Taxi Vignettes

I was almost to turn into my driveway when my phone played a little tune. It was the ring set for incoming calls from my regular riders. I really did not want to answer, but I did hoping they just wanted to make an appointment for sometime in the future. It was Mr. Smith asking if I could meet him at his office and give him a ride to his hotel near the airport. Mr. Smith lives in Arizona but often gets called to the Bay Area for work. I told him I would be right over.

It was 5:00pm and traffic was horrid. As I approached the red light at Meridian a big Sheriff's bus was sideways taking up both lanes. I knew it would take some fancy maneuverings to get the bus facing in the right direction so I got in the left turn lane. A change of route; I would be taking the side streets.

I was going through neighborhood streets doing my best not to be late. I was on a side street and was making a right turn on Campbell Av. when something at one of the homes caught my attention. I noticed about seven large black vehicles parked with the drivers standing near the curb all in a huddle. On the front porch was a small table draped with a black cloth attended to by men in suits. Late as I was, I made a u-turn and asked the two women standing on the opposite side of the street what was going on. "Governor Schwarzenegger is coming!" Dang! I had to go pick up Mr.Smith and get him across town and then drive all the way back in commute traffic.