Chicago -
Date: 12/29/15
From: Wrigleyville
To: Union Station
The Cab: Normally I don’t like the sound blasting loud out of those little cab TVs, but in this case, the driver was BORing. I kept pushing on that sound icon on the TV screen and nothing. An astute driver might have noticed my attempts at trying to get said TV to work, but alas, not Mister “Yep, you’re my last customer of the day” (and in my mind, I’m home already).
Posted on January 6, 2016
Date: 10/10/09
From: Roscoe Village
To: West Ridge
The Cab: To be blunt, there’s a chronic smell that perfectly suits the grass green interior. You can pot your feet up and toke it easy; you know, hash a good time. No wonder the availability roof light flickers; it’s mood lighting.
Posted on October 19, 2009
Date: 10/13/09
From: South Loop
To: Little Village
The Cab: White mini-van cab. Pretty clean, neat but worn down leather covers on the first set of seats. The pattern reminded me a bit of black and tan bowling shows.
The Driver: We should have known we were in trouble. The gold jacket and leopard-print denim pants should have given it away. We apparently caught her during lunch as she was working on a tuna sandwich and chips. She had a Jamaican accent, but while she was kicking us out of the cab, it sounded suspiciously less Jamaican.
Posted on October 16, 2009
Date: 6/13/09
From: Wicker Park
To: South Loop
The Cab: Has one of those credit card Verifone systems. Like a little TV screen. Hey, there’s an idea! Put quarters in the slot . . . watch a little TV. Or cab porn. Tax that, Daley!
But does it really only take MasterCard? I mean, I don’t expect it to take Discover, but . . .
The Driver: Late in the ride when I learned this was his first day on the job, I became embarrassingly excited. I was his second customer ever.
“How did the first one go?”
“It was trouble.”
Posted on July 3, 2009
Date: 6/11/09
From: Wicker Park
To: South Loop
The Cab: Well-maintained but the slight odor of cleanser mixed with something else, possibly vomit. Let me check Texts From Last Night to see if this cab shows up anywhere.
The Driver: A rarity these days in that he had the radio on. Maybe he doesn’t have any cabbie friends to talk to.
ANNOUNCER: “Go to Joliet.com! The fun, the friends, the excitement!”
Driver #2564 is mostly a calm, hands at the ten-and-two kind of guy. He has a sparkling gothic cross in his right ear. He drank from a green can that was probably Sprite.
“And the walls, come tumbling down . . . “
It’s The Drive. This ride will be narrated by Classic Rock.
Posted on June 15, 2009
Date: 4/13/09
From: Downtown
To: Wicker Park
The Cab: The eerie thing about this cab was how just so right it was. For example, it was the perfect temperature. Not too hot, not too cold. It was like Shangri-La. And somehow the cab locked out outside noises, like it was hermetically sealed. Except for the sound of the intermittent wiper – which was perfect. Just the right calm intermittent sound of a perfect wiper doing its job. That’s how the ride started, at least. It’s not how it ended.
Posted on April 20, 2009
Date: 4/11/09
From: Roscoe Village
To: West Loop
The Cab: Clean, open and unguarded in that burglar-shield-free way that increasingly seems like some bold political statement. Radio set to down-demographed rock station playing an ear-bleeding song by Pink when the ride commenced. No, the other ear-bleeding song by Pink. No, no, that other one. Whatever. It’s not going to matter in a minute or two.
Posted on April 16, 2009
Date: 4/12/09
From: West Loop
To: Roscoe Village
The Cab: Heavily fortified with burglar shield opened just enough to accommodate winding plastic air conditioning tube. It’s a fine line indeed between security and comfort.
Posted on April 14, 2009
Date: February 1, 2009
From: Wicker Park
To: Humboldt Park
The Cab: A cute little hybrid? It’s like a stout modern van-thing. It only has 19,334 miles on it. It’s cozy, with close proximity to the driver and a clear view of the dashboard. Hey, what’s that blinking light? It’s me! I don’t have my seat belt on! A clean, black interior spoiled only by the use of newspapers as floor mats.
Posted on February 10, 2009
Date: January 1, 2009
From: Roscoe Village
To: Wrigleyville
The Cab: The new year begins with a throw-back cab from an era free from burglar shields, electric locks and middle seat belts. The front seats seem oddly flat and there’s an external spotlight on the driver’s side, almost as though this were a retired squad car picked up at a police auction. Is that even a possibility? Overall comfortable if plagued with a specific yet indescribable funkiness. Wet-socky, or perhaps old-basementy.
Posted on January 7, 2009
