Taxi Vignettes

The last two weeks have been excruciating. My taxi had been outfitted with a type of contact paper advertising the San Jose Grand Prix (Champ Car race). The company that I work for (Yellow Cab) was one of the Grand Prix sponsors, so they asked if I would let them use my taxi for the race weekend. The kind of "ask" that only has one answer... yes.

I was put in a Crown Victoria Police Interceptor with a 4.6L 250-hp SEFI V8 with overhead cam engine. It had a big ole' push bar on the front making the hood seem about 12 feet long. It was a cool car but the driver's seat must have been holding up some big ass cop in its life as a police car, because it was broken beyond repair. No matter what pillow I tried, I could not get comfortable.

My next job should have been a simple one. My taxi permit, which is issued by the police, was due to expire on the 25th of July. To receive a new permit I would have to show an up-to-date drug test and an '06 business licence. I had neither. The drug tests are random and somehow I had not been called in to take one. I got the paperwork, drank a gallon of water and I was off to the lab. As for the business licence, City Hall had cashed the check that I had sent them a good month earlier but they couldn't seem to get the licence back to me.

By the 26th I was getting nervous because we only get a 3-day grace period to get the permit. So, I called Joe, one of our many managers, at the cab yard. Joe said that he would get back to me, and later that morning he called with instructions.