CHARACTER BUILDING

"Sometimes the magic works,
and sometimes it doesn't."
Chief Dan George
Little Big Man

When a driver has a bad night, especially new drivers, I tell them that these are "character building" shifts. Helps remind you that everything doesn't always work right.

Last night was a "character building" shift for me.

Oh, I made money, usually do, but I seemed to get all the fares that just didn't (or weren't able to) tip. Had three runs in a row, total fare for the three was $30.80 and the total tips were $0.55.
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CONTRAST

Made a pickup at the Mau'i Prince around 4:00am this morning. Destination: Mau'i Memorial Medical Center Emergency Room. I usually don't pay much attention to my passengers appearence but this couple was striking in their contrast. He was a high 6 foot (almost 7 foot) tall black gentleman, one of the blackest people I have ever seen. Pure ebony. She was barely 5 foot tall and appeared to have never been exposed to the sun. Blonde, with eyes so pale blue that they were almost translucent (like the actress Meg Foster). Pure ivory.

During the run to the hospital, the gentleman was calling his airline to reschedule their return to the mainland. The customer service person at "1-800-WE GOT YOUR MONEY SO GO TO HELL" was not very helpful. I was amazed at how calm my passenger remained. Most people would have been screaming bloody murder by the run around he received. Never once did he raise his voice, nor did he use any profanity. A real class act. I was impressed.
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ZZZZZZZZZ

A very long and boring evening. Even half the bars in the "Triangle" closed shortly after 1:00am, due to lack of business.
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MAGGIE

Maggie is the night cashier at FOODLAND. She and I spent 1/2 hour talking about how many "weirdo's" there seem to be during the "wee" hours of the morning.
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Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"