My Cab Stories

My adventures as a weekend cab driver.

[mycabstories]

what a weird weekend, but not the fun kind of weird

Slow? yes. Heavy traffic? yes. Full moon? I believe so....

One of those weekends that make me question “why do I work seven days a week?” What fares there were to be driven, the dispatchers, as always, were fair and generous. And I’m not just saying this because one may read this. It’s no secret with any of them that I love my job and my coworkers. Let’s just say that I had a lot of time to advance my Italian and listen to a really good book. It is what it is. 

The man who yelled because I got to his house too early, kept me waiting 20 minutes, then came out with a lot of luggage and told me he had five minutes to catch a bus to take him to the airport. He was going home to India. He couldn’t miss the bus.....and he didn’t.

The young woman who told me she was ready to start traveling. She was young, unattached and free. The world was her oyster. When I asked her what her number one destination would be,  in the world, excited of all the possibilities...Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

I picked up a woman...destination was Burger King...15 miles away. As I pulled in to the parking lot, she ordered me to go to the drive thru. When I asked her where she wanted to be dropped off, she told me her home. It was a round trip. The meter read over $30 already.

When I looked over to her for her order she was clutching a lone dollar. She told me a cheeseburger and fries. When we pulled up to the window, she was told the price and canceled the fries. She searched her purse for change for tax to add to the dollar for the cheeseburger. 

Before I left Burger King, I pulled over to collect the first half of the fare. She pulled out a bank envelope with money and paid me. I started the meter again and I took her home.

 $63 for a small cheeseburger.

#burgerking

[mycabstories]

Fast asleep in the sun. The homeless will have a hard time for the next few nights. We're expecting a nor ' easter and cold temperatures, even in late March. I have a gypsy heart, vagabond soul. But this is different. This is nothing else, not adventure. This is daily survival. I once picked up a homeless woman who had begged enough to afford a cheap hotel room for the night. As we drove, she was telling me that she was looking forward to treating herself and getting over a fight with the boyfriend. What?!? Boyfriend? This woman has been homeless for years. But damn if she didn't have a love life. How do you have a love life when you don't know where your next meal is coming from or where you're going to sleep that night. My main concern would be to stop living in the streets. I am not without empathy or understanding for ending up in the streets. In the past, I have felt one paycheck away from losing everything, ending up asleep in a tire well in the sun. I do not judge. I am just blown away that a love life is a part of being homeless. Who knew?

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Spotted at a winery. ...just how many grapes do you plan on stomping?

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Things I love about my job...beautiful vistas, interesting people, driving on the highway. Things I hate...smellies, perverts who unbuckle their pants, and lots of red lights.

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Major flooding this week. The high water levels froze and stayed in place when the waters receded. The landscape was unique!

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The Blacklist

I picked up a woman going to the local pet store. Round trip. Her hamster had died that morning and she needed a replacement. After dropping her off in front, I parked and waited for her to return with a new hamster. As i watched, she came out less than two minutes later, giving the store clerks the finger. She was mad as she got back in the cab. The store would not sell her “any more” animals. I suggested another store. Nope. Another store. Nope. She told me that now there was not one store within 50 miles who would sell her a hamster. The chain stores had her on a blacklist. As I dropped her off at home, she was looking to see if you could buy hamsters on line.

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Yea, I have to get up early. Yea, people would hate the cold. It's around 20°. (I prefer winter.) But, when I see views like this, I am grateful to be alive and able to witness the beauty. Okay...done with my moment.

[mycabstories]

Paris

Back in June, I took a young woman from the campus to the train station. Lovely person with two large bags! She was excited to be going home. Her itinerary was a month home in Tunisia. The next month was visiting friends on the coast of Australia. I was excited for this young person to be at a time in her life that was full of awe and wonder, exploring and learning.  After some well deserved rest and relaxation, she was going to spend a year studying chemistry abroad...in Paris.

Watching the news tonight, seeing Paris under attack, my thoughts are with the citizens. Unbelievably horrific. My thoughts are with this young woman and her family.I hope she is okay. And if she is, I hope she finds peace, safety, and calm as soon as possible. I wish that for all the citizens in Paris.

[mycabstories]

I'm only working until mid afternoon, so I don't know if I will be able to see costumes in my travels. I did get to witness this beautiful sight. There's a huge heron sitting on top but my photography skills are not that great! I could have sat here all day and watch the water fall. Slow morning....sitting at the park, watching two dogs run like they've never run before. I wish I could be half that happy.

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Colors are fading but still beautiful.

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One moment....one chance, always

You know, I drive a cab not only for the extra money but mostly to talk to other people. I am very alone in this world and enjoy the human interaction. Being an older woman, I don't get a chance to meet a nice man very often....until today. A coach from a famous college basketball team approached me today while getting food. And once again, I got all stupid, said something stupid and made myself look stupid. Stupid. Yeah...kicking myself right now. Remember. ...one chance, one moment....don't fuck it up!

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Things I get to see in my cab 😊

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I am no stranger to odd sightings in this town, but this one made me giggle. I only wish I could have taken a picture. I'm at a stop light. I look to my left, across two lanes, and notice the person waiting for the crosswalk light. I am drawn because of the impressive mullet and mutton chops they were rocking. Go ahead, I said to myself! The porn moustache added the right touch. As this person made their way across the street, I began to notice something different. The jeans were so tight, flared slightly at the bottom, acid wash, 80's, but really really tight. Black socks. But the best piece... Red, peekaboo, wedge heels. Top, all man. Bottom. Woman? I love it when people pleasantly surprise me!

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What a beautiful way to start the day!

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Nearly Naked Sunday

I had a couple of new experiences this weekend. First was an older woman I picked up at the town’s fanciest hotel. This woman was 70ish, tall, lean, graceful. But her outfit did not match her. She was dressed in a old tee shirt, members only jacket, and black lace stretchie shorts...really short. Okay...she was polite as she loaded her duffle bag and paper bag in to the backseat. As I started for our destination 30 minutes away, She just unloaded her bag and started to fold and repack. Halfway, on the highway, she annouced she was going to change from her shorts to her jeans in the backseat. Okay. She also decided to change her shirt. Okay. Her destination was the ER. She told me she had been throwing up all night, doesn’t feel well, and hope it’s not a flu. Great, as I hand her back her credit card. I haven’t felt good all day.

Later, I picked up this young woman at a random location, “Near the fountain in the rotary”. I did not see anyone at first so I parked, to get out of the way, and to call. All of the sudden, she slips in to the cab from behind. This little thing was wearing the skimpiest of shirts, no pants...only panties, with a flimsy shirt tied around her waist. She was trying to get to the Puerto Rican Festival 30 miles down the road. I was only taking her to the bustop. I’m no prude, but it was cold and damp. She was working it though and I laughed when she exited the cab, and all the surrounding men had wide eyes. 

[mycabstories]

College move in time

There is an international, well known college here. September brings the moving in of students with their families. I want to start remembering the people I have met from all over the world. The young girl going home to Tunisia for a month and then to study Chemistry for a year in the heart of Paris. The glamourous woman from Dubai, her daughters who speak 5 languages, going to the tourist spots and by the time we were done, gave me her number if I’m ever in Dubai. The couple from Ghana, who wanted to shop at a chic mall that cost them quite a bit of money to get to in my cab but did not care because the ride was so pleasant. The young student who was born in Russia, raised in Switzerland, and just returned from a summer in Australia. I was moving him to a house where he was working on a sculpture, near the college. (On a side note, the dog who greeted me when I dropped him off was named Steinbeck. Great name.)