Last night…it was midnight exactly…and I’d just dropped a fare off at an apartment complex.  I logged back in to the zone…and looked towards the street.  A young lady walked in front of my car…the headlights shown on a beautiful young lady…walking with ear buds in her ears with an MP3 Player on.

She did not see the three thugs following her maybe 90 feet behind her, and could not hear them coming up behind her with the music playing in her ears..  I could see them hurrying through my headlights…trying to sneak up on this poor girl.  This was not a prank…this was real…and I was not about to let it all play out.

I pulled out of the complex and drove slowly to observe what was happening.  They’d closed the gap to about 30 feet…and suddenly a white pickup truck passed me and was crawling down the street just behind the girl.

These animals were going to grab this girl…throw her in the back of the pickup truck and the three of them would hold her down until they got her to a secluded place.

I hit the throttle on my cab and sped around the whole scene…got ahead of them all…and pulled over to the right in a bus stop.  The young lady was surprised and wondering what was going on.

Rolling the passenger window down…I honked my horn a couple times and motioned for her to step closer so I could speak with her.  She cautiously stepped closer, and I explained how she was in danger…the thugs were caught up now.

They had her on all three sides and her back was to my car.  One punk leaned down and told me to “Get the fuck out of here old man!”  “You cock blockin old Mother fucker…you better mind your own business!”

I told her to get in the car and I’d give her a ride wherever she was going for no charge…for her own safety.

“Give me your phone number, Bitch!”  The thug said…and another punk spewed…”Let’s go over to my crib and fuck!”  (who could refuse an offer like that.lol)

I put my cab in park…stepped out of the car…and squared off with these three wannabe thugs.  “This old man is your worst nightmare,”  I told them.

They all saw I was serious…the pick up truck did a U-turn and sped off…and the young thugs started backing away from me…shouting their threats…like little cowards.

The young lady was only going about a mile up the street, and we talked while I drove her home.  She was pretty shook up…she realized how close she’d came to having a life changing experience.  She thanked me at least six times in that mile…and said what a better place this world would be if more people would get involved like I just did.  She was 17 years old…had stayed too long at a friends house and her cousin could not come pick her up and give her a ride home like she’d thought earlier in the evening.

Was I in danger?  Naw…lol.  I might be old…but I’d have gone through those punks like a highball train…and I knew it.  They did not want to fight with anyone that was willing to get down in the gutter with them…they just wanted an easy mark…and they thought they’d found one.  They was wrong….

Hacking…it’s not just a job…it’s often an adventure. lol

Tags: Life

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When you are hacking…you meet all kinds of people.  Like people that you provide service to and then they just run off and don’t pay the fare.  Recently, I had a young couple that I had been dispatched to pick up at a Circle K.  It was late, around midnight and it was cold outside for Arizona.

She was like eight months pregnant, and when they got to their destination…they threw the doors open and took off running.  I got out of the car and shouted for them to stop running!  And they actually did stop running and turned around to see what I was doing.  I just yelled after them that I hoped I was some help to them and that I did not want her falling trying to run away and hurt her baby.

I mean, the fare was $11.00, is that worth injuring a baby?

Now, many taxi cabs are vehicles that have been police cars.  So they are equipped with a locking system where you have a master control and  can lock the back doors and people cannot get out until you unlock it for them.

This can be used to your advantage…but it can also put you in a dangerous situation.  If you lock someone in the back seat like that, you might push their hand to do something violent to get away when you get to their destination.

I’ve been burnt…most Hacks have and you have to take it all in stride…it’s just part of the job.  You can’t throw good money after bad, as time is money.  If you spend an hour trying to find somebody that has run off from paying their fare…you just lost an hour you could have been making money.

Last week, this guy walked up to my cab and asked if I’d take him home.  He claimed that he was sick…said it was only about four blocks away, which is a half a mile in the city.  Those four blocks seemed like four miles to this guy…he was sick with the flu.  I’d actually just accepted another call that would have takem me in the opposite direction.

Well, I loaded the sick guy in the cab and took him home…the fare was like $4.00….and I told him no charge and to have a nice day and to get well.  You’d think that I just gave him a thousand dollars.  His eyes welled up with tears and he thanked me…said it was the nicest thing anyone had done for him in a long time.

When I loaded him in the cab, I knew it was going to be a free ride…and not that he was a runner either.  I just felt sorry for the guy and knew how he felt.  I ran the meter, as it is required by law to run the meter anytime someone is in the cab, even if it’s one of your family members…you run the meter.  This protects the interest of the passenger if you’re involved in an accident…and shit happens.

Hacking is a business…and just like a guy that runs a diner gives away a free cup of coffee now and then…it’s good for business and keeps people coming back.  People remember when they’ve been treated right…and I like to think when I do something like this, they leave with the thought that they might pass along the good gesture.

I’ve been burned by runners maybe five times in ten years.  That ain’t too bad…it’s just the life of a Hack.

Tags: Business

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So…I get a call the other night, to pick up a business man from Cleveland, OH..

After he was loaded up in the cab, we started talking.  He mentioned he was in the Steel Business and I explained as a long haul truck driver, I knew a little about his line of work.

He had been left by his client at a Club quite a ways away from his hotel…which was the Sheraton Downtown.  This gave us at least 30 minutes to visit.

I explained how I’d been in a Steel Plant in Arkansas delivering lime…and twice the plant blew up around me.  Note: I did not mention the name of the steel plant in this blog…as the last time I did…they threatened to sue me in court.

After 20 minutes…he told me how much he was enjoying the conversation.  How, a cab driver like myself knew more about the Steel Industry than the people he had flown across the country to do business with.

The man had respect for knowledge…and was not afraid to say how much he appreciated our talk.  He said, after 3 hours of boring conversation with people that had no idea what goes on in a steel plant…it was refreshing to talk with me.lol

I came away with a $25 tip and the fare was almost $50 bucks anyway.  Kewl…a $75 snag…and I went back to trolling for my next call.

Cab Drivers must wear many hats….  I actually get people that have watched too much Cash Cab and I end up asking them trivia questions all the way to their destination.lol

But usually…people open up and talk with a Hack…they tell us their problems…they brag about their businesses or families.  We hear it all…and sometimes it’s pretty seedy stuff too.

You’ve got to be able to carry the conversation…whether it is with a Lawyer, a Professor or a Stripper.  What you say can make a big difference on your tip.  You learn to just be agreeable…and put your true feelings aside.  If the person is slamming the government…well slam the government with them.  They are the customer and you let them set the tone.

As a Hack…you are there to get them to their destination…and if you’re smart…you just agree with whatever they are saying.  I’ve been lucky…as a few of my largest tips have come from people that I actually disagreed with.  I just could not hold back any longer…and because I made such valid points…and made them think…they gave me big tips.lol

But generally…you just agree with them and keep the conversation going.  And if it’s a Stripper…you never wish her luck when she gets to the club…you always say, “Break a leg!”  lol That goes for all people who do any form of Live Performance.

Oh well…I got no point to this blog…just felt like writing.  lol

Tags: Business

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It was years ago…about 2002…or 2005…hell, I can’t remember shit anymore.

We were having Cab Drivers killed or beaten and robbed all the time.  In the first six months of the year, the incidents were happening in the area of 35th Ave & Osborn (The Bloods).  In the last six months of the year it was in the area of 59th Ave & Glendale (MS13).

Anyway…it was big news.  Hacks were being victimized almost daily…and we were all pretty nervous about it.  I mean…hacking is just supposed to be a job…often an adventure…but nobdy looks forward to taking “The Big Scary” (death).

At the time, much of the drug and prostitution sales were centralized on Van Buren Ave. in about a 2 or 3 block area.  Hookers, Pimps & Drug Dealers openly did business.  Note:  Sheriff Joe cleaned all that up…or spread it out…because when the police focused on that area, the roaches scrambled to all areas of the city.  Sometimes…I think it was better when they were all localized.  Anyway.

I get a call to pick this guy up at a bar…and when I get him loaded up in th cab…he says he wants to go on a drive down Van Buren.  To look at the sites…like there is something to see.

As I drove…he talked in a low voice…acted kind of weird.  We did not have panic buttons hooked up to our GPS back then…so I was pretty much on my own.  I did have a dash cam and I reached up at a stop light when there was plenty of light shining in the car and pushed the little red button.  This started taking a 20 second film clip of everything that happened the previous ten seconds and the following ten seconds after the button was pushed.  I figured…at least if the guy kills me…this might help them catch him.

I drove up and down Van Buren…the meter runing up…$20…$30…$40…dollars and kept on climbing.  I said, “Hey Buddy, if you want me to keep driving…I will…but you got to give me some cash to hold as a deposit.”

He said, “No, I’ve seen enough,” and told me an address to deliver him to not far away.  We got to this seedy apartment building, and he told me to drive around the back…that his entrance was where the cars parked in the back of the building.  As I rounded the corner…it was dark.  No lights in the parking area…it was dark as Hell.

I put the cab in park and told him the fare, “$43.50, Sir.”

He said…”Now I’m gonna pay ya…but not with money…I’m gonna kill ya!”

I slowly turned around sideways in my seat…and looked at him…the glow of the dash lights barely lighting up his face.  And, I could not tell if he had a gun or what it was so dark.  But he had the most evil look on his face…an evil smile…I could see that much from the dash lights shining over the back seat.

So…I held my hand like I had a gun in it…you know….thumb up and index finger pointed straight out.  He could not see this as it was below the level of the seat and too dark anyway.

I calmly spoke…”If you move…if you even twitch…I’m going to shoot you right through your heart.  You’ve fucked with the wrong cab driver this time…and I’ve got my pistol trained on your heart right now.  It’s a 357 Mag loaded with hollow points and I’ll shoot you right through the seat…”  I sounded as serious and as calm as I could.

He said, “You’re armed…uh…I never thought of that.  It was a joke, man.  A joke…a gag…come on…please don’t shoot me.”  He was begging at this point.

Hell…I didn’t even have a gun on me…but he didn’t know that.

I said, “pay me and get out of the car…move really slow…because if you move too quick…you’re dead.”

He pulled out three $20 bills and handed them forward.  I took them and told him to get out of my car.  He got out and walked around to the drivers side…and asked for his change.

I laughed…turned my dome light on and told him thank you…and held up my finger gun and let the thumb fall forward…like I shot him.  Then I drove off in the night with a cool $16.50 in a tip.lol

Hacking…always an adventure.lol

Tags: Life

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What an amusing week…watching the Democrats call the Republicans….Nazis. lol

Who does this sound like?   Achtung! Citizen…you vill buy zee health insurance…or vee vill fine you and if you do not pay zee fine…vee vill put you in zee prison!

LMAO!  The Democrats have just spent two years ramming the worst legislation in history down the throats of the American people, ruling over the people with the iron fist of Progressivism…and now they claim Republicans are Nazis?  Oh…that is funny stuff.

The Nazi Party was the National Socialist German Workers Party.  Key word…SOCIALIST!

Who are the Socialists in America?  THE DEMOCRATS!

Both Parties suck big time…but the Democrats suck more in my opinion.

Q: Do you know what the difference is between the two Parties?

A: Smoke.

That’s right…the only difference between the Republicans & Democrats is…the Democrats use smoke and mirrors (distractions) to keep our attention away from what is really going on.  And also…Democrats blow smoke up our asses and try to make us feel good about the worst forms of legislation.

At least 70% of the American people did not want the Health Care Bill pushed through in the form it is in…and yet the Socialist Democratic Party did it anyway.

Oops!  I called the Democratic Party Socialists…  please forgive me…I understand how we should not call a rose a rose anymore.  Democrats feel free to call Republicans Nazis…but we should not label the Democrats Socialist. hmmm…

I laughed this week…each time they played the recording of Democrat Steve Cohen calling the Republican Party Nazis.

Cohen said, “They say it’s a government takeover of health care…a big lie.  Just like Goebbels.  You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, and eventually people believe it!”

Would that be like the lie the Democrats have told for over 40 years?  The lie that the Democratic Party was friendly towards Martin Luther King Jr.?  Because the Democrats made MLK’s life a living Hell while he was alive….tapping his phone lines and putting out propaganda that he was a Communist and a womanizer.  The lie that Democrats cared about people of color…when Democrats like Gov. George Wallace stood in the doorway and would not let Blacks enter college?

Back to health care.  These Democrats keep trying to blow smoke up our asses and tell us how wonderful it will be when every American is required by law to purchase health insurance from the rich fat cat insurance companies.  The same insurance companies that worked together behind closed doors to create and write Obama Care.

For the Democrats to call the Republicans Nazis…it’s like the Pot calling the Kettle black.

Tags: Politics

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Skribbler’s blog (from Friendburst) about the young man they are trying to help reminds me of somebody I knew years ago.  He was the son of The Marlboro Man…you know…the guy that for years was on the billboards and television commercials.

Jason Solberg was the young man I’m talking about.  At 13 years old he was pretty much homeless.  His Dad was not in the picture…had never been in the picture.  The only thing the boy had from his Father was his good looks, I don’t think he even had his last name.  Whenever Jason tried to contact his Father…the man would have nothing to do with him.

Jason’s Mother was a Witch.  I mean a real life…chant at the Moon..full fledged Witch.  And Jason claimed she could do some pretty strange stuff….like conjure up Demons and stuff.  He spent most of his childhood scared of her.  I won’t go into detail about all the things he told me that she had done when he was a child…it is enough to be said that he believed she had these powers and was scared of her.

At 13 years old, my family took him in and he lived with us for 5 years.  We finished raising him…and he eventually met a nice young girl and got married.  The marriage did not last…she divorced him and he became really depressed.  They had a Son together…and Jason missed his Son a lot.  His wife got married again, to a soldier and off she went to Europe with the child.  Jason never saw him again.

Jason never had a chance in life…followed the wrong kids often.  I think the best years of his life were the 5 years he lived with us.

We moved out of State…and a couple years ago we got the call.  Jason had died of a stroke at 32 years old.  He had a bad oral infection and it caused him to have the stroke.

Why do people have children…if they are not going to care for them?  And how can you just abandon a child and go off to make your fortune and never look back?

Jason was an Artist and very talented.  He did the Art work for a children’s book I wrote many years ago.  A book that my kids used to ask me to read to them night after night when they were little.  I still open those pages and read the book to my Granddaughter now and then.

And Jason loved music…Guns & Roses…lol

Jason Solberg is gone now…but I carry him in my heart wherever I go.  Was it true that The Marlboro Man was his Dad?  Well…Jason believed so…and I got nothing else to go on.  Maybe when he was little and asked his Mother who his Dad was…she pointed out the guy on the billboard and made up a story.  Who knows???

Too many kids in this world are born and left to fend for themselves.  It’s just wrong…

Tags: Life

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So…Let me get this right…

The same people that hate the rich people in America…supported giving the rich over 4 trillion dollars in stimulus & tarp.??? Doh!

The people that are usually so full of hate towards the rich people…support the mass vaccinations of children.  Which makes a lot of money for the Doctors & Drug Companies. hmmm…

The people that are so full of hate towards the Health Insurance Companies…supported a Law requiring ALL people to buy health insurance from those same companies they hate so much??? huh?

Last year…Stephen Hemsley , who is the CEO for United Health Care received 129 million dollars in salary & stock options. FOR ONE YEAR OF WORK!

Now…Since everyone is going to have to buy health insurance…how much of a salary will people like Stephen Hemsley receive.  So many more people will be forced to buy their product…and Mr. Hemsley will surely demand a big pay raise.

Oh…and nothing in the Health Care Bill addresses the salaries of these rich fat cat CEO’s.???

Those evil drug companies make so much money…oh yeah…but if you don’t vaccinate your kids somehow you’re not a good parent.???

Those evil health insurance companies…ran by the richest of fat cats…and yet we must buy their product…according to the Law.???

The people on the Left hate the rich people…and yet they support laws that require people to do business with them making them even richer yet???

Oh yeah…it’s for the good of the country…lmao

The big oil companies need to figure out a way to twist things around.  Maybe…if we don’t buy their oil, little puppies will die or something…or if we don’t use oil based products…we don’t love our children somehow.

Tags: Politics

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In my opinion…the Republican Party has made a big mistake by replacing Michael Steele.

Mr. Steele just handed the Republicans the biggest win they have had in many years in this last midterm election.  Sure…he did not do it alone.  He had a lot of help from the Democrats and the way they ran Washington.  Shoving legislation down the throats of  the American people faster than they could swallow.

And I’ll miss the mistakes Mr. Steele made while leading the Republican Party.  He made a few…and it proved he was human.  It’s odd how the Media will focus so much and highlight mistakes by Republicans…and yet if a Democrat says something really dumb they over look it.

I doubt if Mr. Steele had claimed there was 57 States in America…he would have been given a free pass.  Or if Mr. Steele had claimed that America was one of the largest Muslim Countries in the World…that the Media would have just let it go.

There is a double standard in politics…and I could go on for hours about it.

I’ll miss Michael Steele…but will have to see how the new guy performs before I say too much about him.

Just my opinion…

Tags: Politics

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The shooting last week of Rep. Giffords has troubled me much more than most people I know.

I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while.  That's how I feel tonight anyway.lol

What has happened the last week has made me do a lot of thinking.  The Left blamed the Right.  The Right said there was no proof of that...and that he was just a nut bag.

As usual...I agree with the Right on this.  And it has depressed me...watching the Leftists in this country try to use this shooting as a reason to introduce Bills to restrict firearms.

"Don't ever let a crisis go to waste."  Hmmm... who was it that said that?  That would be Rahm Emmanuel...a leading Democrat.

It makes me sick...the way Democrats have tried to make hay since the shooting in Tucson.

I'm still out here my friends...If you look...you might see me quietly passing by in the hammer lane...deep in thought with a tear in my eye for America.

It's time for me to take a break from the internet...but...maybe I'm just tired tonight.  I'm pretty jaded from this past week.

I want to thank you all for being my friends.

Pray for America...

Tags: Politics

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