Taxi Vignettes

Load It Up

2007-05-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

Load it up and drive it over to the newTaxi Vignettes.

Yes, I have moved and I will no longer post here, but will continue on the new blog. Please bookmark it and visit often.

Her Meter is Running

2007-05-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

Melissa, a female Yellow Cab driver, better known as "New York Hack" has a book coming out August 28th. It can be pre-orderd at Random House or Amazon.

Driving a taxi takes a certain amount of guts. Being a lady cabbie in New York City must take it all and then some. I have enjoyed her blog and I am looking forward to her book.

Big Yellow Orange Taxi

2007-05-08T00:16:00.000-07:00

While my taxi was in for its yearly inspection I had the fun of driving what looked like a giant Reese's bar. Of course I had to buy one...it was yummy.

This morning I asked my passenger where she was going on her trip with her two very large bags. She was going up to Vancouver, Canada to visit her daughter. Her daughter had been shot in the leg. When I asked how that had happened, she said it all began when her daughter had first gotten married.

Her daughter was never alone with her new husband because her father-in-law moved in with them. When her daughter filed for divorce it wasn't her husband who was upset, it was the father-in-law. He came to her begging that she not leave 'him' all the while pointing a gun at her. She pushed the gun down, it went off hitting her leg, but she still managed to flee out of the house.

The police found a note stating that the 75 year old was going to shoot her, his son, and my taxi passenger too.

For some good news:
One of my blogroll buddies, Shavar, has a DVD that was just released. Picking up a copy of “Lord Help Us” is on my to do list.

Driver of the Year

2007-05-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

My first fare of the day took me up to San Francisco. After I let her out on 4th at Market Street, out came my camera. On this day the traffic was barely moving so I had many opportunities to take photos.

My second trip of the day started in Saratoga and ended at the San José airport. Somehow our conversation during the trip wound up on the subject of awards. The customer told me that he had a whole wall of plaques, but he was receiving one in June that he was really excited about. He then fell silent.

After a few minutes I said, "I'll tell you about my award if you tell me about yours." He said, "Oh sorry, I am getting something from the Pope." He proceeded to tell me most of the awesome details, and then asked about my award.

His was a tuff act to follow, but I let him know that he was riding with the taxi driver of the year for the state of California. He congratulated me, and I him.

I bet his award won't have a clock and say Made in China on the back - or will it?

Not Much Stress

2007-05-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Will Sullivan, a reporter with US News & World Report working on a cover story for the magazine about traffic congestion, interviewed me about traffic and driving a cab in San José. His story, Road Warriors, is featured in the current issue. No, my interview was not part of his final story.

Yes, traffic can be bad here in the South Bay, but I think we know how to adjust to it. We all know traffic will be slow on 280/680, 101, 237, and 17/880 in the morning, and then again for the ride back home. We just deal with it.

Mr. Sullivan wanted to know if I got irritated when stuck in a long wait. I told him, "No, not really, only when I thought my passenger might miss a flight or some other appointment."

I do not mind the time on the road. Being held captive is not all that bad. There is no obligation to do anything but sit. I turn the radio to my favorite talk show or music. I have an iPod for heaven's sake! (plugs into the radio) It is a good time to do some uninterrupted thinking, and planing. Driving does not stress me all that much.

Anyway, my boring view of traffic congestion was left on the cutting room floor.

You Better Think

2007-04-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

John Wilder, over at Wilder By Far, tagged Taxi Vignettes with:

I'm not sure why I make Mr. Wilder ponder, but I guess any ponder is a good ponder.

My choices are . . .

Back Home Again

The Journey

CABLOG

The Pure Investor Blog

TUFFENUF

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

I was going to add: Web Strategy by Jeremiah as he is on my Blogroll, but I thought he might object. Look anyway.

All-Purpose Glop

2007-04-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

I thought the taxi was all fixed. But nooo. With every start of the meter the new fuse would blow. The meter bone is connected to the toplight bone - Ah-ha! The taxi toplight was the problem. So they got rid of the wire to the light and so far, so good. I now have taillights.

But, I now have rain water dripping into the cab. It will be back to the cab yard for some 'all-purpose keep the rain out glop' under the toplight.

Or, I could trade it in for a donkey.

I may have my problems, but poor Rodney has it bad.

A Little Bitty Fuse Let Me Down

2007-04-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

When I have a pickup at SFO, being an out-of-town taxi, I make sure to follow all the rules. I never speed. The Hawaiian Air flight was landing early, but I was sure that I would be there in time.

I was in the left lane staying out of the way of the San Francisco cabbies, as they were coming into the airport in a blur. I noticed the Black & White parked on the side, watching us flow in. Suddenly he was behind me with his bright red lights twirling in my rear view.

What? Me? Was I impeding traffic with my poky driving? Did he see the race car stickers covering the cab. Would my violation read, 'Impersonating a Taxi' or something?

I sat there waiting, both hands on the top of the steering wheel, as the officer came up to my window. He was wearing blue jeans and a sweatshirt. Holding up his badge, "I'm a police officer." Somehow I gathered that when I saw the red light focused on me. He asked that I bring 'the paper work' back to his car. I dug out the registration, insurance card, business licence, and my drivers licence; then placed it all on the hood of his cruiser. And then I gave him a "Well?" look.

Pointing to the rear of the taxi he told me that the taillights were out. He called in my CDL, just to make sure I wasn't on the wanted list, as he was writing up a ticket. It was only a fix-it ticket and because I lease the cab, I would not have to sign for it or be responsible.

As we stood there, waiting to see if I came back clear on system computers, the officer gave me tips on getting my passenger back to San Jose safely. Micheal, the officer and by then almost a long time acquaintance, told me to tap the breaks if another vehicle came to close or warn other drivers by using the emergency flashers. Finally, officer Micheal let me get back to work.

It took just over an hour of nervous driving to get my fare home but I made it down 101, 85 and in to Los Gatos without being spotted by the CHP or local PD. I was relieved to park the cab for the night without another close encounters of the cop kind.

TAXI 911

2007-04-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

I was off duty, not logged on to the computer, when my phone rang. "Hello, this is Joann." It was the taxi dispatcher, "This is the dispatcher, are you sending me a code?" I was trying to figure out what he was asking me when one of the owners came on the line, "Are you alright, is there a problem?" I told him that I was on my way to Target to buy socks. Once he was sure that I was truly safe, he told me that the dispatcher's computer was flashing red indicating that I was in trouble. I would have to bring the cab in ASAP. So much for the socks.

At the cab yard all it took was a few minutes to located the problem. Somehow a couple of tangled wires had caused the alert.

Easter Taxi

2007-04-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

It is Easter and I have two calls (regular riders) to pick up! One at 11:45am and one at 2pm. No, they are not going to Churches or Easter Egg Hunts. Both are airport runs. What is wrong with these people? Ha-Ha!

Happy Easter, to you all.

Champ Car Grand Prix

2007-04-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

Third Annual

It is that time of year again for Champ Car. Actually the San Jose Grand Prix isn't until July 27th, but they like to get the word out early.

Year One

Year Two- with Sebastien Bourdais

technorati-tag

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS

Grand Prix

Champ Car

Cheap Chick Cheep...

2007-03-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

The lady got in the cab. The nanny stood on the curb holding the little boy. His tears were just about to spill down his sad face. I have always loved little cars (I still have a shoebox full of Matchbox) and I usually have a toy in the taxi somewhere. That day I lost my Happy Meal robot.

Will the chick stay with me until Easter? When poked in the midsection it will chirp. If I felt the customer was too cheap and my tip wasn't big enough I could give it a squeeze. Cheep-Cheep-Cheep!

Not So E-Z

2007-03-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

David Louie interviewing inventor Ted Hoff

I received a request to cover an event at The Tech Museum for the History Channel and I was running late getting back into San José from San Francisco airport. When I did make it back there were no parking places left and it was only 11am. It is as though San José has been completely taken over with NCAA Tournament (March Madness) fans.

I gave up looking; took a chance and parked in the loading dock at The Tech. I put a big sign on the dash saying THE TECH and hoped my Yellow Cab would have an official there on business look.

Once inside The Tech I signed in on the Press Sheet just under David Louie of ABC-7 News. It said Joann Landers Metroblogging San José.

Almost two hours later I left the event with some good blog material and a T-Shirt.

Later that night at San Jose International Airport one of the airport cops asked me to take a man over to 1st Street so that he could find a motel. The man was Hispanic (spoke little English) and from Texas. If he would have just gone out to the taxi stand and gotten into any cab chances are good that he may not have received fair treatment.

I reminded the airport cop about March Madness and that there might not be any room available. After a few phone calls, the last room on 1st Street was found at the E-Z8 Motel.

I got $6.50 for my good deed, and Brownie Points from a cop.

It is Really Something

2007-03-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

It was only 4:15am so I had the radio on low. A little soft jazz and then some news. The news guy was warning about identity theft and the use of photocopiers. I mused mostly to myself, "... copy machines remember your information." The fare in the backseat came back with, "Yea, the coffee machine in the office programs single selections of coffee, it is really something. "All I could do was to agree that, "Yes, technology is something." After I dropped the guy at the airport, I drove home and went to sleep. I went back on the road when copy didn't sound like coffee.

Sometimes I miss low-tech.

Photocopiers Seen as Next Identity-Theft Weak Point

House on the Hill Update

2007-03-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

The the Flintstones House, near 280, is now Squash-Orange!!!

Was WHITE

Woz That?

2007-03-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

This afternoon my fare went up into the hills of Los Gatos. He said that he had a famous neighbor, and pointed out the home of Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak.

I Didn't Want to Do It

2007-03-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

I go in to the the cab yard once a week to pay my gate. Today I also needed to pick up some paperwork because one of my permits and a business licence will expire soon. This means getting a copy of my last up to date drug test and other signed forms.

I hate this part of the job. I don't like forms and tests. Not to mention the cost and the drive across the valley. The whole thing makes me grumpy.

The way the new cab yard is set up, I generally don't get to see all the people in the office. Today on my out with the forms I passed by, Robin, the woman at the front desk. She said, "Hi" to me and asked if I had seen her baby? Baby? I knew it hadn't been that long since I had been in that part of the building. Baby turned out to be a cute little doggie named Ronnie. I didn't want to do it but that got to me, and I left smiling after all.

The Police are Back!

2007-03-06T06:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Taxi Vignettes and Metroblogging San José, of which I am an author I was able to snag a press pass for the Cinequest Film Festival in San José.

Saturday, March 3rd: The Press Conference at Hotel Montgomery.

One of my first challenges was to find parking. Not an easy task with so many people in town for the Film Festival, and who knew there was a cheerleader's convention or competition going on too.

I was about to think that I would have to park way out of town and hike in, or good grief call a cab, when I saw a City of San José lot that was still open. I pulled the ticket and drove around looking for a nice big spot. Ha! what a joke, there were no big spots left. Every little spot had some little car waiting with blinker on to pull in as soon as another little car pulled out.

I needed to check-in to the Press Conference by 1:00pm and time was passing quickly. Giving up, I was sitting by the exit gate when the lot supervisor came up to my taxi. He had been observing my hopeless attempts on a security camera. He walked in front of the cab gesturing for me to follow him. He pushed aside two sawhorse barricades and pointed to a nice big super size space. Hooray for a thoughtful city worker.

Once at the Hotel with just a flash of my pass, I was ushered upstairs to a small hospitality room. I was thankful for a paper cup of coffee and chance to sit down. I noticed a side shelf with at least six PCs for us, the press, to use. I sat looking at one wondering how to turn it on. I have a Mac at home, so I was lost. A Cinequest crew member came to my rescue. I was getting the hang of it when we were asked down to the Western Pacific room.

The press in San José seem to move as though they were bundled together with a rubber band like a bunch of celery. The bunch moved to the right of the room and sat. A few of the men broke away to man the cameras on tripods. The men that make up the press have on the perfect jacket, hair a bit too long, and hold up their camera to show that it is bigger than the others. The women of the press seem to be there more to impress the subject, rather than to cover the story. One woman reporter, when questioning Stewart Copeland, drummer of "The Police", would pop up to her feet. Mr.Copeland must have found this as irritating as I, because he told her that she could please stop. The woman reporter next to her made a big production of pushing her hair back and smiling.

I feel that I asked the most important question of Mr. Copeland. While I was seated, I asked why 'The Police" were not playing in San José, and, if they still might consider it? Stewart seemed to appreciate my question, saying that they would look in to it. Holding my pen to my little notebook, and leaving my hair alone, I asked if we could announce. Mr. Copeland, "let us book it first." The room filled with cheers.

I put up my post...the next morning I opened up the newspaper and not one story on the press conference, in the local paper, by the local press? Were they only there for the paper cup of coffee and the cantaloupe wedges?

Yesterday a lady in the taxi said that when her middle school age daughter saw "The Police" on the Grammy Awards ceremony she had said, "Mom that band is awful!"

Cinequest the Press Conference

Photos of Press Conference

technorati-tag
Stewart Copeland

What is the Holdup?

2007-03-01T22:26:00.000-08:00

After I dropped my fare at SFO this morning all I wanted was to get back to San José as fast as I could. I had errands to run, a house to tidy up, and a nap to take. But, on the last ramp away from the International Terminal all traffic came to a stop. I could see that a motorcycle cop was holding us there. People were getting out of their cars to look around, so I figured I might as well shut the cab off.

I was thinking about taking my nap right there when I spotted several big black SUVs and a long black Limo. They were down on the ramp leading to northbound 101.

I found out later that it may have been Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who messed with my nap.

A Dark and Stormy Morning

2007-03-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

All that kept it from being a dark and stormy morning were the flashes of lightening. The mountains surrounding San José were topped with snow. We rarely get snow down on the valley floor, and then its only a tablespoon full, but I still had to drive slowly and keep a look out for Black Ice up on 280. It can be especially dangerous on bridges. Even though we don't get really severe weather it still makes driving cab more stressful.

It was dark on the street up in Los Gatos, and I could just barely make out the man standing on the front porch. Of course the rain was coming down in buckets. I offered to bring up my umbrella, but he said no thanks. He brought his bags down the steps and tossed them into the back of my van and hopped in the back seat.

I knew that my customer was Al Everest. He had just joined head coach Mike Nolan’s coaching staff as the special teams coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. Mr. Everest needed to get back to New Orleans before moving his family out to California, so we were headed to the San José airport.

He told me that his dad, Andy, had been an assistant coach at Stanford back in the late 50's early 60's, and that they had lived in Palo Alto, but things had changed a lot in the Bay Area. I gave him as much information as I could about where they might like to live, taking into consideration school districts and commute time to and from the 49ers training camp in Santa Clara etc.

I asked him what his feeling were about the possibility that the 49ers might move their stadium to the Great America parking lot near the training camp if *Jed York can get it built. He seemed enthusiastic about it, but mostly he seemed excited to be back in Northern California and happy for the chance to be working with the team. At the airport he thanked me for the safe ride and I gave him my card.

Al Everest

*Jed York a young, 25-year old, member of the family that owns the 49ers is working hard to make the new stadium a reality, but there are some that don't seem to care for him. Dump York

technorati-tags Al Everest
San Francisco 49ers
Jed York

Life

2007-02-22T17:47:00.000-08:00

The man in the back of the cab asked me, "If you were on a deserted island and you could have only one album, what would you choose?" "Well, I like Miles Davis, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ottmar Liebert, Pavarotti, Brook Benton, and...so many more." I told him it would be difficult.

He listed some of his favorite music and he then began telling me about how he enjoyed some of the songs that had been his father's favorites. Frank Sinatra was one his dad would play over and over, and now he did too. My customer's thoughts began to drift to just memories of growing up and how his life had been with his father. Some good; some just sad. As we were pulling up to United Airlines at SFO, he blurted out, "My dad is dying."

After he paid me, I thanked him adding, "Just try to remember the good times." I drove away feeling gloomy sighing, "Life."

The next couple in the cab had big bags and a big Golden Retriever. They asked if I could get them to a hospital in Walnut Creek. Whoa! Walnut Creek was a good 50-miles away. I thought, "Good trip, and long enough to forget about the last trip."

The gentleman's phone rang, he talked for awhile, and then asked me how much longer it would take. After he hung up, I heard him tell his wife, "...getting to 5 centimeters." He told me that their first grandchild was about to come into the world.

On my way back to San José, I sighed, "Ah, Life."

OMG its ME

2007-02-18T00:04:00.000-08:00

TAXI

Why

Launch

2007-02-14T16:10:00.000-08:00

Today was the official launching of, drum roll please... Metroblogging San José.
For me it will be less about driving my taxi, and more about what's going on in San José and the cities that makeup Silicon Valley.

San José is the 53rd for Metroblogging, in this family of of city focused blogs. I'm sure there is one near you. Take a look see.

How Sweet it Is.

2007-02-14T08:03:00.000-08:00

Space Oddity/Different World (Story of Lust)

2007-02-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

As I sat in the early morning dark waiting for a call, I was listing to the news on KCBS. I like to hear the traffic reports and catch up on the sports scores from the previous day. I also like to know the weather report for the next few days. Many taxi fares seem to think my taxi is an information booth. They will ask me current event, and weather questions, not just for the Silicon Valley, but for everywhere from San Jose to New York City.

My first fare of the day was getting into the backseat just as an old news story, regarding the astronaut love triangle, was finishing up for the hundredth time.

I asked if it would be to the airport, and then I mumbled something about the woman astronaut's arrest. The customer, "What?" I said, "Boy, she sure lost it." Again the customer, "What?" I was really surprised to hear this guy was so out of the news loop. With my best descriptive prose he got the dirty details.

He was still in contact with an old high school friend who was now an astronaut. He was relived to find that she was not one of the players in this sorted tale.