Tuesday, January 09, 2007

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Last night was the first working night of the year for me and it was pretty quite. The only thing worth writing, is about this blind regular rider who lives in North Cleveland Park and also was my first fare of the year. I feel sorry for this dude because everything bad you can imagine happened to this poor fellow. He is blind, barley hears, difficulty walking, over weight and smells kind of bad. The only thing he got going for himself is he is loaded with cash.

I drove him to the Capital Grille on 6th and Pennsylvania avenue where the Washington lobbyists, power brokers, wanna be power brokers and chicks who hunt for men with power hang out. This blind man always annoys the shit out of me but I am nice to him because I feel sorry for his ass, every fucken block he asks the "Where are we now?" question! It's like:

HIM: Where are we now?

ME: 15th and Pennsylvania!

HIM: Where are we now?

ME: 14th and Pennsylvania!

HIM: How about now?

ME: 13th and Pennsylvania!

HIM: And now where are we?

ME: We are still stopped at the light on 13th and Pennsylvania Sir!

It's a fifteen minutes ride but it always feel like a fifteen hour torture.

I hope the rest of the year goes well.

Don't forget the homeless,

Mad Cabbie.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

He sounds like my kids!

John said...

I think we are all having a shitty start to the new year.
I think we have all gota hang loose for a while. Things could be much worse.

Anonymous said...

No, he sounds like my WIFE!!!

Anonymous said...

Too funny.

You're probably the highlight of his day...bless you.

june in florida said...

I dont believe it, not one bloody word about your vacation. We patiently wait for you to come back, get a little rest and then tell us all or most of it anyway.We are your faithful readers, come on Mad.Still luv yuh anyhow,lol.

Anonymous said...

hey, mad....you always say "don't forget the homeless." what do you think is the best thing we can do for them?

peggy's mom

Claire said...

Cabbie, You're one in a million! You have a good heart. Try to stand it as much as you can. You are that poor man's eyes and ears. Sure he's annoying but he's teaching you compassion and you are probably one of the few true friends he's got. He can trust you when you call out the streets, that you are not fooling him! I've always thought the best part of the night is the cab ride!

Peace and hugs,

kilgorsky said...

This was a pretty long vacation for you. I'm going on my winter break this Friday. Can't wait.

Turner Mitteron said...

How come you get all the nice comments?
All I get are drivers telling me what a @#$%^%$# I am.
:-)

gwadzilla said...

it is great that you have compassion for this man....
and yes
there are so many who have it so much worse

that said...

I am pleased with the cards that life has delt me

and the homeless...
how do we help them?

just before new year's
I gave a napsack full of clothing to a guy... he is not really homeless, but he needs a break

took another bag of clothing to give to a panhandler on Mount Pleasant Street
he was there annoying me for money in front of the Peruvian Chicken joint every time I passed in the months prior

so when I walked up with a bag full of clothing (that would fit him, as he is roughly my size, including the size 13 feet) he was not there
so...
with my 5 year old beside me
my dog on a leash
my backpack filled with groceries
I had to balance that bag of clothing and a large pizza on the many block ride home

maybe I should have called a cab?

gwadzilla said...

oh...

the other day I stopped for a homeless guy who looked like was in a situation

seen this guy around for the past two decades

although I am against giving money to the homeless
as I do not feel it helps them
helps them to get a drink
but does not really help them

but
when ever I see this guy I give him a few bucks
will not change his day
maybe it will change his mood

he had just been run off the road by a car
he was not appearing to be hurt
but he was emotional
he was turning on anyone and everyone that tried to help

I regretted stopping short into things
but
at least I was able to get him to calm down
as well as free those who had already stopped to help him

eventually the police showed up along with multiple emergency medical vehicles
I figured that these people were better suited for the task

so I gave the homeless guy a handshake, eye contact, two bucks, a happy new year wish

hope things went well with his dealing with the authorities

MJ06 said...

Glad your back Mad

Mad Cabbie said...

Anonymous #1, Well it is expected from kids, I had my share of "are we there yet?" driving around with my niece!

John, it's all going to be good, we'll going to have a fantastic year buddy!

Anonymous #2, I am glad I am not married to your wife! I do suggest an ear plug for yourself!

Elizabeth, I do hope I was the highlight for that moment and thank you for stopping by, I appreciate your comments.

June I am not going to let you down, I will write about it. The reason I took a trip to Vegas was I hooked up with a chic from this blog family and we met up there and I have to be careful how I tell the story with out offending her! lots of good times though June! and I love you as well.

Peggy's Mom, One of these days I am going to write about why I feel the way I feel about the homeless issue in this country...I have a story to tell but we can all help by donating time and money at the local shelters and kitchens. I have been involved with different shelters in DC and Maryland as a cook, driver and a case worker for the last 11 years.

Claire, thanks for the kind words, trust me when I say I feel sorry for that guy! Some of us think that we got problems but we need to look around and see what's going on with others and start to appreciate what we have! I hope you are doing well babe!

Kil, enjoy your winter break and I hope you get laid a lot! Are you going some where?

Turner, I can't believe I still didn't link up your blog to mine! and I will let my readers judge why some people leave hate comments for Kuntry Cabbie but I do enjoy reading your work! I think most of you Australians are real people...

Gwadzilla, you are my kind of guy/girl(???) I stopped by your blog for a few seconds and it sound interesting but I will read more in the future and thank you for being kind. Happy New Year! By the way I have been to that Chicken Joint on Mt. Plesent street, they're good!

MJ, I am glad you are here also, are you still pimping at golf course or what? I hope winter is not so rough on you guys! take care.

Eryn said...

Mad,
Maybe you should let Beth write the expose? Save yourself the walk through the briars.
~Eryn

Mad Cabbie said...

Detective Eryn, that might be a good idea but I am writing as we speak, I type like one word a minute so I should be finished by Monday. Good work in your investigating tactics Eryn!

Eryn said...

Thank you Mad. ::tips hat and winks::

Peggy said...

That guy just wanted to know where he was. Maybe he likes to picture things in his head and a running commentary is how it's done. Perhaps you could say that you'll let him know when you've reached specific points in the journey. . . ."We're coming up to 13th and Pennsylvania and we're going to hit a red."

Not all blind people are that high maintenance. He must have had his reasons.

When my kids start to do the "are we there yet" stuff, I just say, "Yes" even when we are patently NOT there yet.

Anonymous said...

Mad, I know the dude you are talking about, his family have a shit load of money, I don't want to say but he comes from a well known political dynasty!

Bruke.

Anonymous said...

I agree twoste, either Mad run out of stories for 2007 or he got shot or something, there has been a cabbie been shot in DC last weekend in the news.

Eryn said...

How awful, Anon!
Maybe Mad has just had something come up recently. Maybe he is at Pastor Joe's dad's funeral or something. Or hell, maybe he just doesn't feel like writing.
Such morbid assumptions you have!

On the other hand... I am curious to hear about Beth. Hurry back, Mad.

Mad Cabbie said...

Thanks for watching my back Eryn!

Eryn said...

Anytime my friend. I'm glad you are okay. Sorry you've had such a rough couple of weeks. Take care of yourself.
e.