Another Reason We Love NYC!!

Last night, on the way to our dinner at Daniel, we happened to catch a cab with a driver named Ira Greig, a gentleman of about 50 with crinkly gray hair.  Now, I know that name means nothing to you.  It really meant nothing to us either.  So he told us his performing name was "Preacher Man".  That didn't help either.  But then the "concert" started.  We were in such a good mood by the time we got to the restaurant, listening to "Back of the Bay" and "You Made Me Love You"among others that the food and wine seemed even better. Seems Ira is a cab driver in NYC -- part time.  But he is ALSO a backup singer for some names we and you will have heard of -- like Sam Cook, Otis Redding, The Drifters, among others.  And he flipped in two cd's, one after another, with "Preacher Man" singing lead at a couple "gigs".  That man has "pipes", as musical types used to say, and, after finding out we were from Missouri, he said he had played Branson and, next week, was on his way with some group or another to play Oahu and some of the Hawaiian Islands!  I've never heard of Ira, although he said his father was a singer before him, so it runs in the family. But I'll have my eyes and ears open from now on.  Best of all, I could actually understand the words in his songs!  See why we always find surprises in NYC??!!

About cab drivers in New York.  It is hard to compare them to cab drivers in St. Louis. While they are trying to improve, in St. Louis you can run into cabs that need cleaning up, our old, and smell of smoke.  Not all, I admit.  But some.

In NYC you don't call a taxi to take you somewhere.  You trust in God.  Because cabs keep circling..circling..circling..circling all day long. Everywhere.  And they are yellow.  You also need to learn the codes -- lights on the roof tell you if one is available (lite in center is on), busy (lites on the side on) or off-duty (all the lights are on) All you need to do is stick out your hand and wave on a street corner and, chances are, you will only wait a minute or two before a taxi pulls up.

 Just talking to cab drivers can be interesting and instructive.  We've met cab drivers from Greece, who still own homes in Greece.  In fact, it is one of our Greek cab drivers, who came from Rhodes, who filled us in on why we saw all these half-built houses there.  Apparently, in Rhodes (and probably other Greek islands) when parents give birth to a daughter, they must start building her a house for when she grows up and gets married.  And there is no mortgage involved. So, when the family runs out of money they stop building for a while.  When they get flush again, back to the hammers!  So the young couples begin life in a fully-paid-for home.  Now, if they give birth to a boy, he can skate through, I guess -- his wife provides the domicile!

One driver, from Russia, had us covering our eyes and praying!  We feared for our lives.  So we told him to stop at the next corner near Bloomies, explaining to him we were going to shop there.  Then we walked through the store, went out through the opposite doors and hailed a more conservative driver to take us back to the hotel.  By the way, the taxis are mostly hybrids, very clean, and they even have tv screens in the back seat with a selection of channels!  It is such fun to watch the stores and people rush by, but the tv can be tempting.

Another interesting fact about taxis.  In order to drive one, the driver needs a medallion issued by the city.  And they are worth, probably, millions. These medallions are limited and are so valuable they are passed down from father to son and generation to generation.  There are even medallion holders who lease out their taxis for others to drive, who pay them for use of the medallion and can still make a living for themselves.  Families have gotten rich driving taxis here!!  Wonder if the mafia could be involved?!

But, like today, taxis can be at a premium as well. Today it was raining.  If the weather report calls for rain or snow, it is almost impossible -- or very lucky -- to snag a taxi. You see people, soaking wet, walking in the rain and randomly trying to hail a cab! We were in NYC one wintry February night.  We had dinner reservations at a top restaurant, but I started getting sick.  Don't know, but I suspect it was food poisoning.  We couldn't get a taxi for love nor money -- and were sloshing through the snow, trying desperately to get back to the hotel before I threw up!  People were heckling us.  We didnt care.  We were focused.  AND we had tickets for a Broadway show that night.  Well, I just made it back.  However, as I was waiting for the elevator, waiting, waiting, to get back to the toilet and relief, the elevator came.  Just in time.  Just in time for Kelsey Grammer to step out and almost get my little "gift"!  But I would not let Bos and Betsy skip the show.  No taxis.  Even the doorman knew it was futile.  So, bless their hearts, they took a pedicab -- in the snow -- to Broadway.  Bumping along.  The poor pedlar peddling as best he could, they laughing  all the way.  And I was all cozy, tucked in bed, watching it snow on Central Park

 And we've learned that shift changes, like 5 p.m., are also times to watch out,regardless of the weather..  Yes, you can walk -- and walk -- and walk.  And our kids have done that. From one end of the island to the other.  And Manhattan is not a giant island.  But have you looked at us?  Walking is really not our thing"!  That is why we love to put up our arms, wave madly, and wait.  And it usually works.