Flooding In Tampa Bay

I sort of had a strange 'accident' Sunday afternoon. It was raining cats and dogs and if you drive in Tampa you know that the roads flood like Noah's Ark. ( It is a problem I thought they had fixed with all the pipe they had been putting in for years). I had a call on north B street just north of Kennedy.

I picked up Orlando (my fathers name) he is a regular and goes to a restaurant on south Howard. In front of his house was a puddle of water. It did not look that deep. "Turn around don't drown" is the saying. It really did not look that deep. I drove through it and my car sank hard. I did not see the pot holes that lurked below. I was almost underwater!

The problem with that is that if you taxi cab takes water into its engine - you just bought it. United Cab has a 'no tolerance' policy on this matter. I also heard a very load bang sound. When I got to the stop sign at the end of the block, the car was knocking. I must have taken in some water. I have never don that is all these years of driving cab.

Later, when I was at the gas station, I filled up on premium thinking that would get rid of the knocking - no such luck. It was running rough man...very rough.

This morning it was a little better and by the end of the day, my taxi was running just fine. I think I burned the water out of it. It must have been just a little bit.

Tampa Bay Must Draft Ndamukong Suh

Ndamukong Suh was tested scientifically by ESPN in all the important measures of speed, power and agility. The most important measure was the impact he had on crash test dummies that had more impact than an automobile accident...more like a freight train. If the Buccaneers don't draft this kid in the third spot, it will spell the doom for Raheem Morris as the head coach here. He should just resign or be fired on draft night.

Homeless Panhandling Is Now Widespread In Tampa

I drive all over Tampa and see first hand the number of people that are at almost every major intersection in Tampa - Dale Mabry and Kennedy is very popular, along with Kennedy and Westshore and Columbus and Dale Mabry. This homeless guy lives out of his van with his Jack Russel dog and uses the dog as a marketing tool to get hits.

UFO Video Shot By Tampa Taxi

I am not a big UFO guy but coming out of downtown, I saw this formation of white shining objects at a very high altitude. They did not seem to be moving in any direction, as the video shows, but were hovering and rising upwards. I do not know what they were.

Pedro Say Hay

Pedro was a special of Larry's for years. I picked him up today and he wanted to say hi to Larry. He is a good ride. $20-not bad. Today reminded me of what it was like in 'the good ole' days.'

I Saw James Riley Today!

I was sitting on stand 23 late this morning when a guy pulled up in a Toyota. He looked familier, but Iwas not sure. He pulled up next to me and I could see that it was James Riley. Holly Hell! I have not seen James in about eight years. He used to driver for us but ran into some trouble after he hooded up with a crazy women. He says he has been living in New York and he was doing ok. He was short on details, so I don't know exactly what is going on with him. The reason he is in Florida is because his parents have passed and he is here to sell their home which he inherited.

I got a call and had to leave. I gave him my number and told him to call me. Somehow, I don't think he will. Just a feeling.

Ice On My Taxi Cab!

It has been so cold for so long, the sight of ice on car windows is now common. Check this out. Ice in Tampa Florida. Global warming. Even with all the snow and ice and cold up north, no tourist are in sight in Florida. I guess they have seen the images on tv and figure why bother. We are in a warming trend, and the temps will be back up in the low '70's by Friday. Maybe that will drive some business our way.

Snow And Ice In Tampa Florida

Here is evidence that it was below freezing and that the arctic air mass is in Florida. Snow and Ice in Tampa Bay! Crazy man, crazy

Baby Its Cold In Tampa Florida!

There was sleet/snow/rain Saturday morning January 9th, 2010. I saw it with my own eyes at three in the morning. It will even be colder tonight. I hope the snow piles high on the palm trees.

Hoping 2010 Will Bring Renewal

It rained New Years Eve like a Summer thunderstorm. It came down hard and roads were flooded.

At least it waited until after the ball dropped before the cats and dogs came down. People were on their way home, and they seemed motivated to quickly get into my cab.

I work more nights than I ever have since our day business has slowed down ‘till a shadow of its former self. I don’t really like hauling drunks at 2 in the morning but don’t seem to have much choice.

Moments like this remind me of how little time off I actually have. A cab driver friend of mine used to take the holidays off and go to the Mountains of North Carolina. Like most drivers, however, the length of that trip was dependent on how much she had booked in the weeks leading up to the trip, such is the life of a taxi driver. I used to go camping on the holidays. I haven’t done that in a couple years.

I am looking forward to this new year. Like most people, 2009 was a miserable year. It left me broke, spiritually dead, destitute, hungry and dependent of other people to help me with some basic needs. Things I needed to do, I could not even bring myself to bother. Such is the way of depression.

Poor economies don’t just delay trips to camp sites, they take away from you. Friends have died that could not keep on under the stress and uncertainty of these times. I know when you get my age you say good by to people and things. I guess that’s normal, but this period of time has been especially difficult.

What really bothers me the most is how we have allowed our political leaders to lie to us, and how so many just went along with “shovel ready jobs” that were going to flood into society and make life a little better for all.

Sure, I would like to head out to the campfire and chill for a few days in a state of nature, and if that was all I had to bitch about, that would be ok. But its not. Things have been beyond bad.

I have been able to maintain a roof and an internet connection, and now have my cell phone service back up after six months down. Hell, that ain’t bad, I guess.

I can deal with the mud puddles on New Years Eve, but lets not make a habit of this. May 2010 be a year of renewal and growth. It has to be. Many cannot just keep going on.