Friday Night 10/07/09

I was all excited as I was heading into work tonight...Friday Night, the weekends here, beautiful weather, lots of people out and about, time to make some money!!! What a disappointment. The night started off slow and stayed that way. I sat up the hill for over an hour doing nothing but smoking cigarettes (outside my cab of coarse!) and watching everyone walk by. I hate sitting up the hill when we're slow. Sitting for that long does nothing but put me in a foul mood. I try not to let it bother me, but I could feel my blood pressure rising by the minute.

The other night I was sent to a church in Lincoln to pick up a regular customer. The time this guy was picked up, he came out of the grave yard with a shovel! The poor driver didn't know what to do!

As I pulled up I saw him standing there (with no shovel) He had obviously been drinking but he seemed pretty coherent so I decided to stop for him. He got into my cab and gave me his address.

Along the way he mumbled something and then wiped his eyes. I asked him to repeat what he had said and he looked at me with a tear rolling down his cheek, "I'm sorry man, I was just paying my respects to my brother"

He pulled a smoke out from his pack, rolled the window down and tossed the cigarette out..."This ones for the spirits" Pulled another smoke out and said "This ones for my brother" and threw that smoke out the window. He then grabbed another smoke and stated "This ones for me"

I cranked the music and started back to town. He never said another word for the entire trip. He just sat there and listened to the music playing.

I found out later that night that his brother had committed suicide a few years back and he's never been the same. I don't see how anyone could be the same after losing a family member in such a way.

After tonight I have one more week to go until I'm officially on VACATION!!! I can hardly wait! For the last couple of years we have been loading the car and hitting the highway, this year we have a cottage on YoHo lake that we rented for a week. I will post some pics of this place...It looks like a cottage you'd see in a brochure. Its right on the lake, comes with a canoe and paddle boat, has a dock and a sun room and two story windows looking out over the lake.

PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE

Thursday Night 09/07/09

For the last week and a half, It seemed as if that every second person that got into my cab was in a pissy mood or depressed or just plain grumpy. I chalked it up to the 12 straight days of rain and cloudy weather.Tonight they were definitely showing signs of coming out of the downward spiral tailspin into eternal poopybumness! People were actually smiling again! Some of them even uttered a few kind words. I even started getting tips again!!
This weekend should be rockin' and rollin', which means there will be a huge amount of people out and about. So if you are planning on having a few please remember...

PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE

Tuesday Night 07/07/09

It was one of the slowest, if not THE slowest night I've put in since I came over to Georges. I mean there was absolutely nothing going on in the city tonight. It was so slow most of the cab companies sent their extra cabs home, because I hardly saw any other cabs from the competition out tonight.

What I did see though was some drivers from the competition...coming out of the Snooty Fox!Car #54 and car #5 from Checker were out taking advantage of the slow night by having a few cold ones at the Fox. They came up to me to say "Hi" as I was sitting there waiting for someone who might be in need of a ride. I never did get anyone out of there, but that's the kind of night it was!

PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE

Thursday Night 02/07/09

Tonight was a tad bit slower than the previous two, but I still managed to have a good night. Thanks to two particular fares that graced me with their presence.

The first was a pair of beautiful young ladies that I picked up on the Carlisle Road. These two young ladies were heading downtown for the night and were a joy to have in my cab...They made me blush not less than three times!Courtney and Rachel

We had a nice ride into town and talked about a number of things. One thing in particular was the fact that Courtneys grade seven teacher was involved in the accident that took my daughters life...small world.

Hope you ladies had a great night and I look forward to seeing you both again!

The other fare I had was two guys heading out to Islandveiw. I picked them up after the bars closed and they just didn't want to stop the party just yet. They got into the cab and told me where the two of them wanted to go. Along the way the guy in the back asked me a question that really got me thinking about the taxi setup here in FreddyBeach..."When you buy something at a store they make you pay before you leave the store, how come cabbies are so trusting? What makes you so sure that we're not gonna rip you off? How come you don't ask for money up front?"

To this I answered "Usually if the fare is over $10.00 some cabbies will ask for it up front, If the hairs on the back of my neck stood up when you got into my cab, I would have asked for the cash up front" "The hairs on the back of my neck have been 99% accurate so far and I follow what they tell me no matter what"

He looked at me and asked "What do you mean the hairs on the back of your neck"?
I told him how the hairs on the back of my neck will tingle if the person getting in my cab is sketchy or can't be trusted, and will stand up if there's something thats about to happen. I said this sort of preminission has warned me if someone was gonna skip out on the fare or do something worse every time except for once, and that was probibly because I wasn't tuned into it.

"Well"! he said "We're not gonna rip you off and to prove it I'm giving you the cash upfront" As he passed up $40.00

"The fare is only $16.00" I said as I passed back the extra 20

"No thats alright you keep it because we might have to get you to hang around a sec once we get there"

Once we got to where they were going they asked me to hang on for a minute or two because they were trying to get ahold of an escort company and if they couldn't they would have to head back into town.

The guy in the front put two $20.00 bills on the dash of the van and asked "Five minutes"?

"No problem at all" I said and sat there for about five minutes until he made arrangements. They both thanked me and got out. The guy in the back asked for my number and asked if he gave me a call would I come back out to get him. I told him "Absolutely"

About two and a half hours later they gave me a call and said if I would come and get them they would make it worth my while. I told them that since it was quite slow right now, I would.

Even in the midst of a crappy night, all it takes is a couple of nice fares to change the outlook of the whole scenerio.

PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE

Wednesday Night 01/07/09

I had a strange feeling on my way into work tonight that it would be busy. My feelings haven't let me down yet! I got on the road at 5:50 and by 6:15 I was sitting downtown twittling my thumbs. The night was like a snowball rolling down the hill, gradually getting bigger and picking up speed.

By 7:30 I was moving through a sea of stupid looking Canada day hats and t-shirts that the throngs of party goers donned for the special occasion. Traffic was at a standstill, streets were blocked off, drunk and semi drunk pedestrians were darting in and out of traffic trying to secure the "perfect vantage point" to witness the fireworks. The only thing that saved their lives was the ridiculous cat in the hat Canada day hats they were wearing! The gaudy hat adds three feet to the persons height and makes them easier to spot!

By 9:00 we were going straight out, and the stress level jumped by 4 points. From there it never slowed down until well after three. The fireworks went off without a hitch, and the "Ooooo's" and "Aaaaah's" and "Eeeee's" echoed throughout the downtown area.

Everyone I talked to said they had a great time and were just a little disappointed the weather didn't really co-operate but all in all everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

This was the first year in a long time that I worked on Canada day. I usually attend the fireworks in Oromocto and post the video on my blog, but this year it didn't happen. I heard they had another great show, and am sorry I missed it. Maybe next year...

PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE

Happy Canada Day 01/07/09

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!!!

Once we got started, we never stopped! Not until well after the bars closed. The Hilltop up the hill was hopping, and the tannery down the hill was hopping. There's nothing like a day off in the middle of the week to get people out and about. It sort of reminded me of when the chestnut was open...ahhh the "Dirty Nut"! We would clear at the dirty nut and immediately pick up a group of people heading downtown, we would clear downtown with that group and immediately pick up a group heading for the dirty nut. From there we would pick up a group going up the hill to the hilltop, or campus. It was like the golden triangle back in the days of shipping, but on a smaller scale!

other than being busier than a one armed paper hanger, it was a typical Tuesday I guess. I don't really know because I very seldom work on Tuesdays, but if every Tuesday is like this one, I'll be changing my schedule!!

If you plan on taking part of the Canada day festivities here in FreddyBeach...

PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE

Thursday Night 25/06/09

It must be getting close to the time where some city employees are getting ready to take some summer vacation, because the cigarette Nazis were out last night playing hide and sneak up on you! They were sneaking around hiding behind cars and bushes in hopes of spotting some unsuspecting cabby light up a smoke in his cab. I snapped this picture as I drove by, so its kinda blurry. Apparently the cigarette nazi was writing the driver a ticket for smoking in the cab while he was inside the tannery. The driver claims that he was not in the tannery when the Nazi said he was, he was on a call at the time. This company has several identical vehicles so it is possible that the Nazi could be mistaken. But we all know that these "cigarette police" don't make mistakes...it just doesn't happen! YA...RIGHT!!! And the cheque is in the mail...

PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE
(OR SMOKE IF YOU ARE IN A CAB)
hehehe