Weirdo Cab Ride

We are at the airport now, heading home for Thanksgiving. Of course something weird happened, because something weird always happens when we travel (remember "Eww on Clark?").

This morning we had to get to the airport by 5:45am in order to deal with the travel craziness. In order to avoid leaving at 3:30 in the morning, we decided to take a cab. Our friend Vinnie also needed a ride, so we split the fare. The plan was to be picked up at 4:20am, pick him up around 4:30am and be on our way.

Issues right off the bat. First, the taxi was late. Of course it was. At least it was raining though, so that helped keep things running smoothly. Ever see the movie, "Men in Black"? I think the whole aliens disguised as humans ie; taxi drivers, is true. This dude was so weird. A) The car smelled like pot. Reassuring. B) He drove ridiculously slow. Really? Isn't a major plus supposed to be that these guys drive like maniacs, cutting in and out of traffic to help you get an edge? C) He rambled on and on about a letter-writing campaign he was heading up, championing the cause of the cabbie. Something about the system, the governor and the rights that were being taken away from the passengers as well as independent drivers. To prove a point on how much he rambled, I will now recreate the exchange in conversation we had... For sake of clarity, we will name the driver Carl.

Carl - "These partitians between the driver and passenger are not safe."

Corey - "Oh really"

Carl - "It's all a part of them taking away the rights of the people."

Mo - "So why was it installed in the first place?"

Carl - "So what?"

Mo - "Why was it..."

Carl - "I can't hear so well."

Mo - "Why was it..."

Carl (to Corey) - "I can't hear so well, what did she say"

(We go back and forth for 3 1/2 minutes before the conversation moves forward. All along we're trying to move on to our own conversation, but am constantly interrupted)

Carl - "Would you like a brief history on the systems they put in place?"

Corey - "Umm, well..."

Carl - "So I've been doing this since before Mayor Daly died. That's how long I've been doing this. And I.... ummm, what was I saying. Sorry, I got hit by a car 18 years ago and sometimes go in and out of rambling, I'll get off track but then once I get back on track boy do I get going!.... blah, blah, blah.... seatbelts..... I'm crazy.... no way to let them know if a passenger is being carjacked or is bleeding....letter writing.... the government....blah, blah."

Mo - "Oh, good! Vinnie's here." (thank God we can focus on something else)

This guy was nuts. We finally got to the airport on time, but not without being lectured on paying in cash and how he's putting together a, yes, you guessed it, letter writing campaign to take away credit card machines, because again it's not our fault, it's the government's.
Yikes! There goes your tip buddy.

See you all in KC soon!

- Mo and Corey