Coffee At 26th & Dolores

Greetings from San Francisco, having caught a 6:10 AM flight from Seattle. Sitting here in a local coffee shop, I am in a very familiar state of taxi exhaustion, having slept a total of about 20 hours the past four days. Ostensibly I am here to visit San Francisco Yellow taxi, hoping to have met with the board but that isn't going to happen.  Instead tomorrow I'll be picked up by a taxi buddy and be shown around Yellow.  One fact I have leaned about taxi, at least here in the United States, is their inability to understand what is happening and what might be and is important, not understanding priorities. And the reason for this?  Well, that is something I will leave for a much later date but I will say it is the same reason we have been decimated by Uber and Lyft.  Not only are we in trouble now, we as an industry have been "residing in confusion" ever since my first real introduction back in 1987.  I say first because my father, back in 1969, having totally sabotaged his teaching career, began driving taxi in Denver, Colorado, and everything he told me about Denver taxi has been confirmed by Seattle and then some, so why should I expect San Francisco in 2016 to be any different?  I don't but it does appear to be different in Austin, Texas, given the municipal government's support for the industry, refusing to take any nonsense from Uber and Lyft.  One positive in Seattle are new cab stands, even one newly situated next to the recently opened Capital Hill light-rail station.  It took too many years for the new stands to be installed but when you are treated like beggars you expect bread crumbs and little else.

                                 Hansel and Gretel took a long walk in an urban forest

                                 unfortunately getting very lost, the city sweeping their bread

                                 crumbs away,with  the mayor, a local witch, telling them who is

                                 boss, insinuating that if you don't obey, that just like Jesus,

                                 you will be nailed to a cross you will pay for daily,

                                 and twice that rate on Sunday,  and certainly, my children,
     
                                  no complaints of any kind or way,

                                  because I am disregarding, and don't you forget it,

                                  anything you might

                                   have to

                                   say.