NIGHT CABBIE As I turn into the Hillsboro hotel, I ask the two guys in the back if there’s going to be a problem with the payment, the first words I’ve said since we turned back from Stars in Beaverton ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE For the first time ever, I flip the panic switch. The guy behind me is yelling and threatening violence as I whip down an empty Sunset Highway at 70 miles an hour, and while the threads have all been ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE It’s raining so hard the water kicked up by my tires makes a slapping sound as it hits my chassis, like waves against the hull of a boat. I’m only doing 60, but it feels like I’m roa ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE I pick up the two teenagers in inner Southeast at 5:30 on a Sunday morning and instantly like them, if only because they remind me so much of myself at the same age: stoned and out way too late witho ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE I’m thankful when I turn on the ignition that I’ve been listening to blues tonight, and not something more manic. The guy in paper hospital pants and flip-flops who I’ve just picked ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE “Can I ask you for some advice on a personal issue?” “Sure man, go ahead.” My questioner seems like a nice enough guy, and he’s tipped well in the past. “Here&rsqu ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE “I’ll meet you at Jerry’s, I’m just gonna fuck this guy real quick so I can get cab fare!” the woman yells across the street, and I’m tempted to just floor it befo ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE The grocery call in outer Southeast has been sitting for a while—it’s the middle of a shift change, it’s a Friday rush hour, and horrible weather has us even busier than normal. As ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE “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 offend ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE My personal car’s broken and the weather’s miserable enough to preclude bike riding, so here I am, sitting in the backseat of a cab and getting the customer’s perspective. My driver& ...   More