Long gone

I love mornings. The sun is rising and there is a sense of optimism in the air. On Fridays you can expect activity. Not this morning. No call until 6:32 AM.

 About the only thing I hate about Tampa is its so seasonal. Your bills dont change, only your income. I'm sure this is a lament commonly heard in the Tampa Bay service industry. Hell, even the strippers complain. In fact, that industry is nothing compared to the glory hole days.

 We use to get tons if rides from strippers who would call a taxi to avoid stalkers following them from work. Many probably special some of our lady drivers because the Haitian drivers would hit on them. I should give my number out to more people. I mean, shit, Im going to starve waiting on this dispatch system to give it to me.

 Specials just are not reliable. The first time you can't get them at two in the morning, you never hear from them again. I suspect, however, a good percentage of calls now are private, and you never see the call.

 When I started driving cab in 1995, we would still do 3,000 calls on a Friday. Sadly, those days are long gone.

St Pete Beach

bridge to a fun time

I had a run out to St. Pete Beach to the Tradewinds Resort. After dropping off, I found one of the many public access points. The city does make its beaches user friendly and easy to get to.

I did not have time to stay. If I had my bathing suit, I would have gone in. It was a beautiful day. I did get some good images for my blog.

The taxi man himse

Why we like "Kim" calls

You got to love ,"Jack Shacks." Between giving massages to horney guys, these girls use our cabs a lot. Getting a Kim call can put some real money in your pocket. The girls have money (hand jobs are $100) and they know how to tip. They often go to the casino which is a great ride. Drivers would fight for these fares if they could. They wwon't do specials, so forget about giving them your cell phone number. I think they know what guys want.

$30 is just what i

 I needed a good ride and today I picked up this HOT young Asian girl who went to the tanning salon. She paid to have me wait and I took her back. While waiting, I hijacked WiFi from local business to kill the time. The salinsalon had the WiFi and it was a strong signal. She was out in ten minutes and we were soon headed back.Twelve bucks on the meter and this is what she gave me. More rides like that, and I would be doing a lot better. Capitalism sometimes works out pretty good.

Motel row and Florida dreams

Many people come to Florida for a fresh start. They will tell you its because of the weather but it usually involves the circumstances of their life. Things will be better in Florida - they are certain of that. In Tampa, most people you meet are from somewhere else. There is a reason for that. They come here with Florida dreams. I got a call around sunset for a middle age couple living out of a cheap motel. They had out of state tags on their car from the north.

They were trying to survive until they had saved some money for an apartment, and were paying out the nose for this dump motel. They needed me to help them with their stuff. They had filled their car up with stuff, but had a tv and other items to put in mine. They also had a cute little dog. The lady said it was just too expensive to stay. I know how they feel. The reason I drive a cab is because I can't work at near minimum wage and survive. I helped them but could see they have a tough road to go. Low wages and few benefits are the jobs in Florida.

The door to nowhere...they hoped for more

They were trying to survive until they had saved some money for an apartment, and were paying out the nose for this dump motel. They needed me to help them with their stuff. They had filled their car up with stuff, but had a tv and other items to put in mine. They also had a cute little dog. The lady said it was just too expensive to stay. I know how they feel. The reason I drive a cab is because I can't work at near minimum wage and survive. I helped them but could see they have a tough road to go. Low wages and few benefits are the jobs in Florida. It was once said that you got paid in sunshine down here. These people found out that don't pay the rent. I hope they make it. Not everyone does who moves to Florida. The good paying industrial jobs of the Midwest are gone. That is why so many people from Ohio, Michigan, and othe states are down here. People often go back, but to what? They seemed like good folks. I learned about that sunshine myth a long time ago.

Protest in downtown Tampa

Barack Hussain Obama as a candidate in 2008 said he would never encroach on personal freedoms and individual liberty. He was separating himself from perceived abuses of the Patriot act and the Bush administraton. He was a democrat, a liberal, and a cool brother who understood. Recent events have shown he was a liar and is abusing his power. Today in downtown Tampa I saw a group of protesters who a few years ago would have been Obama's biggest supporters. I mean you even had hippies in tied dye shirts protesting. The NSA, the IRS, Verizon, the military, Obama will spy on his enemies (US citizens) that would make Richard Nixon envious. I'm sure they are monitoring all internet social activity. It seems to be working. Their algorithms failed to flag the Boston bombers and I know why..resources are spread too thin. They ate wasting time with innocent people.

Its getting hot man

You got to love winter time in Florida. You can sit in the taxi while waiting for calls with the windows down. Not now. You got to idle the car and burn gas that the driver pays for. Plus, business is way down. I hate this time of year.

A peeping taxi driver

The new function on the tablet lets the driver request a call out. I only use this at night...during the day I knock on the door. This morning for instance..

I blew the horn lightly at an address on a dark street. There were no lights on inside and I wondered what kind of call this was. Where they going to the airport? Where they drunk? I got out of the taxi and knocked on the door, nobody answered.

I got back in the cab and requested a call out. Kala called and said the customers did not see me outside the house. Strange. Why didn't they answer the door? I knocked again.

From the porch I could see the street sign in the distance. I walked over to it and realized I was on the wrong street. A good way to get shot. Its happened before.

One time I could see people screwing in a back bedroom while I looked through the window. The women looked up and saw me watching (I was at the wrong house) and I got out of there guick. They may have seen the taxi speed away and wondered WTF.

Eddie got it fixed

Eddie installed Google maps on the tablet which seemed to fix the problem. I like the mapping system better and just wanted the new system to just work.

Downtown Tampa

A test of mobile uploading. I dropped off from Tampa airport at a condo downtown. I took thisimage from the east side...thebackend of downtown

Picnic Island on Fathers Day

I went to the south end of Tampa today where the mangroves line the shore. There have been Skunk Ape sightings in the Everglades where they have been seen swimming between mangrove islands. Nothing like that today, just a beautful day and some dudes fishing.