Flashback: Taxi Tales (My cab family)

I drove a cab on and off for 19 years. I saw a lot of faces come and go. We recently had a “Tommy’s Taxi Reunion”. The core group of us gathered at Tommy’s house and told stories about some of the greatest times (and memories) in our lives. It was great to see my cab family – we’ve all gotten a little older, but none of us have changed – at all.

While we were eating and revisiting the past, I asked Betty, “Did you post a ‘Help Wanted’ sign at Pilgrim?” Everyone bust out laughing.

For those of you that don’t know, Pilgrim is a State Hospital for the mentally unstable (it houses crazy people). I honestly felt like, when people were released from Pilgrim, they took a cab to Tommy’s, filled out an application and Betty hired them – on the spot. I’ll get into some of those stories as we get more into my Taxi Tales, and this is why I say – “I can’t make this stuff up!”

Me & Betty - July 16, 2011:

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So, let me introduce you to some of my cab family:

Tommy #25: The owner. It was a family business and everyone in Bay Shore knew Tommy. Tommy slept all day because he would sit in his Lincoln and listen to the dispatch radio (in his driveway) all night with a bottle of Korbel. He ran the business from the comfort of his Jacuzzi. He is a blood relative – I’m still not sure of the blood line and if I exchanged 250 words with him in the 19 years that I worked there – that was a lot.  I respected him – but in my mind, if it wasn’t for Betty – the place would fall apart.
*Tommy passed away, June 30^th, 2011.

Betty #96: The HBIC (Head Bitch in Charge)… or how I like to say; my Mother, my mentor, the woman I aspire to be like. Betty was Tommy’s girlfriend and had the (dis)pleasure of executing Tommy’s orders. She understood the business from the ground up (she started as a driver), handled all of the front end stuff (hiring/firing/scheduling) and also dispatched the cabs. Betty has the qualities that I am still trying to acquire: patience, understanding, and tact. As I tell my stories – it will become clear, how she set the stage for success and everyone understood their role in “the family”.

Jack #9: Night Dispatcher. Let me paint the picture for you. It’s 9pm… all the day drivers have “booked out” (left for the day) – Jack has the desk light lit and the little 13 inch TV on – tuned to the “ponies” (Jack was a big gambler) and all the other lights in the office are turned off. There’s cigar smoke throughout the entire office – even the foyer, where the customer’s come in and wait for their cab. He’s got a deep gruff voice and a no-nonsense demeanor (Jack took BLUNT to a new level). He knew his shit, he knew Long Island (specifically the tri-town area - Bay Shore, Brentwood & Central Islip) like the back of his hand (for the lack of a better cliché). Jack didn’t fuck around. His voice was actually kind of scary coming across the radio. He knew how long it took for you to get from the mall to the rail (so you couldn’t steal) and he knew every drunk in Bay Shore. He was also like a father to me. He never sent me on any questionable calls – and the drunks that I did have to pick up, he could intimidate them with the sound of his voice, over the radio.
*Jack passed away a few years ago. He had retired in North Carolina.

Jerry #41: Betty’s right hand. I loved working with Jerry. He was a southern transplant. Jerry was quick witted and thoughtful. He talked bunko shit but was one of the nicest men you could meet. He hated dispatching but he did it (because Betty needed him to). He had loyal customers that would request him to pick them up and Jerry was actually one of the drivers that convinced me to drive a cab. Jerry hated “the boat people” (the Manhattanites that came out for the ferry). They would jump in his car off the train and yell “I’M TRYING TO MAKE THE FERRY TO OCEAN BEACH!”… and Jerry would tell them “I don’t give a fuck about a fucking ferry”…. And drive just under the speed limit the whole way down Maple Ave. He was a southern gentleman with a New York attitude – go figure. Jerry was like my drunk uncle that everyone loved.

*Jerry passed away about 10 years ago. I still think about him (and his stories), all the time!

Kathy #16: The other female. I only say that because Kathy, like Jerry was a fixture at Tommy’s. She worked everyday, she had a following of customers (that would request her) and was very dependable. She was also one of the drivers that convinced me to drive a cab. In our core group – Kathy was the other female – in the male dominated industry of driving a cab. She was strong-willed, but no match for Betty. She knew the business – just as good as anyone, but was destined to be a driver. She used to butt heads with Betty from time to time – but understood, Betty was the boss and any complaining to Tommy – her cab life would be miserable. Kathy understood her role and didn’t cross Betty. Kathy was like my older step-sister, she kinda had my best interest at heart, but when it came down to it – she was out for herself.

Jeff & Ronnie: The mechanics. Jeff & Ronnie are going to have a few blog posts dedicated in their behalf. Ronnie was the older, sinister, “I don’t get mad, I get even” of the 2. Jeff is Betty’s son. He was Ronnie’s protégé. Let’s just say practical jokes and pranks were just as much a part of their daily duties as changing oil and tires. You really aren’t going to believe some of the shit they pulled. Just hold that thought….

This was the group that I started with. As I move through the years, we picked up some people and lost some people but this was my family. They watched me grow up. They watched my kids grow up. They saw the good and the bad. They laughed with me, they supported me and they appreciated me. They didn’t expect me to be someone I wasn’t and as dysfunctional as our group was – Betty held us together and appreciated all of us – faults and all.

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I know many of you think my Taxi Tales are going to be about the crazy people that I picked up in the cab and the different things I saw as a cab driver. Kinda, not really. My Taxi Tales are going to mostly be about my life at the cab, the crazy people that I worked with and the reality of working in an industry that you are dealing with some of the highs and lows of human existence and it is something different, everyday.

Yeah, we had some crazy/stupid/asshole customers – but the drivers… they are the true characters for a good Taxi Tale.