Logo
ISSUE #32.25 • NEWS • RIDE-ALONG
[NIGHT CABBIE]

So you're saying you have no money?

Share: | Permalink
Email | Print | Rate It! | 0 comments
Recently in "NIGHT CABBIE"
BY NIGHT CABBIE | nightcabbie at wweek dot com

[April 26th, 2006] "So you're saying you have no money?"

Why am I not surprised? The guy got into the cab from an address in Felony Flats and talked full-tilt nonstop nonsensically until we got to the Gold Coin Lounge on 82nd. Now he's peering through a wallet that, were it in an old Warner Bros. cartoon, would be portrayed with small moths flying up, out and away. He calls his girlfriend, who is supposedly meeting him here, to see if she'll have money for the cab. We just need to wait five minutes, he swears.

Ten minutes pass as the meter runs. He calls her again; now, apparently, she's not going to be there for half an hour.

I put on my best tough cabbie face and start The Discussion about my getting paid. I politely suggest that if the gentleman is such a regular at this bar as he proclaimed to be, beloved by all, that he go in there and get the fare from someone. He hems and haws.

He keeps going through the wallet as though something of value might suddenly materialize, when he hits upon the idea of offering me two gift cards for Shucks Auto Parts that he has rattling around in there. No ID, no debit/credit cards, no cash, but he's got these. I call the number on the back of them; together they are worth $18, the fare is $16, so I accept.

He's lucky I'm a girl who changes her own oil and spark plugs, that's for sure.












icon Story continues below

advertisement

advertisement

Rate This Story
5 average/1 vote

 
read all 0 comments | add your comment
 

RECENT COMMENTS ON “So you're saying you have no money?”

 
 
 





Recently in Willamette Week
December 31st 1969Washington State | The Canada of Oregon has it all—a Stonehenge replica, a longboarder's concrete wet dream and dark, damp underground lava caves. Vive les rocks.
December 31st 1969Oregon's Outer Edges | Crater Lake. Hell's Canyon. Wallowa and Steens mountain ranges. Hell, yeah.
December 31st 1969Central Oregon/High Desert | No rain, plenty of snow, obsidian flows and great local beer. The folks from the real eastside know how to unbend outside.
December 31st 1969Great Cascades/Columbia Gorge | With plenty of room to roam—and hot springs for your weary feet—it's the place to ramble and relax for the weekend.
December 31st 1969Willamette Valley | Monks, tracks, tubing and wine make the fertile strip a virile place to play.
December 31st 1969Stumptown | Tons of public parks, an extinct volcano and nude beach volleyball to keep you jolly. Get out and collect those merit badges, without leaving the city.
December 31st 1969The Coast | The beaches are public. You own them. Go play—hike in the old-growth forests.
December 31st 1969Cycle Tour 101: Your on-bike guide to Highway 101 | To ride the greatest bike route in Oregon, you need to get out of Portland.
December 31st 1969Doggin' It | What happens when a Portland running club jogs with pooches from the pound?
December 31st 1969Over the Edge | Sam Drevo will paddle yr ass.