer into his soul and said, "Here is a tip- In four years, you will be running your own business, but do not hire employees based on how they look".

If the driver was taken aback initially, he was now stunned. But he did not show it as Shankar disappeared into to the block of apartments.

...