Date Taken: 07/06/07
From: River North
To: Wicker Park
The Cab: Spotless except for the partially unpeeled Tweety Bird sticker on the rear view mirror. I’m thinking there’s a story there. Plus, I had the nagging feeling that the interior had the slight aura of a metallic UFO glow. Maybe that’s why we later seemed to be riding on air.
The Driver: This is the guy Sade was thinking about when she wrote “Smooth Operator.”
The Driving: First, I had a dilemma. I saw a row of cabs lined up outside a downtown hotel but still on a city street. I waved at the first one from half a block away and he didn’t budge. Was I violating some code? Would it be alright if I just walked down there and got in the cab? Yes, in fact it was alright. But what is the etiquette when it comes to a hotel cab stand?
At any rate, Driver #6159 excelled at lane weaving and his big freeway gamble paid off. But his very audible turn signal operated at such a high rate it made me nervous. I felt my heart calibrating its beat to the runaway signal. And it was so windy the breeze just rushed in and there was that metallic glow and I felt so free and then suddenly felt like maybe I was dying.
Plus, he was an intersection creeper, halfway through before the light technically turned green.
Still, an exhilirating experience that may have included travel to distant planets. I thanked Driver #6159 effusively and ran up to my apartment to checked for physical signs of alien experimentation.
Overall rating: 4 extended arms.
– Steve Rhodes
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There are more than 6,000 cabs in the city of Chicago. We intend to review every one of them.
Posted on July 16, 2007