You're hot

I got out early from the garage this afternoon and it turned out to be a pretty good night, even though I thought it would be dead with everyone at home recovering from the holiday weekend. And luckily, there wasn't too much drama in the cab tonight either.

The only marginally interesting moment was when three young drunk girls got into the cab around 10:30. They were all revved up and talking at the same time so that I couldn't hear them tell me where they wanted to go. I had to act like a parent for a minute and say, "Okay, one at a time. One of you has to tell me where to go." When this was finally accomplished, they peppered me with all sorts of questions about being a cab driver. One of the girls got really excited and told some story about her dad's friend named Sam who was a cab driver and who was the smartest man her dad ever met. She was like, "Yeah, and my dad went to Oxford and Columbia. Class of '66. But he thinks this guy Sam is the most brilliant man ever. He recommended all these books to him, like Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Have you heard of it?" I responded, "Yeah, didn't you read that in high school?" And she said, "No! I'm in high school now and we haven't read it! I'm a junior!" They couldn't believe I had actually read Siddhartha, and all of a sudden, I felt sort of old. I read that book maybe 15 years ago, when I was 15. It's odd to think that way. Thirty isn't really that old, but when you're driving a gaggle of drunk giggling teenage girls home, it sure feels like it.

Anyway, as they were paying and getting out, one of the girls goes, "You're really hot. I'm sure it's annoying because you probably get hit on all the time, but I just have to tell you, I think you're totally hot!" Then they got out and waved as I drove away.

I actually don't get hit on in the cab too often, which I consider to be a good thing, but it does happen from time to time. And when it does, it's usually pretty uncomfortable for me. I've been asked for my number and I've been offered drinks, food, and massages. I've also had one woman jokingly (I hope) offer to pay me in sex instead of cash while she had her girlfriend (who was in Portugal) connected on the cell phone. For some reason, however, the girls tonight didn't really bother me. It was almost cute how energetic and excited they were, and the girl who told me she thought I was hot had major balls, and that needs to be respected.

On a related note, I once drove a woman home who told me she had married her cab driver. He picked her up and they made a connection. Numbers were exchanged, dates went on, and eventually a marriage was had. At the time of our conversation, they had been married for nine years.