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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.

Charlie

I started out the shift with a waitress heading home after a tough day. She'd been ripped off on a fifty dollar check by some kids who left a gift card on the table and split but there was no value on the card. It gets busy and I guess its easy to lose track of everyone and they got away. Little bastids.
Then everything started fitting together perfectly with one fare going into the airport and one coming back and that's pissa because I get to charge both of them for the Ted Williams Tunnel toll but only pay it once. Well, that's not really a big deal but its always nice to get paid both ways. The folks going home were Irish Americans returning from a visit there. There were 5 of them all together and it ain't all that legal to take that many people because there aren't enough seat belts. But there's what's right and there's what's right and so when we passed by the policeman at the entrance to the HOV lane one of the kids had to duck down and they all made the poor girl cry by telling her the police were going to take her away! Uh oh here they come! Oh No!

Then I took a couple guys into Boston Garden to catch a Bruins game. They had a few brews on the way in and I said I'd take care of the empties. The B's beat up the Sens by the way 4-0.
So I gets back to Braintree and pulls up in front of the Plaza and I gets out to get rid of the beer cans and somehow, for some weird reason I throws my keys away with the trash.
Idiot.
At the same moment a gentleman comes up and wants a ride to Copley Place, so the two of us are picking through the garbage looking for the keys.
We found them and off we went and this is turning into a good money night.
This guy has lived in India, England, Africa, New York, Boston, Scotland and I forget where else. He imports fish, mostly from South America to Africa and is in town for the big Fish Convention. He talked about a great paying job he once had in banking and that one day he just up and quit on the spot to become a fisherman in the Shetland Islands in Scotland. It was a very inspiring story that made me think man I could do anything I want. Anything. Dammit why don't I? Because of fear? Why? WHY?!
Sorry.

I went back to the Plaza and picked up two nice young college girls. You know, nice.
They had purchased a puppy at the mall and on the ride home were thinking of possible names for him. They settled on Charlie because he looked like a Charlie. I said for them to be sure to pronounce it with a Boston accent because he's a Boston dog. Chahlie. Am I right? But, they were from somewhere else so the pooch will probably forever be Charrrrlie. Poor little guy.

I hope everyone is doing fine and winning all their private battles.
Buona notte.

Ancient hand grenades

Drove a dude from Braintree to his home in Hingham, he'd been golfing in Florida. He said the older ya get the longer Winter seems to feel and I had to agree. Must be great to be able to get away like that for a weekend. His only problem is that somehow he's on the 'no fly list' and there's absolutely no reason for it but his name is not uncommon so I guess its a mistake in identity of some sort. So its a big hassle every time and there's nothing he can do about it.
I drove a young lady to Randolph who was originally from a small town in Kansas and I said that's wicked cool and told her about the time I broke down there.
That was during one of the great road trips me and my friends took but that's a story for another time.
I did a few other fares and then ended up dispatching for the rest of the shift and the night went by pretty fast after that.

I'm still pretty much wide awake so I'm watching Ancient Discoveries on the History Channel. Here's a fun fact: The Chinese invented hand grenades thousands of years ago.

and now a cartoon