“Will you please step on it, Mr. Cabbie? This guy is, like, staying up late waiting for me.”

If the woman sitting beside me was so hot to get to Drew Street, I wondered, why were we first dropping off her two friends in the Mayfair Park district, all the way out by the airport?

“Don’t listen to her,” instructed one of the two women in the back. “Rachel is moving to San Diego tomorrow, flying out in the morning, and we got dibs on her, at least for this cab ride.”... Read more

I’m a good cabdriver. Hey — like the great fastball pitcher, Bob Feller, explained, “It ain’t braggin’ if you do it.”

But I’m not the best. Hands down, the best cabdriver I know is Janet. She and her husband operate a small fleet specializing in high-quality, out-of-town transport — Middlebury College, Basin Harbor Club and the like. Their company slogan is: “Transportation for the Punctually Particular” — a promise they make good on.... Read more

"Sharon, you’re crazy,” the young woman, blonde and perky, said to her friend who was sitting next to me in the front seat of the taxi. “You are, like, the most popular in our class. Everybody loves you.”... Read more

Recently I spent an entire weekend trolling the waterfront for taxi fares, a strategy that did not go unrewarded. At Waterfront Park, the Vermont Brewers Festival was in full swing, and the whole town was packed and rocking. The intermittent thunderstorms that kept rolling across the lake only upped the taxi demand.... Read more

“What does it matter ‘how many folks’?” the beefy man asked me, while his three companions — another middle-aged man and two women — stood on the curb making idle conversation and seemingly trying to ignore their taxi hailer’s heavy-handed tactics. “Isn’t the fare the same regardless of the number of people?”... Read more

Glancing up at the rear-view mirror, I recognized the attractive young woman sitting and laughing with her boyfriend in the back of my taxi. When you run into someone outside the usual context, it can throw you, but not with this woman. The giveaway was those killer brown eyes, a sight worth beholding.

“Well, then” I began speaking before either of them could give me the destination “I’ll take the tofu scramble, light on the pesto.”... Read more

The evening Amtrak train arrived late as usual, giving me ample time to obsess. I’ve heard that heads roll in Europe when trains are late. Leaving aside John McCain’s positions on any other issue, this is one reason I could never vote for him: He’s a sworn opponent of any “subsidies” for Amtrak, as if a public transport system anywhere in the world could operate successfully without massive government support.... Read more

The man sitting next to me was quite the physical specimen. He had buzz-cut blond hair and slim, black-framed eyeglasses and looked stunning in his skin-tight blue tank top — a look I could never pull off even when I was young and full of brio. I did have my moments back in the day, but “Jernigan” and “hunk” were never used in the same sentence. Not that I’m jealous, or even wistful; I can admire a good hottie, male or female, without taking it personally.... Read more

Hacking demands a fine balance. The interior of a taxicab defines a delicate psychological ecosystem. Throughout the shift, dozens of customers stream in and out. Sometimes they’re fighting with each other; occasionally they want to fight with you. Some fares are deranged and see you as their new best friend; others are cold, demanding and demeaning. As a cabbie, it’s up to you — the captain of the vessel — to find and maintain some minimum degree of harmony. It can be a challenge to stay focused amid all the stimulation.... Read more

"Take me to my car,” she commanded. “It’s in the parking lot. Oh, excuse me, you know — please.”

The woman, an attractive thirtysomething, sat next to me in the shotgun seat of my taxi as we idled in front of the Green Room on St. Paul Street. She planted her elbow on the armrest dividing us and rested her chin in her palm. She wore a lot of makeup — fire-engine-red lips and powder-blue eye shadow. On some women this is overkill, but on her it came off as, well, sexy.... Read more