Cab drivers and NYC
New York City cab drivers give me the creeps. Live everything in this ginormous city, it’s a love-hate relationship. Some have incredible stories, some are scary and lock the doors so you can’t get out, some drive like maniacs, some don’t speak English well, which bugs me a whole lot, some overcharge, and some are simply annoying and feel like invading your life. This is why I have my own personal cab driver, by the name of Ray, the sweetest man that can never thank me enough for having called him instead of someone else. As you may know, NYC is famously known for hailing a taxi. Taxi! And given their density, one should stop shortly. You don’t have the traditional cab services you call in advance. They do exist, maybe more expensive, assigned for certain boroughs or for certain destinations, such as the airport, but it’s not so common to call a cab.
Ray is my guy. He takes me to Manhattan, if it’s late at night, he takes me to the airport, and he calls someone else for me if he can’t make it. And I am pleased to know I can help a guy who works hard for a living.
Today, Ray was busy, and as I was taking my mother to the airport on her way back home (…), another dude came to pick us up, a not so friendly one. By the time we got to Terminal 4, KLM, I knew everything there was to know about him. He made sure he didn’t leave anything out. What can I say? He lives through his customers, he said, he works two jobs, to sustain himself in this crappy economy, and has no free time, so he has to socialize somehow. So I ended up liking him.
On my way back, I tried my luck with another cab driver. Now, this I did NOT like. He seemed to be Eastern European, he had that heavy accent of a guy that moved here well in his 50s I guess, and he was lost. He must have just moved here. I had to guide him to where I live, which stressed me out. For $25/30, I expect you to mind your own business, not ask me a million questions of where I’m from and my entire life since then, know where you’re going, and get me safely to my destination. Luckily, I am on top of everything and although I am not an expert on NY’s highways, I guided him.
NYC is a jungle. My suggestion is try a different career. NYC streets are not for you.
… Now… let me watch the news on the little TV screens, and enjoy the ride. Don’t go too fast.
