Best Cab Driver Story Ever

Justin and Jim met up at my place (I got home an hour or so earlier than normal, cleaning the entire place and throwing shit into closets). We stopped over at a nearby pizza joint to pick up some food, to pick up Alex, and to make our way to the show.

We met a terrifically enthusiastic cabbie who told us a great story. He was driving a cab that was just like a regular car (no wall or window between the driver and the passengers). He told us about his days as a New York cabbie, and how they had actual bullet proof glass out there. In his mind, he preferred the open cabs because if someone wanted to shoot you, they could find a way to do so.

The story he told was about two passengers he picked up in New York. They were giving him vague instructions (left here, right there), and he was demanding to know a final destination. At that point, the passengers started to become belligerent and made motions of threatening to shoot him. He called their bluff, and responded with his own belligerence, almost taunting them.

Well, lo and behold one of the guys pulls out a gun! You might think at this point he would withdraw a bit, but this just enrages the cabbie even more. And in response, the cab driver (who was on the 59th Street bridge) did a U-turn right there and then. Alex (who onced lived in NY) blurted out "Wow!" and the cab driver responded with a "THANK you!" I can only surmise that the bridge itself is either very narrow, one way, or both.

In either event, he’s turned the cab around and is facing oncoming traffic. He stops the car, and lays down on the horn. He then keeps on arguing with the passengers who, by this time, are a bit freaked out. They keep yelling back and forth until the police (and according to him, a LOT of police) arrive. They all get out of the car (slowly, with their arms up) and have to explain what’s going on. Eventually, they find the gun and discover a warrant on one of the passengers. Smart cabbie.

What was awesome was that the whole time he’s telling us this story, he’s re-enacting certain parts of it in the cab we’re in. He’s honking his horn at the appropriate times, throwing the car into Park at others. Even as we arrived to our destination, he was doing a sort of rolling stop because he was so involved and entrenched in his story. :)

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