After dropping off at the airport, I went to stage in the 'pit' and after some twenty minutes moved up to the loading area. I pulled up and picked up a single male passenger with a lone duffel bag as his luggage. He got in, I greeted him and he told me his destination was 9500 W. Sahara (which is frickin far - 6 miles north x 9 miles west), so I'm kind of stoked cuz the rides about $40 or so plus then I can zone into the 380 zone which sometimes produces nice rides back to the strip/airport.
I tell him, that most drivers would probably take the 215 (which is kind of roundabout and $15 more) but I think the surface streets are the most direct. So I plan on going West on Tropicana, North on Durango, and then West up Sahara. So we head out and he tells me he's from Pierre, South Dakota (capital city), and he's here to visit his parents, his father's about to die and in the hospital and his mother's been having a hard time with it all. He goes on about how he hates everyone in his hometown, how he's not part of the 'clique' blah blah blah... but I can get along with almost everyone and can converse with most and we carry on some small talk. As we go along Tropicana he starts changing his attitude a bit....
WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
We're going to West Sahara. I'm going up to Durango and then over to Sahara.
You're trying to rip me off like this Korean Nip that drove me last time.
Huh?
----so we continue and then turn right on Durango-- the meter reads like $26---
THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT, WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE? YOU'RE FUCKING TAKING ME IN CIRCLES.
Dude I'm taking you straight there. What's your problem, look at the map.
I DON'T NEED TO LOOK AT THE MAP. I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE ARE, I TOLD YOU WHERE I WANTED TO GO AND YOU'RE TAKING ME ALL OVER THE PLACE. THIS IS BULLSHIT!!!
Look, are you FUCKING CRAZY? This is the most direct way, are you saying I'm trying to cheat you? I'll call the cops for you then, and you can complain to them.
WHY ARE YOU GOING TO CALL THE COPS? YOU WANT TO GET ME ARRESTED?
No. Why would they arrest you? If you're unhappy you can talk to them about how I'm driving and the route I'm taking you.
THIS IS BULLSHIT, MY DAD'S DYING I'M HERE TO SEE HIM DIE I'M A 100% DISABLED VIETNAM VETERAN JUST TAKE ME THERE ASSHOLE.
Look, you're the fucking asshole giving me shit about this ride, you're destination is a long fucking ways from the airport dude, what the fuck???? Are you fucking crazy?
THE GOVERNMENT THINKS I'M CRAZY.
Well, they're right. Dude. Do you want me to let you out right here, I don't care I'll eat the $26 bucks.
---at this point, I think I might of let the situation get of hand and am worried he has some type of weapon for killing in his bag---
LET ME OUT I'LL WALK THE REST OF THE WAY, I WAS IN THE ARMY. FUCK THIS.
okay fine, i'm not letting you out. If you're willing to walk I won't pull over, dude just believe me when i say this is the most direct route. I don't know what you're problem is but you are nuts. And by the way my dad was in the Marines.
NO HE WAS IN THE ARMY.
huh?
----so we get to Sahara and he calms down cuz he starts to recognize the area----
YEAH THIS LOOKS RIGHT. OKAY YOU'RE CLOSE NOW.
man I told you, what the fuck? DUDE.
YEAH YEAH I DONT KNOW.
hey friend, i definitely will remember this ride. This is the first time I ever sweared at my passenger.
----we pull up to the housing complex, he's chill now.. i'm chill now - it's practically a love fest - the fare is $35, he gives me a $50 and asks for $10 back, I tell him pinch his mother's ass for me, and then he's off. I quickly pick up a ride around the corner headed back to the Rio and it's time to keep on rolling.
(It's hard to think back and replay the entire conversation... and I may be downplaying his rage and definitely left out tons of dialog between us, but it did end friendly and it was all good - rides like this make me want to have some type of recording device so you guys can listen to the insanity I sometimes come across as a Las Vegas Taxi Driver.)
6/25/08
FOTD XXVI - Nineteen Seizures
A few weeks back I took a radiocall in Summerlin and picked up Ilona. She's eighty years old plus with a hunched back, walks very slow and still very independent. (She wouldn't allow me to help her get in the car or what not, she said pretty sternly "If I need help I will ask") The first trip was just a ride around the corner to the grocery store, upon arrival I told her the fare was $6.50 and she told me that I was to wait for her to get back... anyways, after she was done shopping she came out I took her home and the fare was like $26 due to the wait time. On the first trip we spoke a little bit and she told me that so far this year shes had sixteen seizures and that if God wanted to take her He would.
She also told me a little bit about her history. She moved to the USA back in the late 40's with her husband, both from Budapest, Hungary. They moved to Las Vegas in 1990. Her husband passed away in 2000 and since then she's been all alone. They didn't have any children and she doesn't have any relatives in the states or friends, other than her neighbors.
I could really go on and on but it would amount to endless pages of ramblings that would lead the few readers I have to conclude that I'm meth'd out. One thing she strongly believes in is that constipation leads to death. Probably some truth to that, she did blame Tim Russert's death to constipation. After the first ride I gave her my number which she used a few days later to set up a second pick up the following week.
Still not convinced that she would make a good 'personal', on the day of our appointment, I was waiting in her neighborhood when I took another call some fifteen minutes before our appt. It was a good ride, and when I was done I was some two hours late for the pick up. On that trip I took her to two stores and to the gas company to pay her bill (she prepays three months). During this trip I decided to go into the store and help her grab shit off the shelves and what not (partly to speed up the wait time, but to also help her). This trip was ~$65 or so. Even though I was two hours late, she was glad I came - however she didn't feel to good by the end of the trip due to the heat.
blah blah blah, last week she scheduled a pick up at 8am for this past Monday. Anyways I showed up on time and took her to three stores and to pay her triple A home insurance bill. The trip took nearly three hours with a final meter of $107.30 - my second >$100+ trip. She went on to say that she's now had nineteen seizures but she's starting to feel better. I went through the whole bit about how maybe she should sell her house and take the money and check into senior care facility but she doesn't want any of that.
It's loco though, this frail (80 lb) old lady, all hunched over, moving slowly, just grinding out her life and doing it to it. It feels weird having her say, "Jeremy, thank God for you."
WTF ZOMG
She also told me a little bit about her history. She moved to the USA back in the late 40's with her husband, both from Budapest, Hungary. They moved to Las Vegas in 1990. Her husband passed away in 2000 and since then she's been all alone. They didn't have any children and she doesn't have any relatives in the states or friends, other than her neighbors.
I could really go on and on but it would amount to endless pages of ramblings that would lead the few readers I have to conclude that I'm meth'd out. One thing she strongly believes in is that constipation leads to death. Probably some truth to that, she did blame Tim Russert's death to constipation. After the first ride I gave her my number which she used a few days later to set up a second pick up the following week.
Still not convinced that she would make a good 'personal', on the day of our appointment, I was waiting in her neighborhood when I took another call some fifteen minutes before our appt. It was a good ride, and when I was done I was some two hours late for the pick up. On that trip I took her to two stores and to the gas company to pay her bill (she prepays three months). During this trip I decided to go into the store and help her grab shit off the shelves and what not (partly to speed up the wait time, but to also help her). This trip was ~$65 or so. Even though I was two hours late, she was glad I came - however she didn't feel to good by the end of the trip due to the heat.
blah blah blah, last week she scheduled a pick up at 8am for this past Monday. Anyways I showed up on time and took her to three stores and to pay her triple A home insurance bill. The trip took nearly three hours with a final meter of $107.30 - my second >$100+ trip. She went on to say that she's now had nineteen seizures but she's starting to feel better. I went through the whole bit about how maybe she should sell her house and take the money and check into senior care facility but she doesn't want any of that.
It's loco though, this frail (80 lb) old lady, all hunched over, moving slowly, just grinding out her life and doing it to it. It feels weird having her say, "Jeremy, thank God for you."
WTF ZOMG
6/16/08
FOTD XXV - You're the Man David!
A few Sunday's ago I picked up a group of guys at the Venetian. It was near 7am and two were pretty sober, but the third was drunk off his ass. The drunk guy ended up sitting behind me out of sight. The gave me an address down southeast LV, so we take the freeway out there. The drunk guy spits or something and is real loud and somewhat belligerent, yelling at cars waiting next to us - that is not really a problem however the spitting most definitely was. As we pull on to the freeway, I tell him point-blank, if I hear you spitting again, I'm going to pull over and let the three of you out of the cab.
After that, he finds a cup and he uses that and it's fine with me. Long story short, a few days later, I pick up one of the sober guys at the house I dropped em off at. They are in town for the WSOP and the cash games around town, and I drop him (David) off at the Venetian, he asks for my number and I give it to him. They end up using it three times so far for rides to the Rio/Bellagio/Venetian.
The second time they called, the drunk guy (Bill) comes along. It turns out Bill is a 4-8 limit grinder while the others play 5-10 NL and are true young professional poker players. Giving these guys a ride and talking poker with em, kind of inspired me to go play that tourney on Friday @ Binions.
Back to today, David gives me a call saying he needs a ride to the airport. I'm 15+ miles away but am always ready to go pick up a 'personal'. We go to the airport, I drop him off at Delta, I take a radio call south of the airport, I drop off near UNLV and take another radio call who's destination is downtown at the Greyhound Bus Terminal. Five minutes into that ride, I hear this crazy ass ring tone (which surprised me cuz my passenger was an older black woman).. the ring tone is like
pick up this phone now
pick up this damn phone now
it's in a strange cartoon voice, so anyways I was like, maam, you have a crazy ring tone, and she says no that's not mine, there's a phone sitting back here. So I answer it, "this is the taxi driver", and it ends up being David. He ended up taking a cab from the airport back to his house to look for the phone, we talk and I agree to meet him back at the airport in 30 minutes.
It takes longer than I think to drop off this lady (40 minutes) and then head back to the airport from downtown. What was a drive through drop off is now bumper to bumper traffic at the airport, and I'm kind of worried that he'll miss his flight.
Anyways, while stuck in the airport traffic, I can see him up waiting by Delta, so I get out and yell out his name and get his attention so he can come over instead of waiting for me to get up by his gate. On the way I already decided that if he offered me $20 or $40 for bringing it back, I would politely decline, and say it was my pleasure / my fault that I didn't check the cab after he exited.
He comes up grabs the phone, tells me I came through in the clutch and has a $100 bill in his hand as he shakes my hand and takes off. Traffic clears somewhat and I'm able to drive past him, and as I do I yell out
"YOU'RE THE MAN DAVID"
"DAVID YOU'RE THE MAN"
Him and his crew are in town for a month more, so I look forward to other rides from them all.
GG
After that, he finds a cup and he uses that and it's fine with me. Long story short, a few days later, I pick up one of the sober guys at the house I dropped em off at. They are in town for the WSOP and the cash games around town, and I drop him (David) off at the Venetian, he asks for my number and I give it to him. They end up using it three times so far for rides to the Rio/Bellagio/Venetian.
The second time they called, the drunk guy (Bill) comes along. It turns out Bill is a 4-8 limit grinder while the others play 5-10 NL and are true young professional poker players. Giving these guys a ride and talking poker with em, kind of inspired me to go play that tourney on Friday @ Binions.
Back to today, David gives me a call saying he needs a ride to the airport. I'm 15+ miles away but am always ready to go pick up a 'personal'. We go to the airport, I drop him off at Delta, I take a radio call south of the airport, I drop off near UNLV and take another radio call who's destination is downtown at the Greyhound Bus Terminal. Five minutes into that ride, I hear this crazy ass ring tone (which surprised me cuz my passenger was an older black woman).. the ring tone is like
pick up this phone now
pick up this damn phone now
it's in a strange cartoon voice, so anyways I was like, maam, you have a crazy ring tone, and she says no that's not mine, there's a phone sitting back here. So I answer it, "this is the taxi driver", and it ends up being David. He ended up taking a cab from the airport back to his house to look for the phone, we talk and I agree to meet him back at the airport in 30 minutes.
It takes longer than I think to drop off this lady (40 minutes) and then head back to the airport from downtown. What was a drive through drop off is now bumper to bumper traffic at the airport, and I'm kind of worried that he'll miss his flight.
Anyways, while stuck in the airport traffic, I can see him up waiting by Delta, so I get out and yell out his name and get his attention so he can come over instead of waiting for me to get up by his gate. On the way I already decided that if he offered me $20 or $40 for bringing it back, I would politely decline, and say it was my pleasure / my fault that I didn't check the cab after he exited.
He comes up grabs the phone, tells me I came through in the clutch and has a $100 bill in his hand as he shakes my hand and takes off. Traffic clears somewhat and I'm able to drive past him, and as I do I yell out
"YOU'RE THE MAN DAVID"
"DAVID YOU'RE THE MAN"
Him and his crew are in town for a month more, so I look forward to other rides from them all.
GG
6/15/08
Hot As Hell
Driving around the city today, the temp was over 110 in many different areas. That my friends is hot as hell.
6/14/08
My Day Off
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After a nearly one year hiatus from playing tournament poker I decided to go play a tournament at Binions.
GG ME
6/13/08
A Letter From Ron Paul II
Friday, June 13, 2008
Over the past 17 months you and I delivered a message of freedom, the likes of which American politics has not seen in decades. With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign has come to an end. But the Revolution has only begun.
Today I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty. Please visit our new website and join us: campaignforliberty.com
Over the next few months I will be developing a program, assembling a team, and announcing new and exciting projects. We will have a permanent presence on the American political landscape. That I promise you.
Right now, I need your patience and support. I want the Campaign for Liberty to be a grassroots campaign; so your energy, your creativity, your feedback, and your participation are essential.
Together, we will educate our fellow Americans in freedom, sound money, non-interventionism, and free markets. We will write commentaries and broadcast videos on the news of the day. And I'll work with friends whom I respect to design materials for homeschoolers.
Politically, we will expand the great work of our precinct leader program. We will make our presence felt at every level of government. We will keep an eye on Congress, and lobby against legislation that threatens us. And we will identify and support candidates who champion our great ideas.
"In the final analysis," I wrote in my new book The Revolution: A Manifesto, "the last line of defense in support of freedom and the Constitution consists of the people themselves. If the people want to be free, if they want to lift themselves out from underneath a state apparatus that threatens their liberties, squanders their resources on needless wars, destroys the value of their dollar, and spews forth endless propaganda about how indispensable it is and how lost we would all be without it, there is no force that can stop them."
Our time has come to act on these words.
May future generations look back on our work and say that these were men and women who, in a moment of great crisis, stood up to their politicians, the opinion-makers, and the establishment, and saved their country.
For liberty,
Ron Paul
P.S. Please join me. Go to our website, www.campaignforliberty.com , and become a member of the Campaign for Liberty. Our goal is 100,000 members by September. Can we reach it?
Over the past 17 months you and I delivered a message of freedom, the likes of which American politics has not seen in decades. With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign has come to an end. But the Revolution has only begun.
Today I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty. Please visit our new website and join us: campaignforliberty.com
Over the next few months I will be developing a program, assembling a team, and announcing new and exciting projects. We will have a permanent presence on the American political landscape. That I promise you.
Right now, I need your patience and support. I want the Campaign for Liberty to be a grassroots campaign; so your energy, your creativity, your feedback, and your participation are essential.
Together, we will educate our fellow Americans in freedom, sound money, non-interventionism, and free markets. We will write commentaries and broadcast videos on the news of the day. And I'll work with friends whom I respect to design materials for homeschoolers.
Politically, we will expand the great work of our precinct leader program. We will make our presence felt at every level of government. We will keep an eye on Congress, and lobby against legislation that threatens us. And we will identify and support candidates who champion our great ideas.
"In the final analysis," I wrote in my new book The Revolution: A Manifesto, "the last line of defense in support of freedom and the Constitution consists of the people themselves. If the people want to be free, if they want to lift themselves out from underneath a state apparatus that threatens their liberties, squanders their resources on needless wars, destroys the value of their dollar, and spews forth endless propaganda about how indispensable it is and how lost we would all be without it, there is no force that can stop them."
Our time has come to act on these words.
May future generations look back on our work and say that these were men and women who, in a moment of great crisis, stood up to their politicians, the opinion-makers, and the establishment, and saved their country.
For liberty,
Ron Paul
P.S. Please join me. Go to our website, www.campaignforliberty.com , and become a member of the Campaign for Liberty. Our goal is 100,000 members by September. Can we reach it?
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