In years past, often I would have more inert passengers, meaning packages, than alive and breathing human beings, the only required human contact secretaries, receiving clerks and various medical staff more than happy to hand you the package or sign for it. Especially at Yellow, blood was the big mover, taking us to all points east, west, north and south around Washington State. Packages are great, keeping the conversation to a minimum, and not telling you how to get down to Olympia or north to Widbey Island. Human passengers of course are more demanding, some even thinking they know far more about taxi driving than you do, bringing me to crux of the matter: you need to be a combined psychiatrist, detective, comedian, saint, cop, mediator, historian and human punching bag to successfully communicate with that unstable animal known as the modern and current planet Earth human inhabitant. If an actual outer-space alien enters your cab, you probably wouldn't know it, our fellow homo-sapiens as varied and different as Mercury, Uranus and all the other planets orbiting our Sun. "Hey you, Mr & Mrs Pluto, where would like to go? Oh sure, your son and daughter are currently visiting Area 51? Yes, we can negotiate a flat rate. Step in my spaceship 1092 and off we will roar round and round the known world!"
Passengers, Love 'em or Hate 'em, They are Our Taxi Bread & Butter
If there is a true bottom line, and one word, or one approach existing when serving and communicating with our taxi customers, it is RESPECT, imperative our initial greeting is one of respect and nothing else. Of course, and while knowing full well how quickly taxi interactions can sour, you always should be prepared to instantly respond appropriately when the customer is, in turn, disrespectful in whatever manner. But in all normal circumstances, regardless of who the person is, welcome them into your cab, hoping they respond in kind. This also applies to servicing the call instead of assuming that the customer waiting at the the local grocery store is somehow less deserving of your cab, to the point that the fare is "dumped," leaving the customer questioning just "where-the-hell-is-my-cab?"
Respect also applies to the drunk passenger. Within reason, make every attempt to assist, getting them safely home. As is obvious, over a year's span, you will potentially meet every kind of human being in every conceivable life situation. This is where "taxi sainthood" comes in, because often the "patience of a saint" is required. "Losing your temper" should only come into play when you are either in danger or unjustly insulted. Being grumpy is okay, or at least moderately grumpy, because too often that is what I am after too many hours plying the streets. Just remember, beyond anything else, that the passenger sitting in your back seat is not responsible for your life situation. Whenever possible be emotionally embracing, welcoming. If that approach is rejected, well, so be it, finish the ride and say goodbye. Hatred is not helpful. Instead, try to find some viable alternative. You might even get a good tip as a result of your effort. As I know well, you never, ever truly know what will happen! Good luck dealing with the insults! Again, just another part of the taxi experience we all share, the good and bad and the everything in between.
To be continued.
Next week: Dealing with the Police
Also Passenger Relations Part 2---More Specifics
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Taxi Do's & Don'ts Part 3---Successful Approaches To The Inebriated Passenger
More than a necessary nuisance, drunks, especially extremely drunk passengers, are dangerous and unpredictable, one personal example of many being a sodden customer's hand reaching the steering wheel and nearly pulling us into a head-on collision. Ah yes, ain't alcohol consumption wonderful, cheering the masses into collective euphoria? From my taxi perspective, the opposite is true, excessive drinking a self-induced psychosis leading only to nonsense and mayhem, and in worst-case scenarios, the morgue. The following are a few suggestions and strategies for dealing with this never ending problem encountered day and night in this here United States and the world in general.
Dealing with Drunks
As is often said, a happy drunk is a pleasant drunk, laughing and joking, truly the life of the taxi party. While maybe true upon the twirling dance floor or the convivial lounge, drunks---happy, sad, aggressive or crazed---present a serious problem for the cabbie. Too often the most basic is impossible, getting the fool to tell you his/her address, meaning, how can you proceed forward when everything is ass-backward? Not easily is the answer, the drunk at times an unresolvable equation, the math involved one giant subtraction minus all positives. Above all, above all other considerations, you must be sure that the drunk will pay you once you have reached the destination. I mention it because the issue will come up, and negotiating with the drunk is both frustrating and insane. I guarantee you the first words emanating from their mouth will be "Haven't I already paid you?" And don't think they will believe anything you say.
From hard experience, I have learned some basic tenets concerning drunks. Heed my warnings or forever be damned, the uncaring drunks' unerring goal is to make your life a misery. As always, in every taxi situation, be aware of who is (and their state of mind) getting into your cab, because once they are in the back seat, it can be extremely difficult to get them out again.
One "hard & fast" rule is to NEVER , EVER ALLOW the "blind drunk" in your cab without a somewhat sober friend who can and will control their companion's behavior. Another steadfast rule is NEVER ALLOW a bartender to make his/her PROBLEM your PROBLEM! Lock you doors and say, minus all equivocation, that you are not letting the passenger in until they are reasonably sober. Be sure to also call dispatch, appraising them of the situation because you don't want the bartender to simply call back in an attempt to find a more compliant cabbie. As I have told more than one bartender, "You are one who over served the guy, this is your problem, you are not going to make it mine!"
And what do "blind drunks" do? They leap out of moving cabs. They refuse to pay. They physically assault you. They have you circling round and round a neighborhood, shouting "Why can't you find my address?" They accuse you of stealing their money. They accuse of you beating them up. They say you sexually assaulted them or made lascivious suggestions. They yell "you are kidnapping me." And of course, like the "garden-variety" drunk, they vomit all over the backseat. If any of this sounds fun, then you too are "out-of-your-mind," because dealing with the "blind drunk" is complete insanity and nothing else, a thankless task for the weary cabbie.
A Short Checklist for the Wise Cabbie
If possible, before letting the drunk in, ascertain their level of inebriation. If too drunk, drive away.
Always! Aways! keep the drunk in the back seat. Drunks sitting next to you are a menace. Beware!
Never, ever allow them to vomit in your cab. Have the drunk drape newspaper over their lap or provide a paper bag. Keep the drunk seated next to an open window, admonishing them to tell you if they are about to vomit.
Make sure the seriously drunk individual have an escort who will take control of their friend or spouse. No escort, no ride.
Know the address before pulling away.
If you are uncomfortable, seek pre-payment. If they don't pay, terminate the ride.
If attacked, immediately call 911 and make yourself safe. Turn off the cab and get out.
After successfully getting the drunk home, assist as fully as possible getting the passenger to their door, making sure they can unlock their door. Otherwise, you might witness them falling over and cracking their heads. And also advisable, if possible, is to get the spouse's telephone number and call ahead, seeking assistance at the door. This strategy can also "sober up" the customer, knowing the wife is waiting to slug them over the head.
Make sure nothing is left in the cab, including money. Also make sure the drunk doesn't over pay. If they give you $50.00 for a $20.00 fare, point it out, asking them "do you understand you are giving me this?" While you may think you deserve the money for your "pain & suffering" after dealing with this total asshole, honesty is, and always will be, the best taxi policy.
Again, and I repeat, never let a bartender transfer their trouble into your cab. Tell them to call the police, not another cab.
Never get intimately involved with the drunk. Many drunk woman will beckon you. Leave then alone. You are potentially looking at very serious trouble. Once they have sobered up, they might say whatever happened wasn't consensual. Beware! And besides, what is reasonable, positive and good about sleeping with a drunk? Nothing I can think of.
Whenever encountering an overly aggressive and angry drunk, tell them, in no uncertain terms, to stop and get in control. If they don't, ask them to leave.
There you have it. Good luck. You'll need it.
To be continued.
Definition of "blind drunk" added 07/15/2019
In talking to "she who can't be named," she asked just what had I meant by referring to some customers as "blindly drunk." And from my unfortunate experience, a "blind drunk" is someone intoxicated pass saturation into an alcohol induced poisoned state of body and mind, causing a kind of walking, talking unconsciousness, the individual "blacked out" yet moving down the street, zombie-like, totally disconnected from functional reality. Communication is not possible, making all interaction fraught with dangerous possibilities and bad outcomes, the "blind drunk" literally "out-of-their-mind" until sobering up how many hours later. No fun is my clear and obvious reaction, the kind of passenger to be avoided at all hours of the day and night.
PS 07/21/2019---"Drying-out Center closed
For years, the homeless, hopelessly drunk had a free place to safely and peacefully sober up but no more. Located for years on Boren just off of Stewart Street, it is now officially closed. Their new location, in the new hip and so-called alternative Georgetown neighborhood, cannot open on time due to neighborhood opposition. Perhaps they prefer instead the inebriated to vomit upon their doorstep. So much for the "liberal" embracing of the downtrodden. What would Jesus do?
Dealing with Drunks
As is often said, a happy drunk is a pleasant drunk, laughing and joking, truly the life of the taxi party. While maybe true upon the twirling dance floor or the convivial lounge, drunks---happy, sad, aggressive or crazed---present a serious problem for the cabbie. Too often the most basic is impossible, getting the fool to tell you his/her address, meaning, how can you proceed forward when everything is ass-backward? Not easily is the answer, the drunk at times an unresolvable equation, the math involved one giant subtraction minus all positives. Above all, above all other considerations, you must be sure that the drunk will pay you once you have reached the destination. I mention it because the issue will come up, and negotiating with the drunk is both frustrating and insane. I guarantee you the first words emanating from their mouth will be "Haven't I already paid you?" And don't think they will believe anything you say.
From hard experience, I have learned some basic tenets concerning drunks. Heed my warnings or forever be damned, the uncaring drunks' unerring goal is to make your life a misery. As always, in every taxi situation, be aware of who is (and their state of mind) getting into your cab, because once they are in the back seat, it can be extremely difficult to get them out again.
One "hard & fast" rule is to NEVER , EVER ALLOW the "blind drunk" in your cab without a somewhat sober friend who can and will control their companion's behavior. Another steadfast rule is NEVER ALLOW a bartender to make his/her PROBLEM your PROBLEM! Lock you doors and say, minus all equivocation, that you are not letting the passenger in until they are reasonably sober. Be sure to also call dispatch, appraising them of the situation because you don't want the bartender to simply call back in an attempt to find a more compliant cabbie. As I have told more than one bartender, "You are one who over served the guy, this is your problem, you are not going to make it mine!"
And what do "blind drunks" do? They leap out of moving cabs. They refuse to pay. They physically assault you. They have you circling round and round a neighborhood, shouting "Why can't you find my address?" They accuse you of stealing their money. They accuse of you beating them up. They say you sexually assaulted them or made lascivious suggestions. They yell "you are kidnapping me." And of course, like the "garden-variety" drunk, they vomit all over the backseat. If any of this sounds fun, then you too are "out-of-your-mind," because dealing with the "blind drunk" is complete insanity and nothing else, a thankless task for the weary cabbie.
A Short Checklist for the Wise Cabbie
If possible, before letting the drunk in, ascertain their level of inebriation. If too drunk, drive away.
Always! Aways! keep the drunk in the back seat. Drunks sitting next to you are a menace. Beware!
Never, ever allow them to vomit in your cab. Have the drunk drape newspaper over their lap or provide a paper bag. Keep the drunk seated next to an open window, admonishing them to tell you if they are about to vomit.
Make sure the seriously drunk individual have an escort who will take control of their friend or spouse. No escort, no ride.
Know the address before pulling away.
If you are uncomfortable, seek pre-payment. If they don't pay, terminate the ride.
If attacked, immediately call 911 and make yourself safe. Turn off the cab and get out.
After successfully getting the drunk home, assist as fully as possible getting the passenger to their door, making sure they can unlock their door. Otherwise, you might witness them falling over and cracking their heads. And also advisable, if possible, is to get the spouse's telephone number and call ahead, seeking assistance at the door. This strategy can also "sober up" the customer, knowing the wife is waiting to slug them over the head.
Make sure nothing is left in the cab, including money. Also make sure the drunk doesn't over pay. If they give you $50.00 for a $20.00 fare, point it out, asking them "do you understand you are giving me this?" While you may think you deserve the money for your "pain & suffering" after dealing with this total asshole, honesty is, and always will be, the best taxi policy.
Again, and I repeat, never let a bartender transfer their trouble into your cab. Tell them to call the police, not another cab.
Never get intimately involved with the drunk. Many drunk woman will beckon you. Leave then alone. You are potentially looking at very serious trouble. Once they have sobered up, they might say whatever happened wasn't consensual. Beware! And besides, what is reasonable, positive and good about sleeping with a drunk? Nothing I can think of.
Whenever encountering an overly aggressive and angry drunk, tell them, in no uncertain terms, to stop and get in control. If they don't, ask them to leave.
There you have it. Good luck. You'll need it.
To be continued.
Definition of "blind drunk" added 07/15/2019
In talking to "she who can't be named," she asked just what had I meant by referring to some customers as "blindly drunk." And from my unfortunate experience, a "blind drunk" is someone intoxicated pass saturation into an alcohol induced poisoned state of body and mind, causing a kind of walking, talking unconsciousness, the individual "blacked out" yet moving down the street, zombie-like, totally disconnected from functional reality. Communication is not possible, making all interaction fraught with dangerous possibilities and bad outcomes, the "blind drunk" literally "out-of-their-mind" until sobering up how many hours later. No fun is my clear and obvious reaction, the kind of passenger to be avoided at all hours of the day and night.
PS 07/21/2019---"Drying-out Center closed
For years, the homeless, hopelessly drunk had a free place to safely and peacefully sober up but no more. Located for years on Boren just off of Stewart Street, it is now officially closed. Their new location, in the new hip and so-called alternative Georgetown neighborhood, cannot open on time due to neighborhood opposition. Perhaps they prefer instead the inebriated to vomit upon their doorstep. So much for the "liberal" embracing of the downtrodden. What would Jesus do?
Monday, July 8, 2019
Do's & Don't's---Part 2
That it isn't necessary to know every Seattle & King County nook and cranny is something I can confirm, somehow stumbling, bumbling to many addresses throughout greater King County ( and some parts of Snohomish County too) minus glancing at my old, and getting older, Thomas guide. But having a basic knowledge of your area's roads and highways is essential, not relying on some GPS mapping device to get you where you are going. What many don't understand is that GPS is now a mechanical version of the seeing eye dog, and after observing many of those good canines work, clearly it is better if you can see the way forward yourself. That is why I say, to truly be a professional cabbie, as much as possible, you need to be directed by your brain alone to where you gotta be minus circles and dead ends. It can't be that difficult if I can do it. You can too!
Correct Routing from Point A to B Should Always be the Goal
A good, quick way for someone to get themselves booted from my cab is to accuse me of intentionally taking them the wrong way, having little tolerance being called a thief. But that point, on a very basic level, is acknowledged. Some cabbies, intentionally or not, go the wrong way, taking a less efficient route to the expressed destination. Dishonesty of course can never be accepted. And obviously, neither can ignorance of the local roadways, your workplace of choice. Without question, all cabbies must have a decent grasp of their city's major arterials and numbering and addressing systems. Without that knowledge, you are driving blind, something totally unacceptable to the task at hand.
I have two easy self-tutoring methods helping you gain what you need to know. First, get a good map and spread it out upon a table. Look it over and note all the major street and roads, including highways. Then take a high-lighting marker pen and trace over, in your favorite color, all of them, trying not to miss any, because knowing your streets is indispensable to knowing the correct route and making the big money you deserve and want.
After doing that, get in your car after rush hour and drive those streets, familiarizing yourself with every part of town, along with every route taking you to the airport, train, bus stations, and as in the case of Seattle and area, every ferry terminal. Be patient, take up to a month, and once behind the taxi wheel, you will be, more or less, prepared to drive passengers around minus too many serious mistakes. Errors you will make, and if particularly egregious, reduce the fare by five-ten dollars. As a taxi professional, it is your duty to your passenger to "get it right" minus all and any excuse.
My other suggestion is to keep learning on the go, paying attention to all the street names you pass by. Try to remember their names, and the hundred and thousand blocks, the first time because you never know when you will need to find Campbell SW or Peach Court East or Dibble Avenue NW or Carkeek Park or Matthews Beach. If the tourist from Japan, speaking no English and in the USA for the first time, gives you a written address reading 36_ _ 26th SW, you will instantly know it's located near the corner of SW Spokane & 26th SW. This is not only the cabbie you want to be, it must be the kind of cabbie you are.
Staying Safe
Seattle, in terms of danger and threats from nefarious passengers, is tame, many years since we have had a single cabbie murdered in Seattle and King County. In other cities, that can't be said, but here in Seattle you are relatively safe. But still, you must be able to read your passenger's intentions. Along with that, never, ever allow yourself, late at night or early in the dark morning, to be directed into an alley or dead-end street. Tell them straight out you are uncomfortable, and if they want to go further, they will have to walk.
And that is what I advise. If the situation looks grim, stop and speak directly to the passenger, saying you think they might hurt or rob you, their reaction telling you everything you need to know. Now you don't want to be neither stupid or discriminatory but if you feel the ride is over, end it, pull over to a safe place and say you can't go any further. Screw the fare, just get the potentially dangerous passenger out of your cab quickly. Make every attempt to be fair and diplomatic but remember, your goal is get get back safely to your family. Losing the money is meaningless, your life and well-being all important. There will always be another passenger to serve minus trouble and mayhem, ready to smile and tip you big. It's true as the sky is blue. Stay safe!
To be continued.
Correct Routing from Point A to B Should Always be the Goal
A good, quick way for someone to get themselves booted from my cab is to accuse me of intentionally taking them the wrong way, having little tolerance being called a thief. But that point, on a very basic level, is acknowledged. Some cabbies, intentionally or not, go the wrong way, taking a less efficient route to the expressed destination. Dishonesty of course can never be accepted. And obviously, neither can ignorance of the local roadways, your workplace of choice. Without question, all cabbies must have a decent grasp of their city's major arterials and numbering and addressing systems. Without that knowledge, you are driving blind, something totally unacceptable to the task at hand.
I have two easy self-tutoring methods helping you gain what you need to know. First, get a good map and spread it out upon a table. Look it over and note all the major street and roads, including highways. Then take a high-lighting marker pen and trace over, in your favorite color, all of them, trying not to miss any, because knowing your streets is indispensable to knowing the correct route and making the big money you deserve and want.
After doing that, get in your car after rush hour and drive those streets, familiarizing yourself with every part of town, along with every route taking you to the airport, train, bus stations, and as in the case of Seattle and area, every ferry terminal. Be patient, take up to a month, and once behind the taxi wheel, you will be, more or less, prepared to drive passengers around minus too many serious mistakes. Errors you will make, and if particularly egregious, reduce the fare by five-ten dollars. As a taxi professional, it is your duty to your passenger to "get it right" minus all and any excuse.
My other suggestion is to keep learning on the go, paying attention to all the street names you pass by. Try to remember their names, and the hundred and thousand blocks, the first time because you never know when you will need to find Campbell SW or Peach Court East or Dibble Avenue NW or Carkeek Park or Matthews Beach. If the tourist from Japan, speaking no English and in the USA for the first time, gives you a written address reading 36_ _ 26th SW, you will instantly know it's located near the corner of SW Spokane & 26th SW. This is not only the cabbie you want to be, it must be the kind of cabbie you are.
Staying Safe
Seattle, in terms of danger and threats from nefarious passengers, is tame, many years since we have had a single cabbie murdered in Seattle and King County. In other cities, that can't be said, but here in Seattle you are relatively safe. But still, you must be able to read your passenger's intentions. Along with that, never, ever allow yourself, late at night or early in the dark morning, to be directed into an alley or dead-end street. Tell them straight out you are uncomfortable, and if they want to go further, they will have to walk.
And that is what I advise. If the situation looks grim, stop and speak directly to the passenger, saying you think they might hurt or rob you, their reaction telling you everything you need to know. Now you don't want to be neither stupid or discriminatory but if you feel the ride is over, end it, pull over to a safe place and say you can't go any further. Screw the fare, just get the potentially dangerous passenger out of your cab quickly. Make every attempt to be fair and diplomatic but remember, your goal is get get back safely to your family. Losing the money is meaningless, your life and well-being all important. There will always be another passenger to serve minus trouble and mayhem, ready to smile and tip you big. It's true as the sky is blue. Stay safe!
To be continued.
Saturday, June 29, 2019
The Do's And Don't's Of Professional Cab Driving---Part 1
Months ago I promised Puget Sound Dispatch I would put together a pamphlet to hand out to all recalcitrant cabbies. Whether I will ever truly find the spare time is questionable but since I am sitting here at the Burien, Washington Les Schwab tire shop, and waiting to have 2 new front tires installed, I thought this would be a "good-space-in-taxi-time" to jot down some obvious thoughts concerning the fine art of cabbing, applicable I think to any city or country or even Mars. Did you know that "there is a place in Mars where the women smoke cigars, and all the men drive in little-kiddie-cars?" I learnt that ditty in Toledo, Ohio sometime in 1957, and since those Martians are driving vehicles somewhere way up there in the sky, I am sure they also have some planetary version of taxi.
Taxi is taxi where ever you may go, and getting it right is essential but even I don't always follow known and stationary rules. This morning, after waiting 40 minutes to reach the the front of the Pier 91 cruise ship line, I had the misfortune to have a Mister Rude ask me, "how much to the ferry terminal?" and I made every effort not to answer him. Thankfully, as I hoped, he angrily stalked to the next cab parked behind me.
While breaking usual protocol, tired and weary to the taxi bone, I just wasn't interested in "suspicion and superiority" smacked in my face. I say this to state that nuance is everything, meaning, while my suggestions are based upon 30 plus years upon the cabbie road, I am not God, this isn't a bible, and bend, whenever deemed necessary, all prescribed remedies. In no particular order:
Taxi is taxi where ever you may go, and getting it right is essential but even I don't always follow known and stationary rules. This morning, after waiting 40 minutes to reach the the front of the Pier 91 cruise ship line, I had the misfortune to have a Mister Rude ask me, "how much to the ferry terminal?" and I made every effort not to answer him. Thankfully, as I hoped, he angrily stalked to the next cab parked behind me.
While breaking usual protocol, tired and weary to the taxi bone, I just wasn't interested in "suspicion and superiority" smacked in my face. I say this to state that nuance is everything, meaning, while my suggestions are based upon 30 plus years upon the cabbie road, I am not God, this isn't a bible, and bend, whenever deemed necessary, all prescribed remedies. In no particular order:
What a Cabbie is
What we shouldn't be is some free form, unbridled wild man (or woman) running amok upon your particular city's streets. That is the more-or-less Las Vegas model, something I find abhorrent. In theory and practice, the cab driver should act like any other business operator, adhering to usual norms of behavior, and not like some kind of self-styled criminal. The most valid complaint concerning the majority of cabbies is that they do whatever they want regardless of rules and regulations. Viewing yourself as a kind of airline pilot is a better model. Be professional and safely get your taxi up in the air and down, your passengers your first and only priority.
Don't Involve Yourself with Nonsense
Taxi driving is unique due to its self-regulating nature. For the most part, you and you alone are making the decisions. In terms of routing, in terms of what happens in the cab's interior, you are the boss, the sole arbitrator. Accountability then is key, your behavior ultimately dictating a given rides' success, direct and efficient routing from point A to B always your first goal. Take payment and be gone, away to the next fare and more money in your pocket.
It's when the cabbie doesn't to this is when the trouble, the error begins. Every cabbie does and will receive questionable invitations to embrace all and any varieties of nonsense, mostly of the sexual and drug-related nature. I have too many personal examples of this kind of beckoning, be the individual drunk, crazy or plainly misguided. Why would I want to embrace desperation? I don't and my advice is to steer clear because complication, and perhaps severe consequences, wait right around the corner.
And allowing drug use of any kind, liquor included, in the cab is insanity and a great way to get yourself into serious trouble. My advice will always be to work hard, make the good money, and once the cab is parked, leave the nonsense behind. Believe me, the next day, nonsense once again will be waiting to bite. What is the best preventative vaccination? Commonsense administered daily. And of course, an organic apple a day keeping the too inquisitive police officer away!
To be continued.
Don't Involve Yourself with Nonsense
Taxi driving is unique due to its self-regulating nature. For the most part, you and you alone are making the decisions. In terms of routing, in terms of what happens in the cab's interior, you are the boss, the sole arbitrator. Accountability then is key, your behavior ultimately dictating a given rides' success, direct and efficient routing from point A to B always your first goal. Take payment and be gone, away to the next fare and more money in your pocket.
It's when the cabbie doesn't to this is when the trouble, the error begins. Every cabbie does and will receive questionable invitations to embrace all and any varieties of nonsense, mostly of the sexual and drug-related nature. I have too many personal examples of this kind of beckoning, be the individual drunk, crazy or plainly misguided. Why would I want to embrace desperation? I don't and my advice is to steer clear because complication, and perhaps severe consequences, wait right around the corner.
And allowing drug use of any kind, liquor included, in the cab is insanity and a great way to get yourself into serious trouble. My advice will always be to work hard, make the good money, and once the cab is parked, leave the nonsense behind. Believe me, the next day, nonsense once again will be waiting to bite. What is the best preventative vaccination? Commonsense administered daily. And of course, an organic apple a day keeping the too inquisitive police officer away!
To be continued.
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Do You Know The Way To Northwest Norcross Way? & Eat At Luigis
With apologies to that great Bacharach/David 1968 song, Top 10 hit sung by Dionne Warwick, "Do You Know The Way To San Jose," I ask all Seattle cabbies the question if 2 very drunk Irishmen jumped in your cab from the Old Peculiar at 1:00 in the morning, and telling you their destination was the 1300 hundred block of Norcross Way, would you know the way to 133_ NW Norcross Way, minus GPS devices and even a map? By sheer accident I did, vaguely remembering that 12th Avenue NW taken north off Holman Road taking you right in, or more or less it does, first intersecting with Woodbine NW, and then veering right to Norcross and Carkeek Park, Norcross the southern boundary of that fabulous park.
Why did I know? Approximately 18 months ago I picked up on Norcross, taking a vacationing couple to Sea-Tac International Airport. Yes, Virgina, there are cabbies outside of London holding their local version of "the Knowledge." But if you want me to take you to Santa Clauses' igloo workshop, you'll better off consulting with that famous worldwide flyer, Santa's Rudolf, the yellow-nosed reindeer, yes, that very same famous fellow curtailed from participating in any taxi reindeer games. For shame, and if anyone is, its the Seattle City Council to blame!
The Address is 3213 West McGraw Street
Yesterday, late afternoon, I ate at Luigi's Pizza & Pasta located in the Magnolia Village, south side of the street, adjacent to the post office. Regular customers of mine, Maynard & Pat, have been going there for decades. With great food, inexpensive prices and terrific service, what is there to stop you? Eat at Luigis after taking a walk in perhaps Seattle's greatest green space, Discovery Park. Try the W. Emerson Street side for secret entrances.
And don't forget to try the homemade desserts! Wonderful.
Why did I know? Approximately 18 months ago I picked up on Norcross, taking a vacationing couple to Sea-Tac International Airport. Yes, Virgina, there are cabbies outside of London holding their local version of "the Knowledge." But if you want me to take you to Santa Clauses' igloo workshop, you'll better off consulting with that famous worldwide flyer, Santa's Rudolf, the yellow-nosed reindeer, yes, that very same famous fellow curtailed from participating in any taxi reindeer games. For shame, and if anyone is, its the Seattle City Council to blame!
The Address is 3213 West McGraw Street
Yesterday, late afternoon, I ate at Luigi's Pizza & Pasta located in the Magnolia Village, south side of the street, adjacent to the post office. Regular customers of mine, Maynard & Pat, have been going there for decades. With great food, inexpensive prices and terrific service, what is there to stop you? Eat at Luigis after taking a walk in perhaps Seattle's greatest green space, Discovery Park. Try the W. Emerson Street side for secret entrances.
And don't forget to try the homemade desserts! Wonderful.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Flare-up, Anger And Peace At The Cashier Window & Craig Leisy's Book
Us cabbies are a solitary species, taxi wolverines plying the urban landscape but occasionally, like actual wolverines, (gulo gulo, Latin for glutton) we find ourselves in the same locale, snarling and spiting, attempting communication and commonplace civility. Yesterday afternoon, while doing "our turn" at the cashier's window, a verbal altercation broke out involving four drivers, three against the one WAT (wheelchair driver) over the mundane issue of the 10 cents fee all Seattle-area cabbies pay per trip to supplement the WAT operators. Always controversial, many Yellow drivers are upset since PSD management released an income list stating some of us are making $2000.00 per week, this in response to many cabbies pleading poverty. And according to practical theory, the only guys who could make this are the WAT owners who receive, within City boundaries, $20.00 per wheelchair trip in addition to the meter rate. It is indeed sweet getting a built-in tip with nearly every fare you receive.
Call it jealously, all it anything you wish but most drivers are angered with what they see as bureaucratic (and discriminatory) treatment favoring the WAT operators, unfairly padding their wallets while pilfering money from ours. Yesterday, guys got angry, targeting one individual who tried to be calm until he too losing his temper. Eventually, order was restored, tempers cooled and more-or-less civil conversation ensued, all recognizing who and what the real culprit is: dumbbell administrators and their hackneyed policies.
Yes, the taxi majority feel victimized by decisions adversely affecting their daily bread, mindless policies made by the clearly clueless. If you don't think this is true, go to any current Seattle City Council meeting and witness the prattle emanating from the outgoing Sally Bagwell, and like I have, becoming depressed listening to the theoretical musings espoused by this astounding fill-in-the-blank. As I continue to say, "taxi-gods-help-us-all!" Yes, Ms Bagwell, what kind of creature are you? Or maybe a new species already---stultus fatuus? Welcome to the Seattle Governmental Zoo, "How do you do?"
And Kshama Sawant too---indus paulo follis. And Bruce Harrell? Sorry, I give up! Time to be polite in the taxi night, day is breaking and my cabbie heart is aching, buckets of tears pouring into my local beer. Or something like that!
Craig Leisy Wrote a Taxi Book
Most Seattle readers will remember Craig, that former City of Seattle taxi licensing manager recently retired to Colorado. Now that he is no longer daily plaguing us, he has written a sympathetic tome concerning how the Uber incursion nearly killed us. He even quoted me. Stay tuned in the next few weeks for a review. I bought a copy and should be done reading soon.
Transportation Network Companies and Taxis: The Case of Seattle
Published by Routledge
go to the website, www.routledge.com and enter code SOC19 to receive a 20% discount. But I warn you, even with the discount, it is pricy.
Call it jealously, all it anything you wish but most drivers are angered with what they see as bureaucratic (and discriminatory) treatment favoring the WAT operators, unfairly padding their wallets while pilfering money from ours. Yesterday, guys got angry, targeting one individual who tried to be calm until he too losing his temper. Eventually, order was restored, tempers cooled and more-or-less civil conversation ensued, all recognizing who and what the real culprit is: dumbbell administrators and their hackneyed policies.
Yes, the taxi majority feel victimized by decisions adversely affecting their daily bread, mindless policies made by the clearly clueless. If you don't think this is true, go to any current Seattle City Council meeting and witness the prattle emanating from the outgoing Sally Bagwell, and like I have, becoming depressed listening to the theoretical musings espoused by this astounding fill-in-the-blank. As I continue to say, "taxi-gods-help-us-all!" Yes, Ms Bagwell, what kind of creature are you? Or maybe a new species already---stultus fatuus? Welcome to the Seattle Governmental Zoo, "How do you do?"
And Kshama Sawant too---indus paulo follis. And Bruce Harrell? Sorry, I give up! Time to be polite in the taxi night, day is breaking and my cabbie heart is aching, buckets of tears pouring into my local beer. Or something like that!
Craig Leisy Wrote a Taxi Book
Most Seattle readers will remember Craig, that former City of Seattle taxi licensing manager recently retired to Colorado. Now that he is no longer daily plaguing us, he has written a sympathetic tome concerning how the Uber incursion nearly killed us. He even quoted me. Stay tuned in the next few weeks for a review. I bought a copy and should be done reading soon.
Transportation Network Companies and Taxis: The Case of Seattle
Published by Routledge
go to the website, www.routledge.com and enter code SOC19 to receive a 20% discount. But I warn you, even with the discount, it is pricy.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
This Could Be Your Life---31 Non-Stop Years Washing Dishes
As I say concerning taxi, I meet everyone in every conceivable situation and scenario, and last night, "serving the bell" in the north-end due to no cabs, with a machine gun-like "rat-a-tat-tat-tat" business flow filling the late hours, I once again picked up Dano (not his real name), a Yellow "regular" going home from a Greenwood-area nursing home. Dano, a slightly developmentally disabled man, has been washing dishes at the same facility six days per week for the past 31 years, Monday's off. Asking him when he will stop, he replied age 67, Dano turning 54 this upcoming August. Imagine this if you can, a life of drudgery encompassing, if he physically survives until 2032, 54 years of soap and suds. cleaning plates and scraping pans. Having washed dishes at an eastern Colorado truck-stop for a month in 1969 when I was 15, I know it to be a living hell, disrespectful devils prodding you on, back then paid $1.00 per hour for the displeasure of cleaning toilets and busing the tables too.
Every work day Dano takes the two-bus one hour-long ride to work, returning home every night at 11 PM in the $18.00 cab ride. After 31 years, he now makes $16.00 per hour, his ride home taking 15 minutes. Multiplying $18.00 by four 15 minute intervals means I am making the equivalent of $72.00 an hour, something I often more-or-less do.
Does "life" hold real meaning and purpose? Find someone like Dano and ask him how he/she understands and accepts his /her lot in living upon our shared earth. Then reflect upon your own life. How does it compare? Are you happy, sad, justifying and accepting what you have, or not?
As for Dano, I can only hope he has secret plans escaping to a better heaven than the kitchen Hades he now resides. If believing in prayer, pray for Dano and a better future minus monotonous steamy, sweat filled hours, God helping Dano and us all the live-long day. Amen!
The Taxi Gods Speaking!
The round-trip "drug run' was normal until the gentleman in question unexpectedly began directing me. Having picked up on the same block a mere hour before, I requested he stop but no, he wouldn't desist, instead aggressively mocking me. Out I sent him, not wanting his money, only a swift departure out the taxi door; and immediately afterwards, clearing the meter, receiving a redemptive $62.00 account fare to Kent. And having to once again go around the same block, placing myself in the correct direction, there the guy was, walking in what can only be described as "his personal rain cloud," a sudden storm drenching this misguided soul. Thank you "taxi Jesus," or something like that!
Adios Squeaky! RIP
Two weeks ago, the taxi lifer famously known for his high-pitched voice, Squeaky, passed on to hopefully better taxi hunting grounds. When I started way back in 1987, Squeaky was driving for Panos Taxi, finding him sitting at the old Pier 52 ferry stand. Having driven for nearly everyone, Squeaky was a well-known local cabbie character. Another taxi lifer, Dennis A., told me about Squeaky's demise while I was having 1092 repaired Friday at Jim & Gill's auto repair shop. Farewell Squeaky, it was good knowing ya! Rest-in-peace!
Postscript 06/10/2019
Amazingly, my first ride this morning was someone who works at the same facility as Dano. She has been there 22 years. All I can do is quote Bob Dylan from his song Caught Up in Blue: "I don't know what they do with their lives!" And that is an understatement.
Every work day Dano takes the two-bus one hour-long ride to work, returning home every night at 11 PM in the $18.00 cab ride. After 31 years, he now makes $16.00 per hour, his ride home taking 15 minutes. Multiplying $18.00 by four 15 minute intervals means I am making the equivalent of $72.00 an hour, something I often more-or-less do.
Does "life" hold real meaning and purpose? Find someone like Dano and ask him how he/she understands and accepts his /her lot in living upon our shared earth. Then reflect upon your own life. How does it compare? Are you happy, sad, justifying and accepting what you have, or not?
As for Dano, I can only hope he has secret plans escaping to a better heaven than the kitchen Hades he now resides. If believing in prayer, pray for Dano and a better future minus monotonous steamy, sweat filled hours, God helping Dano and us all the live-long day. Amen!
The Taxi Gods Speaking!
The round-trip "drug run' was normal until the gentleman in question unexpectedly began directing me. Having picked up on the same block a mere hour before, I requested he stop but no, he wouldn't desist, instead aggressively mocking me. Out I sent him, not wanting his money, only a swift departure out the taxi door; and immediately afterwards, clearing the meter, receiving a redemptive $62.00 account fare to Kent. And having to once again go around the same block, placing myself in the correct direction, there the guy was, walking in what can only be described as "his personal rain cloud," a sudden storm drenching this misguided soul. Thank you "taxi Jesus," or something like that!
Adios Squeaky! RIP
Two weeks ago, the taxi lifer famously known for his high-pitched voice, Squeaky, passed on to hopefully better taxi hunting grounds. When I started way back in 1987, Squeaky was driving for Panos Taxi, finding him sitting at the old Pier 52 ferry stand. Having driven for nearly everyone, Squeaky was a well-known local cabbie character. Another taxi lifer, Dennis A., told me about Squeaky's demise while I was having 1092 repaired Friday at Jim & Gill's auto repair shop. Farewell Squeaky, it was good knowing ya! Rest-in-peace!
Postscript 06/10/2019
Amazingly, my first ride this morning was someone who works at the same facility as Dano. She has been there 22 years. All I can do is quote Bob Dylan from his song Caught Up in Blue: "I don't know what they do with their lives!" And that is an understatement.
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