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.
When I finally arrived at Mr. Smith's office he was waiting out front with his bags. I told him I hoped that he had not been waiting too long and that I almost stood him up for the Governor. Mr. Smith, a Democrat, was glad to hear that he had beat out Arnold.
About forty-five minutes later I made it back to Campbell Av. The two neighborhood women I spoke with earlier were nowhere in sight. I parked my taxi and walked over to the side of the home with the black vehicles. I saw a woman who seemed as if she would be with Gov.Schwarzenegger and not part of security. I pointed out my taxi and told her that the Mayor of Campbell was a frequent customer of mine. I can't recall what else I said but she held up her hand to stop my babbling and escorted me over to the house. She whistled and got the attention of the various uniformed police and other bodyguard types and told them that I would be standing on the grass by the side door and I had her permission to take photos.
After an hour had passed I was getting cold and my thoughts were turning to worrying about things like how my hair looked and why hadn't I kept up with my diet. Just then the door opened and former City Councilwoman Pat Dando came out. I had met Mrs. Dando before but I hadn't expected her to remember me. She said, "Hi, let me introduce you to the Governor."
Governor Schwarzenegger and I only had time for a few words. I wished him luck with his upcoming meeting with President Bush tomorrow. He thanked me, someone took my camera, the Governor took my hand, the camera flash went off and so did Arnold.
I got my first computer early in the Summer of 2004, and began blogging almost immediately. Thanks to blogging I have been a part of several newspapers and online blogs. By that August I was featured in the lead story of the Tech Section in the San José Mercury News. Then what a pleasant surprise it was to find that my blog, "Taxi Vignettes" was the reason I was chosen as the best local blogger of the year (2006) by the Metro Newspaper. Fall of '06, I was contacted by a reporter, asking if I would be willing to be the topic of her next story in The Willow Glen Resident. It was a cool two pages including photos. Am I having fun yet?
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