An Uber driver with a New York accent who called himself an “Iranian Jew” picked me up from an airport this week. I rarely feel strong emotions when talking to Uber drivers. But this conversation was different. I wrote down what I could remember.

“I used to own a deli. I owned it for 17 years and I loved it. Making bagels. Making chicken salad. And it was a great business, because I had a captive audience. My deli was in an office building, so we were the best option for breakfast and lunch for everybody who worked in the building. But ever since Covid, people aren’t working in the office. It became impossible to stay in business by being a deli in an office building."

“I’m sorry,” I said. He appreciated it. I asked, "Would you ever open a new deli?"

"I love the restaurant business... but things have changed, with so many people working from home. Now if I started a new place, it would have to be in a plaza. And that means being open 7 days a week, and late nights every night, to get enough foot traffic to make rent. I don't think I have the energy for it.”

"I run a small business from home," I said, "but my generation has a problem with isolation, and I think working from home is making it worse. I’m not sure it's the way we should live."

“It’s a different way to live,” he said, “with different problems. My generation had problems that your generation doesn’t seem to have. I’m glad about that. But it does seem like you people in your 20s and 30s are struggling to socialize. I feel so much anxiety and discomfort from most of you. I usually can’t carry on any kind of conversation with people your age. I don’t know how you’ll solve that.”

“What problems did your generation have, that you think mine doesn’t?” I asked.

“Most of us thought it was a good idea to just work for somebody for 50 years and then retire. But if you do that, by the time you retire, you’re too tired to enjoy life. You can’t make travel plans, because you have too many doctor’s appointments. Just ask a 78-year-old grandpa how many doctor’s appointments he has! I’m not there yet. Getting there though. Your 20s and 30s, that’s when you have great opportunities. I mean, in your 40s, you figure some stuff out. You figure out what’s important. But I’m glad your generation has been doing different things when you’re younger.”

“Do you feel like you had those problems too, even though you owned a deli?” I asked.

“Me? Well, at first, I was an actor. I went to the Meisner Institute—the method acting school. I was in a few TV shows and a couple movies. I loved that too. Then after some years, my dad told me acting was a broke man’s job. He told me about this opportunity to start a deli. He said, ‘Just try it for one year.’ So I did. Then I got married. And had a kid. And got divorced. Life just happens.”