What Cabs Are For

A few years ago I had a passenger in my cab, a middle-aged man from somewhere in the Midwest, who requested that I simply drive him across the Brooklyn Bridge, turn around, and drive him back to Manhattan. As we reached mid-span heading into Brooklyn, he moved to the right side of the compartment and searched the horizon through the window. "Is that the Statue of Liberty?" he asked. "It is," I replied, "although it looks kind of small from here." It turned out this was the first time he'd been to New York City and he had only a few hours to be a tourist. "I just wanted to be able to say that I'd seen it," he said. http://cabsareforkissing.blogspot.com

Love it! Being a suburban girl I didn't take taxis until I moved to New York at 22. My favorite story involves a hooker and her pimp, the driver, who rescued me when I was lost on New Year's Eve and took me home for free.

This is just wonderful. I wanted more!

"Ice was a luxurious commodity in his part of Sudan ". I'm an African : snow never came up in our conversation because we don't have it, we don't understand it then it's a luxurious commodity in Sudan ?

One of the first cab rides I took in the city was from mid-town down to the village. It was back in the mid 80's, and I'd been at a wine tasting so I don't remember the route, but it was quite the wild ride, traffic laws in general be damned. Jokingly, I asked the driver where he'd learned to drive, and he responded, "The Santa Monica Freeway."

Cab drivers were usually out-going and talkative. I'm not, but it was impossible not to chat with someone who was determined to know your origins, your sport teams and your views on women. There was no glass partisan, so he would be looking back over his shoulder, grinning. And I don't think it was solely driven by pursuing a tip. Most of them enjoyed meeting others.

I remember taking cabs with my mother. The big treat was when we got a Checker cab. I loved those jump seats!

What a lovely, evocative piece. The last line made me laugh out loud.

Been taking cabs for years but have yet to have a driver who was a former taxidermist.

I take a cab every day. No apps or car services. Thank you yellow cabbies. Xo