July 2nd, 2008
“So I’ve got these two women in the back of my cab who just refuse to get out...”3 comments
June 25th, 2008
“My friend’s getting divorced, and he’s really drunk,” says the bartender...8 comments
June 18th, 2008
There’s nothing like a good Friday night, and I’m referring to the money.3 comments
June 11th, 2008
The old man in the karaoke bar’s parking lot insists that he doesn’t need any help...0 comments
June 4th, 2008
“What’re you up to?” asks my dispatcher.6 comments
May 28th, 2008
The middle-aged guy is working on an oil ship...3 comments
May 21st, 2008
“How you doing tonight, man?”3 comments
May 14th, 2008
As I pull into the back parking lot of Spot 79 on Southeast Foster Road...13 comments
May 7th, 2008
I’ve had this stooped old alcoholic once before.6 comments
April 30th, 2008
When I call out to the Emanuel E.R.’s waiting room for my fare...13 comments
[September 21st, 2005] Ask a cab driver to wait for you with the meter running when it's busy, and they'll get antsy. You make more money rolling than you can on the clock. But when it's slow, that's another matter entirely.
A fleet message is going out on this totally dead evening, asking for a volunteer to earn waiting time for Kaiser. I'm dialing before the message is finished. The dispatcher does his best radio-announcer voice: "Congratulations, you are the first caller!" He tells me to go to Kaiser Interstate lab and run its deliveries out to Kaiser Sunnyside in Clackamas as needed, with our $30-per-hour wait time in effect when I'm not driving.
This is odd, as Kaiser has its own couriers, calling us only when there's overflow. When I get there, I find out what happened. One of the machines they use for testing is down. Normal turnaround time from Sunnyside is two hours. If someone is having a heart attack in the emergency room, two hours is far too long to wait for blood-chemistry results. I'm there to ensure this doesn't happen.
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The first hour, I run out to Clackamas twice. The rest of the time, I'm glad I always bring something to read in the cab. I could go on about the virtue of certain British music magazines over ours-no ads, no coverage of Britney and her ilk, much coverage of fringe artists and genres, thoughtful writing. I read MOJO and Uncut for about three hours, earning $100. Tough old life, this.
Ask a cab driver to wait for you
I drive a cab in Iowa City, and I go through issue after issue of Mojo and Uncut myself on slow nights and waits. I read two US music mags, Magnet and Spin. Spin is an inferior publication, but I feel brand loyalty since they're the ONLY magazine (except Rolling Stone) to write regularly about the Living Things, my current Best Band in the World nominee.
—taxiku