Rain

First thing today I looked outside and saw that it was raining, just a little. Like a runny nose. It bummed me out. Hell, I knew the forcast but it was upsetting anyway. I left home early to do some errands before work and I wanted to get there early to make up for being late yesterday. Work sucked but I won't even try to express the amount of suckness i had to endure because you all have your own problems and you certainly don't need to hear mine.

I stopped at Dunkins and I thought it was about time I tried out the new pizza they have there. It wasn't bad at all. I'd get another one. Maybe a hundred.Who remembers the snow storm that occurred 31 years ago today? There was around a foot or so on the ground in the morning but I made it to work anyway and when my friend and I started toward the door someone came out waving frantically and saying get out of here man because they're going to close down for the day if not enough people show up! It didn't take much convincing on his part and we spun outta there! Greatest feeling in the world!

This is where we worked:

Will Dispatch for Food

I'm dispatching for a few weeks because the regular guy is in hospital. He's doing okay but he needs some time to rehab, so there i am. My good friend Benny said it best when he said "its like being a waiter and then going into the kitchen". 'Spatchin' is more stressful than driving a cab. More responsibility. I like it for a change of pace. I think I'm pretty good at it. Its all about keeping your cool when you're 7 calls behind and some of them have been waiting over a half an hour and some are regular customers and some are important accounts and 4 lines are ringing and 3 drivers are calling on the radio and 2 other ones are lost or missing and someone else has a flat tire in Methuen in a blizzard.

Last night a lady called to inquire if it would be alright to have an animal with her in the cab. Thinking she meant either a dog or cat I told her it was okay unless the thing might puke or something and she said oh no no nope. It is a dog. But the thing is, there is also an alligator. Its okay. Its in a box. Very safe. Even the dog is more dangerous.
Ma'am you'll have to call back during business hours and speak with the manager because I'm quite certain that I do not have the authority to make that decision. Thanks for calling.

An ugly match tonight between the Celts and Cavs but a win is a win man. Click here for the Cleveland perspective.

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Thanks going out to the Boston Bruins for a great series. Game six at the Garden was as enjoyable a hockey game as I've seen in 20 years. We were going crazy where I was watching.

In a city saturated with winners, the B's have put themselves back on the sporting radar and man next year we'll take it to the next level.

Taxi driving is like a box of chocolates.
I drove an Indian dude to the airport for a flight back home to Mumbai. Mumbai used to be called Bombay but they changed it. He's flying through Amsterdam which is a pretty wild place to hang out but he can't leave the airport unless there's a delay or something. I wished him a safe journey.
Later I had an Aussie couple just going to one of the local hotels. Ya gotta like that crazy accent.
I started to get bored because work was slow and my mind started wandering and thinking about leaving early. Mister Dispatcher Man said I could take off. Stopped at Subway on the way home for a turkey sandwich. Sandwich is also a town on Cape Cod and it is spelled the same way.
I'm taking tomorrow off, its supposed to be at least 80 degrees. Nice.

Human Cannonball

Mary is a nice ole' gal that calls us from the old timers home almost every day to go out either to the bank, CVS or the packy but mostly just to go out. Today was packy day so off we went and on the way she told me about some kind of problem she's having with her ears. From what I could understand there had been some sort of procedure leading to considerable discomfort now. She remarked that she hadn't seen me for a while and asked how i was and I said I'm doing okay and what a nice day but she thought I said I'd just had an x-ray and she became more concerned, leaned over and whispered oh my is everything alright? Yeah I'll be fine.

Then Billy sent me down to pick up someone named Marcia from Talbots corporate offices in Hingham.
Arrived to find two gentleman waiting neither one of whom looked like a Marcia but these days who knows. Ya just do what ya gotta do and keep your mouth shut.
(what the hell am I talking about?)
A little later I grabbed a fare at Logan Express going to Canton. He saw the name on my hackney license and said hello Dick, I'm Nick. I said hello Nick and if you call me Dick again you'll be walking to Canton. (just kidding dad)
Thought I was impressive with my knowledge of all things Canton but even a mutual acquaintance in Marty Badoian wasn't enough to warrant more than a 15% tip.

Venus

Tonight was a nice night in the ol' cab. It was a little warmer than it's been lately and so I had the window rolled down most of the time just diggin' the breeze man. The people all seemed like they were happy and feeling good. I don't know. Maybe it was Utah.

The shift didn't start off so good because I locked the damn keys in the damn cab when I went in for a damn coffee.
That took about a half hour to resolve and I was off and running.
Someone called from the Sheraton for a ride to the Wrentham Outlets and I was wicked happy because that's 70 bucks, plus whatever tip they see fit. Well, when I informed her of the price she decided it was too much money and changed her tiny little mind.
But hey that stuff happens and ya just gotta roll with it. I headed into the airport and picked up a gentleman returning from a day of business in Pittsburgh. He's a speechwriter for the president of a big bank out there. There's a job for ya. Maybe I could do that. Anyways there was no traffic so we zoomed back to Braintree and talked about sports on the way.
Later I picked up a Navy family who had been moving all around the world from base to base, town to town for decades. Now they're going to settle down in Massachusetts and I thought that was really cool. Of all the nice warm places to live, they chose here.
I forget what else I was gonna say and I'm getting tired. I should sleep but there's a show on the telly about UFOs that I'm gonna check out for a while. I'll probably fall asleep here on the couch. Maybe I'll dream of something to blog.
Probably not.

Smokers

People often ask if its okay to have a smoke in the cab and I almost always say yeah go ahead, smoke your brains out what do I care. I like for my people to be comfortable during our time together and as long as they blow most of the smoke out the window they're only hurting themselves.

I picked up a smoker and he wanted to stop at BJ's on the way home and pick up a plant because they're on sale for $19.99.
Myself, I've never had any luck with plants. Its a commitment I'm not ready to make.
So anyways, we stop and he comes right out in 10 minutes with this thing and what it is is a majesty palm tree. Huge thing sticking out the back right window almost hitting the other cars, everybody watching this thing going down the street.
So now he's got his friggin' majesty palm.
Next I drove this kid Kevin to work at Pizzaria Uno. He always likes to talk about the Bruins which is fine with me. Likes the B's more than all the other Boston teams put together. Very knowledgeable.
Then these 4 punks were headed to Faneuil Hall to continue their 4 day Saint Patrick's Day party. At first I had the idea that they were the types that might run on me but it ended up to be my best tip of the night. Just goes to show ya. I'm not sure what, but it does.

Right about then the Celts game started so I fired up the radio and spent a good minute carefully tuning it in and adjusting the bass, treble and balance to perfection. The Spurs jumped out to a 22 point lead in the first quarter so I switched the station for a while thinking it might change their luck.
Drove two gentlemen from Charlotte to dinner at a local steak house. They were radio men with those million dollar radio voices. We talked a little about ballparks around the country and I had to say Wrigley Field is my favorite.
I picked up supper for the dispatcher and then he sent me down to Uno's to pick up John for North Weymouth. Everybody likes that run because its a pretty quick hit at that time of night and the meter cranks up pretty good.
My last fare were 3 European shoppers loaded down with big bags of stuff from the mall. I tell ya these folks are coming over by the thousands.
About that time I checked back in on the C's hoping that somehow they were making a game of it. They were within 7 and I listened as it went back and forth in the 4th quarter, a great war between two NBA powerhouses. Celts pulled it out by 2 points despite KG throwing the ball away on an inbound and giving the Spurs a chance to win it on a last second Robert Horry three pointer. Noooo!! Celtic Nation's collective life flashed before its collective bloodshot eyes as the shot clanged off the rim.

All in all a good night for everybody.

Peace to you my friends. Drive safe.
Gute Nacht.

Little Yellow Tomatoes

The dollar is so weak now that people are flying over here from Europe just to do a little shopping. Its unbelievable, I see it all the time. Sure they might take in a few sights here and there but the main reason for their trip is to buy a few dozen shopping bags worth of clothes.

Weirdness. Well I'm sure the hotels and department stores are happy enough when they show up. And its great for the cabbies.

I picked up one of our regular customers tonight at the airport, a bit of an a-hole but he's usually alright. It reminded me of the last time I drove him and the Mrs and I had to wait for them for quite a while because it was a last minute emergency trip and they weren't quite ready. They said I could walk around their yard if I wanted to, which is really beautiful with gardens all around and a big old barn and it was a wicked nice Summer day too. They said I should try a couple of these little yellow tomatoes so I did and they were very good. Very tasty. I don't know why I'm mentioning all this except that it was just one of those cosmic moments in time.
I reminded them of those tomatoes tonight and they said that they hoped they could get the same seeds again this year. Maybe they're rare 'round these parts, I dunno.

Well thats all I've got for now. Bonne nuit mes amis.