A fare in McMinnville

[October 12th, 2005] A fare in McMinnville?! I know we will tote someone out there if that's where they must go, but I didn't even know we'd accept a pickup there. I had taken a half hour off to run my rent check out to my landlord's house in Tualatin. I punched computer buttons in a desultory fashion, marking into that zone but not actually expecting an order. Now this.

It's complicated, a delivery pickup with assorted phone numbers, and the first one I call, for directions, is a wrong number. Not a good sign. I call dispatch; they find another wrong number. They say they'll figure it out. I wait. And wait. And wait long enough to have been up I-5 and back to Portland. But now it's sorted, and I head for 99W.

This is the farthest trip I've taken, I think, although Scappoose and Mount Angel ranked up there as well. I see Borders and Barnes & Nobles and Bed, Bath and Beyonds I've never seen before! I count three Targets. Little outposts of weirdness remain though, like a pharmacy that advertises diabetes supplies like they're beer or cigarettes.

Upon arriving, I am given a set of keys to take to someone in the Pearl District. Once there, the elevator won't go to their floor without a key, which means money. The fare is $65, but I can't break the $100 bill she hands me. Her husband only has hundreds as well, so she shrugs it off, "keep it." Why certainly, if you insist.