combining

Waddaya want from me.

I had to drive this huge '94 caprice classic station wagon tonight. It's bigger than my apartment.
It handles like a boat but it's nice and comfortable big and roomy. The cigarette lighter works, so i can run my zen through the radio. The only thing I ask is that people address me as "Admiral."
Tonight's passenger list included:

• A couple going to the airport for a trip to Florida to visit his brother. She was acting very nervous because she's afraid of flying. They're a little worried that their son might possibly invite half the town for a 3 day party [memo to self: develop screenplay for 'home alone four']
• Next was a very pretty young lady who I'd had [in the cab] before. Nice. ya know, nice.
• A gent headed to the T from Weymouth spoke in Spanish on his cell phone for the 15 minute trip.
• A nurse that has been riding with us lately. Some kind of accent. Scandinavian? German? Something.
• The older lady who had visited her very elderly mother.
• A guy headed down to the yacht club to pick up his car. The wife would've driven him but she has wicked back pain. She's probably going to need surgery.
• A slightly mysterious, quiet man but a good tipper.
• The short term memory loss dude made stops for beer and smokes. He could easily have picked up the smokes at the liquor store but he forgot.
• And 4 other rides that have been edited out. Left on the cutting room floor as it were.
  

The Phillies won the world series. What else can i tell ya. Waddaya want from me.

estimation

I'll tell you about one person I won't ever forget.

Gertrude [not her real name] has been a regular for a long time, I don't know how many years. An older lady but she works almost every day. And once a week or so she works for a local lodge and sets up a huge dinner [usually we cabbies lug the groceries]
Many times we get the leftovers in our office :)
About a year ago there was a fire at her house and there was massive water damage. The house is still there but uninhabitable and the whole issue remains unresolved. A fine lady and a nicer Yankee fan you'll never meet. I'm grateful for all our conversations past and future. I nominate Gertrude as passenger of the month.

Four girls to the city.
Three Middle Eastern businessmen.
Two Turtle doves from the airport back to town. I'd driven them before, at least twice but they didn't remember me. They did all the talking. All I said was thanks and bye.
Immediately after those two yakety-yackers I drove a mysteriously silent couple who seemed new to the area and just a little 'off' creating an interesting study in contrasts.
Then there were two girls probably not even 20. One was drunk out of her mind and the other one was more or less babysitting her friend.
I was very glad there was no throw up involved.

tailgating

insisting

This dude was scary.
He looked like Peter Stormare's character in Fargo. Looking at me with that cigarette face in a smoky haze and talking in a scary language with a little English "I go motel nearest yes?"
Okay you go motel nearest yes.

some birthday pictures

unlimited

Ah yes the weekend. Yes yes yes.

Well, today I felt good in my tiny little mind. Driving around with a goofy grin.
I seem to be thinking positively about things lately. You know........... things.
Probably just jinxed myself. Be all depressed and shit next week. Ha ha oh well who cares.
National Lampoon's Vacation is on the TV. Remember when Chevy Chase used to be funny? The actor not the city in Maryland. Am I rambling? Don't answer that.
Today and tonight I met and drove people from Ireland, Seattle, Hong Kong, New York, England, and Tucson.
I also drove a person who is 2 days old [don't worry he wasn't all by himself]
Imagine the life that kid is gonna have. Probably might even see the next century. All that history not yet even written.
Then I met a young lady who is going to get paid $300 per day to be filmed for an infomercial about hair coloring products. Crazy world.

frantic

Sometimes I like to take the back roads home from work instead of the highway just for a change of pace and tonight was one of those times. Its a kick to drive on some empty windy roads late at night and inevitably I drive too fast. While flying down one of these [specifically Maple Street in Easton] I found myself reacting to something..... something out of the corner of my eye and with a massive rush of adrenalin I slammed on the brakes narrowly avoiding a huge deer that was in full gallop across my path. Must have been a big-old daddy deer. I tell you he was ten stories if he was a foot.

The other night I had a pick-up at a local bar and eatery. I pulled up and there was a young woman waiting with a man who it turns out worked at the establishment, maybe the manager, and he had taken her keys from her and called a cab [me] to get her home in one piece.
Despite being hammered she wanted no part of it and wanted her car keys immediately. She was refusing to get in the taxi until the gentleman threatened to call the police and the idea of jail wasn't appealing to her so she reluctantly slinked into the back.
I had to ask her 5 times where she lived before she would tell me but she did and seemed to settle down a little. Once on the highway she started getting agitated again, yelling and crying.
She started to yell "Let me out of here right now!"
I kept pushing the power lock button so she couldn't open the door and then totally frustrated she started to climb out the window. I reached back and tried to grab her while slowing down as fast as I could. We stopped and she continued out of the window and onto the highway so I grabbed my phone and went after her, walking with her to make sure she didn't wobble into traffic. She was crying hysterically so I just tried to say hey its okay. You're alright, just relax. I got the State Police on the phone and they pulled up pretty quick, two cruisers. At that point she was sprawled out on the road with me just standing there next to her. I told them the story and that I thought she was just scared and to their credit they acted quite compassionately. I stayed for a few minutes but there wasn't much to talk about. The situation spake for itself.

mechanism

One was from Portugal and the other two from Japan which seems like an odd combination at first glance but when you think about it it still doesn't make sense.
The two Japanese dudes and I talked enthusiastically about baseball whilst the other guy, the odd man out of the conversation tried to fit in by saying he liked the Yankees and the Chicago Cubes [sic]
Later I retrieved an Australian couple from a hospital emergency room. The emergency was of a personal nature and will not be posted here. I assure you everyone is alright.
They are touring the US and Canada for seven weeks. Sounds like a nice trip. They told me some cool stuff about Australia because people like to talk about their own stuff.
A guy I used to work with but haven't seen in quite a while hopped in at the traffic light. He owes me forty or fifty bucks from three years ago and he knows it. He told me he'd pay me as soon as he could. I said that's okay if you can man but no worries. I owe people money too so I can't rightly expect other deadbeats to pony up. We got to the destination and he fumbled around for the fare but he was a little short.