Mohammad Ashraf Faridi and Muhammad Faridi
Mohammad Ashraf Faridi immigrated from Pakistan to the United States in the 1980s. He settled in New York City, and his family joined him almost a decade later. By then, Mohammad was earning a living driving a cab.
At StoryCorps, his oldest son, Muhammad, talked about growing up as the son of a taxi driver.
Top photo: Mohammad Ashraf Faridi with his son, Muhammad Faridi, at their StoryCorps interview in New York City.
Bottom photo: A young Muhammad Faridi (right) with his sister and little brother while still in Pakistan. Courtesy of the Faridi family.
Muhammad Faridi (MF) & Mohammad Ashraf Faridi (MAF)
Muhammad Faridi (MF): You used to go to work and then come back home around 2am. So in the morning you used to send me to go clean your car. I would vacuum, take out the mats, smack them against the pole to get the dust out. And then I was maybe 14, 15, and I was doing that and a kid from the neighborhood just began making fun of me. ’Hey! Cab boy! Taxi boy!’ That’s one of those experiences that made me embarrassed.
Mohammad Ashraf Faridi (MAF): At that time my financial position was no good.
MF: After your 18th birthday you can get your taxi license.
MAF: So you said, ’I want to help you.’
MF: We drove together for a couple of days.
MAF: Right.
MF: You showed me the streets, bridges, everything. And I started college, and went to law school, and I was still working part-time, driving. And then I began working for a federal district court judge. The judge at that time was in his late 80s. So I used to help him carry his briefcase down. And one day, the judge called for a car service, and you came to pick him up.
MAF: Yeah.
MF: I put the briefcase in the car. We waved at each other. And you drove the judge home. The next day the judge and me, we were having lunch. I said, ’The driver who picked you up yesterday was my father.’ The judge was very upset at me that I didn’t introduce him to you. I, at that point, never really liked talking about my family. We don’t come from Park Avenue and I was embarrassed that you drove a taxicab. But not anymore. As I grew older, I’m proud. You know, I think you’ve done a great job.
MAF: The bottom line is this: I got everything in my life — my friends, my family. I am happy.
MF: And in my life if I can emulate that by a fraction I would think that I’ve lived a good life.
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