Tampa Taxi Shots

Homeless Work Hard In Tampa Bay

There is a group of homeless people who work the corner of Kennedy and Dale Mabry every day; they show up on time and put in a solid eight hours. That should make them a good employee for any business, if there were any jobs out there.

Is This Racisim Or Politics?

I was in Barnes and Noble bookstore today and I had to use the mens room bad.  I walked up to the urinal and what did I see?  There was a sticker of Barack Obama on the back of the urinal right were your stream would hit.  Is this just some joke, or political expression?  As much as Bush was hated I don't remember his image posted on urinals.  This really does not do the 'tea baggers' any good.

Strange, nobody had reported it to the manager and who knows how long it had been up.  Book stores usually employ tree huggers and girls with hairy armpits, that sell coffee and high cholesterol treats.  So what goes here?

A Cloaking Device

The late night dispatch told one of our drivers to remove his cloaking device so the customers could see him. As a driver, I deny any knowledge of such a thing. The "Treaty of Algeron" clearly prohibits the use and development of cloaking technology. I know certain factions of taxi intel are experimenting with it. That would be a violation. The Federation should have never agreed to this ban.

Handwritten Journal

This is the handwritten journal that I have been compiling of my days as a cab driver.  I have a contract with a  book publisher to complete this project and I am trying to do that.  I write in it every day while I am out in the field picking up the taxi customers.  That keeps my edge fresh , because the details are raw and my memory is jogged.  There has been a slight problem - it is called the 'great recession.' 

I have been so depressed and angry at this situation of ecomomic collapse,  that most of the stuff I have come up with reads like the Unibomber Manifesto.  Not good.  I need to calm that down. Things are starting to get better.

I actually have my printer back on-line after three years of gathering dust.  I did not have the thirty bucks for the ink cartridge (that is no lie).  It is hard to maintain any type of positive attitude when you are living alike a worm and straining you shit for 50 cents.

I have some momentum now thanks to the last two months being better than the last three "seasons" in Tampa Florida.  My moral is on the rise and I really want to make this book a best seller and get the F U C K out of this business for good. 

My publisher must be pissed.  Things are well for him and maybe he does not understand just how devastating this economy has been to the service industry in Florida.  I have not even opened his emails for fear of just being bitched at.  I guess that is a dilemma.

I am trying my best and I'm on a comeback.  I can now see light at the end of this tunnel....knock on wood.

Say No To Security Guards

I had a call this morning at a condo in South Tampa in a gaited community.  I checked in with the guard and told him who I was there to pick up.  He called them on the phone to verify and before he let me in, he asked for my drivers license.  What?  Only law enforcement can demand you show your license. 

I showed him my hack license issued by the Hillsborough County Transportation Commission.  That was not good enough for him, he wanted my license.  I said no, and that he better let me because his service was for the convenience of the residents, and they needed to go to the airport.  He refused to let me in, so I left.

Minutes later I got a call from dispatch to go back that the guy would now let me in.  He was upset and said it was against 'company policy'  I picked my people up and went to the airport. 

I always seem to have a problem with these Barney types.

Tampa UFO Video

This video was shot by a Tampa Bay Taxi driver and shows objects moving across a bright blue sky.  They are high altitude and glowing white.

 

I Thought It Was Getting Better

Did you see the headline in todays Tampa Tribune....13.1% unemployment in Hillsborough County!!!!  Man, how can this continue.  We were told the stimulus would keep it under 8% and we were told the new rail system will bring in 20,000 jobs for the next four years (when do they start building that thing?).  I don't know, I was actually ready to be optimistic 'till I saw that.

On The Dale Mabry Strip

This is me on stand 23, which is on the Dale Mabry strip in Tampa Florida.  The reason I am sitting here is because we are getting some action and I can pick up a Westshore hotel, a hospital, or a low end motel that might be going somewhere.  Thats the cab business, you never know where anyone is going - unless the dispatch feeds you.

 

State Of The Business

It is solid at this point. Its not great, as it should be this time of year, but what is weird is the local fares are picking up. I don't think that is related to the season. I really hope this is the year things start to improve, and boy they have needed to. 2008 - 2009 were the two worst years of my life. 2007 as well if you include the death of my two closest friends. Its been tough. I am ready to move forward.

Midnight At The Oasis

This was me at the end of a very enjoyable day.  It is freezing outside but I got a sierra rated bag of 30 degrees.  I am ready to go for another round.  Camping in Florida is best done in the winter.  This winter has been very cold and wet....lots of rain, but at least the drought is over and no fire hazards.

 

Thanks For The Support

To all my friends (the ones concerned about my mental and physical health) thanks for supporting me in this matter. You guys know hard I have worked and the extra hours I have put in so I could go on this camping trip. Instead of just talking about for months, I am now going. The couple of days (with no lease) will do me good. I need the rest for this weekend should rock out. Thanks again for being there when I needed you.

Assholes Like Jack

Jack left a comment on my last post that said I was not smart for taking two days off when I was facing the prospect of rice and beans after Easter. Jack if you want to look at my blog, fine. Don't tell me how to live my fucking life. When I get back, you will be blocked from this site. If you live in Tampa call and ask for taxi 556 and I will be glad to come to your house and have tea. Then, you can tell me about the 1,000 days in a row that you have worked _ for nothing.

Six Good Days And 'Little John' Is Back

I have now had six good days in a row - the most in three years.  No exaggeration.  In fact, I am taking two days off to go camping starting Wednesday thru Friday.  The first 'vacation' since 2007.  This one I have been looking forward to.  Perhaps things are turning the corner and I can finally get on with my life since the greedy rich motherfuckers in this country ruined it for me.  Put those regs on those Wall Street Bastards.

The long time dispatcher little John (the guy that liked to give his opinions over the air) is back now as channerl one dispatcher.  How cool is that?

In A Five Car Accident And FIVE GOOD DAYS IN A ROW!

I was west bound on Kennedy while stopped at the Dale Mabry light.  There were two cars in front of me and one was a Yellow cab.  While we waited for the light to turn green, the north bound car on Dale Mabry was struck by a east bound car on Kennedy that blew the red light.  The force of the collision knocked both cars into the cars in front of me.  I thru the car into reverse and got out of the way just as the car that had been struck came to rest where my taxi cab had been sitting.  She did hit the front of my taxi, but only some scuff marks - no damage.  My passenger thanked me for taking the evasive action and another cab was dispatched to pick up my passenger (the wreck cost me $20).  You can see the car sitting where I was at five seconds earlier.

The back office was so happy about my avoiding such a bad situation, they gave me a free day!  Now how cool is that.  It goes along with my FIVE GOOD DAYS IN A ROW.