August 27th, 2008
“Son of a bitch, you’re running up the meter!”22 comments
August 20th, 2008
"Hey bro, remember me? You wrote that story about me in the paper."3 comments
August 13th, 2008
“It’s the Californians, man, the Californians are the worst.”14 comments
August 6th, 2008
The middle-aged man I picked up at Vendetta is in a hyperactively verbose lather ...0 comments
July 23rd, 2008
When I step into the obese old woman's apartment5 comments
July 16th, 2008
The obese old woman at Fred Meyer has a bad hip and a wheelchair...8 comments
July 9th, 2008
“...I need to take a shower first and wash all of this blood off.”6 comments
July 2nd, 2008
“So I’ve got these two women in the back of my cab who just refuse to get out...”8 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
[February 6th, 2008]
“Why does the meter say six dollars?”
“I’ve been waiting out here for 10 minutes.”
“Why do you do this to me?” The drunk East African guy is genuinely offended.
“It’s 3 am on a Saturday night. You’re lucky I didn’t take off.”
“But I am your Muslim brother!”
“I’m not Muslim, and waiting for you costs me money. I started the meter after three minutes, which is a reasonable amount of time, and all that does is keep me from losing even more money than if I hadn’t turned it on.”
“If you aren’t Muslim, then why all this?” He waves his hand in front of his face, and I realize that my winter look of scarf, skullie and long beard fits the
stereotypical Islamic aesthetic. Plus the fact that, you know, I’m a cab driver.
I want to get the guy home as quickly as possible, so I decide to just agree with him. As I pull out, I tell him that I am, in fact, a Muslim.
“My Muslim brother! I will never cheat you! You are wise to be careful telling me, it can be dangerous for us.”
He tells me about how Muslims need to stick together, and when we arrive he asks for a discount. He instead gets a lecture about how good Muslims don’t get shitfaced and act like jerks to their drivers. He gives me a tip and a kiss on the cheek.
I don’t even feel guilty as I drive away.
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RECENT COMMENTS ON ““Why does the meter say six dollars?””
I too got mistaken for muslim on a few occasions when growing my beard. I think the Bryn Jones music added to the confusion. - your friend in NYC.
If Islam means submission to the will of God, and if God wishes us to treat others with kindness and compassion, yet speak the truth clearly to them, you are certainly a Muslim, NC. Me too.
I'm going to have to call "no" on the Islam thing. As a human, I respect people and their religion. As a female...I'm just not there with you but I respect you. Although as an art and histor...
