ALMOST FORGOT

FIRST CALL OF THE NIGHT


About 7:15pm I am sent to The Grand for an OGG run.

Pull into our normal pickup location, notify the valet supervisor who I was there for and stared down the entry trying to guess which of the people coming out were mine. Not a lot of choices.

Then this limo pulls across my view. We talk story for a bit and then find out he was there tp get the same people.

The Grand's conceirge department sometimes believes in the "belt" AND "suspenders" approach. I wonder if they used to work for NASA?


Later.....

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

HAVEN'T WE HAD...

...THIS CONVERSATION BEFORE?


~ Mike & Marni ~

I picked up Mike & Marni at FoodLand during the early hours of the shift. They leave today for El Lay. About halfway through the trip Mike realized that I was their cabbie from their last visit, two years ago. Talking about my prior life triggered his memory. His dad is a Captain on the Boston (MA, USA) Police Department.

Its nice to be remembered.

---

TROUBLE SPOTS

Almost any community in the world has sections that most people would refer to as a ghetto. Kihei follows the trend. But our "financially stressed zones" are delineated by individual streets or cul-de-sacs, not entire neighborhoods. Since homes in these spots range in value from $850,000 to $1.1 million it is really hard to use the word "ghetto".

Almost exactly at midnight I responded to a MPD call on one of those cul-de-sacs. Seems there had been an extremely loud domestic disturbance and the residents of the home wanted their guests from the mainland removed. Somebody said something that someone else took exception to and then their emotional bombs went off. Blaring out to the entertainment of the neighborhood.

Pulled up next to the two MPD patrol cars and ejectee #1 (mid-40s) yelled at me, from the front porch, to get her bags from the porch and put them in the trunk of ONE-NINE. I looked up the steep drive at the wooden porch, 10 feet above the drive.

No way, Jose.

"No. You bring the bags down here and I will load them in the trunk"

The cop's heads snapped around and she went dead silent. I don't schlep luggage.

She started a ranting mumble and grabbed the first bag, followed down the drive by her daughter (9 to 11-ish), ejectee #2, and grandma, ejectee #3.

Got them loaded and asked for our destination. After listening to about 5 seconds of her foaming mouth response, I got the info from one of the cops. Destination: Maui Coast Hotel

About 1 minute into the ride, listening to her erupt venom, I bluntly, but very softly, told #1 that if it wasn't for this being a MPD call, this ride would have ended by now. That set her off again, without the mumbles this time. When she paused for breath I interjected,

"Ma'am. I strongly suggest that you sit back and be quiet. One more outburst and I will dump you on the side of the road, lost, and take your daughter and mother on to the hotel. I am very, very serious. Your choice."

"GRUMP... HURRUMP..."

I'll give her credit. She immediately began making verbal plans with the others about what was needed to be done to get off the island today. She might have a chance. Long Fourth of July weekend means all flights full coming in but nearly empty going out.

I barely missed breaking out in laughter when she spoke of her little home, back in the trailer park in either Texas or Alabama.

Oh, God! A stereo-type!

Grandma paid the fare ($21.00) and tipped me $5. Surprised me, too.

The daughter was a sweetheart. Stayed very calm. Told her mom to "shut up", after my admonition. During a stop at an ATM she said,

"My mom gets real...uh....uh....uh..."
"Are you looking for the word 'hyper'?"
"Yeah! She tends to get real hyper. Thats a good word."

Smart kid.

---

WORLD CUP

A 1:30am pu-pu run from the 4-Seasons to Wailea Elua Village, brought me in contact with a nice "30-sumptin'" guy. He is very much into the world's most popular sport. Since my complete knowledge of the game is based on watching the last 8 minutes of the recent Austalia vs Italy match and from comments on some of the other cab-blogs, I was able to at least ask a few intelligent sounding questions. From what he said, and from other sources, I guess that Brazil is the dominant team this year.

---

SPAM ALERT

Do to some complaints, PARADISE DRIVER was placed under "spam alert" by blogger. It was removed yesterday and I received the following e-mail from them:

Blogger Help
to me
More options Jun 29(22 hours ago)

Hello,

Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and cleared for regular use so that it will no longer appear as potential spam.

If you sign out of Blogger and sign back in again, you should be able to post as normal.

Thanks for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Sincerely,
The Blogger Team

So, if anyone is still having "pop-up" problems, It ain't from here.

---

LAST NIGHT

Basically a decent shift. No out-of-town runs, but I managed to rack up 15 trips on 125 miles (201 km). Made money. Got home safely.



Later.....

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

WITH BATED BREATHE

I AWAIT EACH MESSAGE

Like everyone, I thought I've had some bad vacations in my life.

The worst of mine don't even begin to hold a candle to what happened to our good friend Bob, of Taxi Tales.

He is still unfolding the story, with brief posts each day.

You need to read them in this order to get the complete effect.

• Holdays
• Back at Last
• Kidnap and Robbery
• Foggy
• Blind Faith
• Torture Chamber
• First Sight

He should have another post out this evening, his time.

I have my fingers crossed, since this is still an ongoing event.




Later.....

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

AT LEAST MY DAY

WAS BETTER THAN THEIRS

The pic is poor quality, so don't bother enlarging it.

I desperately needed smokes, cola, ice and some food, so I ventured out into the "real" world for a bit this evening. I came on this traffic collision about a minute after it happened. An ambulance, running "EMERGENCY", had weaved its way through traffic at the intersection of Lipoa and Kihei road about that same time. Judging by the positions of the vehicles, it appears that one was a bit more aggressive in clearing the roadway for the emergency vehicle than the other was. Feces occurs.

---

INTROSPECTION

I figured out the reason for the blahs. I was supposed to have been on vacation from the 15^th until the 30^th but the finances didn't allow that pleasure. I really needed the time off, its been three years since I last saw my family. Plans are now to do the "BIG" (Yellowstone, Carlsbad Caverns, Grand Canyon) trip next year. One of the major factors was the huge jump in the price of gasoline since last summer. My guesstimations showed me that it was not currently a viable option. Also, the youngest grandkid will be 3-1/2 next summer and will probably be just a might easier to deal with.

I decided to take one more day off and just "relax".

---

LOOKING GOOD

I think I have everything back in working order here at PARADISE DRIVER.

Per Talia's suggestion, I dumped the webstats4u.com counter. Hopefully that will stop the "pop-up". I am at a loss about this since I don't get the "pop-up" on my FIREFOX 1.5 browser on either the PC or the notebook.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. FIREFOX is about three generations ahead of all the competition and anyone not using it is a fool. The download is FREE, all your favorites are automatically transferred from your clunker MSIE (INTERNET EXPLORER) browser. And for the neanderthals who need it, your MSIE browser is still there, if you positively have to use it.

Besides the webstats4u.com counter, I also removed, sadly, the counter that provided that big world map that was located at the bottom of the page. I was using it on a 30-day free trial and that finally expired.

---

WHAT DID I MISS?

Talked to Kimo, tonight's driver/dispatcher. a few times this evening. At the beginning of the nightshift they had 9 cabs on duty (I would/ve been #10) and nobody was going anywhere fast. Its less than 30 minutes left until the night crew leaves. Wonder who'll get stuck pulling the graveyard shift? Like I really care. NOT!

Oh, well. Back to the grind tomorrow night.



Later.....

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

ALMOST BACK TO NORMAL

LOOKING MUCH BETTER

Reinstall banner (check)

Reinstall Firefox link (check)

Reinstall translator (check)

Reinstall javascript so dropdowns work (check)

Reinstall address bar icon (to do)

Reinstall meta tags (to do)

Reinstall country flags (to do)



Later.....

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

PLEASE STAND BY!

WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.

EVEN MORE TO DO.

The drop down menus on the sidebar have quit working. Probably as the result of such a large CC&P.

All the direct site links do work. Thank goodness!





Later.....

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

WELL, I SCREWED UP

BIG TIME!!

I was making a change in the sidebar. Didn't like how it looked on "preview" and instead of just "clear edit", I highlighted and deleted.

OOPS!!

Didn't notice that everything above where I was deleting got highlighted too.

Pressed the delete key and wiped out all of the blog template above the "My Profile" segment.

I saved what remained of the template, reloaded the original (unmodified) template and the reinstalled the portion I was able to save.

Now comes the hard work.

Reinstalling the visitor flags and CIA Worldbook of Facts links for all 61 nations.

Reinstalling the banner,

Reinstalling the translator.

Reinstalling the Firefox Browser link.



Later.....

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

MY GET UP AND GO

GOT UP AND WENT

I've been up since 2:00pm.

I've done my laundry for the week

I've checked out all my favorite blogs and websites.

Had some food.

And I still can't muster up any enthusiasm to go to work.

A bad case of the BLAHS.

The brightest point of the day has been listening to my landlord's 7 year old boy play with his buddies. I wish that I could find that much fun out of simple pleasure again. I love listening to them interact with each other. Running, shouting, playing games with such abandon.

Oh, to turn back the clock 51 years.

The weather is pleasant. A bit cloudier than normal but that has kept the temperature down to a livable level. And just enough of a breeze to make the humidity tolerable.

When I feel this way my tolerance level for drunks and jerks is at the minimal threshold.

All the normal aches and pains from my abused body are protesting but that is normal.

Maybe I am just depressed. I have no idea why. This is just another day, like all of those before.

Oh, well.

Talk to y'all tomorrow.

---

***ADDENDUM***

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

To my daughter-in-law, Kellie.

Over 18 but not old enough to draw Social Security.

Happy birthday, sweetheart.

---

_{***postscript***}
I called off.




Later.....

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

BLOG UPDATE

SOME NEW LINKS

Three new links have been added on the sidebar

Barry's Baghdad Blog

Barry is an International Police Liaison Officer, working in Baghdad, Iraq.

Mirth, Musings & More

A satirical look, by Lugosi, at life and politics. His main target of satire is the "far right". A blog after my own heart.

Nicky's Congo Blog

Nicky, a refuge from the "Big Island", is an Education Advisor, working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Later.....

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

MAUI RULES

• Never judge a day by the weather.



• The best things in life aren't things.



• Speak softly and wear a loud shirt.



• Tell the truth - there's less to remember.



• Goals are deceptive - the unaimed arrow never misses.



• He who dies with the most toys - still dies.



• Age is relative - when you're over the hill, you pick up speed.



• There are two ways to be rich - make more or desire less.



• Beauty is internal - looks mean nothing



• No rain, no rainbow.

Later.....

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

THE YEAR IS 1906

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO

What a difference a century makes!

Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1906:

• The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.


• Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.


• Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.


• A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.


• There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles (232 km) of paved roads.


• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 8 mph (13 kph).


• Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.


• With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.


• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!


• The average wage in the US. was 22 cents per hour.


• The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year.




• A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year.


• A dentist $2,500 per year.


• A veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year.


• A mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.




• More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S . took place at HOME.


• Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!


• Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."


• Sugar cost four cents a pound.


• Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.


• Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.


• Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.


• Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.


• Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:




• 1. Pneumonia and influenza


• 2. Tuberculosis


• 3. Diarrhea


• 4. Heart disease


• 5. Stroke




• The American flag had 45 stars.


• Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.


• The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!!


• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.


• There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.


• Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.


• Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.


• Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.


• Back then pharmacists said,

  "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.????"



• Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.


• There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

Now I have republished this message, from someone else, without typing it myself, and it is instantly available for the entire world to read.

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.



Later.....

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

POTPOURRI

11:00pm

This is when package sales of alcohol end on Mau'i, until 6:00am the following day. I was sitting at the FoodLand bus-stop (bus quits running at 9:00pm) watching all the cars and trucks flying into the parking lot as the "magic moment" approached. The closer it got to that final instant, the crazier their driving became. 4-WD's coming over the stall stops and divider islands (Lanes! What lanes?) to get as close to the door as possible. FoodLand's computerized checkout terminals stop accepting any alcohol "bar codes" at 10:55pm and the clerks have no way to override.

Stop by any night to watch Mau'i version of "Beat The Clock". All the excitement of a "destruction derby".

---

A $37.00 PACK OF SMOKES

A newlywed, and mildly intoxicated, bride (married on Friday) desperately wanted some cigarettes. I picked her up, hubby stayed in the room, at the Kea Lani and drove her to the UNOCAL 76 gas station in central Kihei. The closest place open, it was around midnite, to provide the relief she needed. $30.80 roundtrip plus cost of smokes. No tip.

---

$100 BILLS

Made a $5.60 pu-pu run, early in the shift, from the "Triangle" to a nearby apartment complex. Passenger presents a "C"-note. I had maybe $50.00 on me. He was very dismayed when I expressed my opinion on the legitimacy of his birth and my suggestions for physically impossible acts that he should perform upon himself. He started digging through his wallet and pant pockets and managed to scrape together 5 bucks in coins and paper. What did he think I was, The Bank Of Hawaii?

---

WEATHER & FIGHTS

Today (Sunday) we are suppose to transition from "trade wind" to "Kona wind" weather. Rain should increase over the leeward sides of the islands and it will be calm, hot and muggy. Tracking these weather patterns and the effect they have on people's personalities is interesting. Violence always increases when the winds "turn Kona".

---

TRAIN WRECK IN SLOW MOTION

Due to his bad luck, one of our day drivers, who likes to work late into the night shift, got stuck with the phone for about two hours blast night. While he has been with us since the first of the year, he has no concept of the "rules" we follow. I'll give him high marks for his valiant efforts, though. As I've mentioned before, dispatching is a real bitch and we were very active last night. I finally connected with him a little after 9:00pm and put him out of his misery. He logged off 30 seconds after he handed me the phone. For some strange reason I am very good at dispatching. This is not my opinion but the feelings of all the senior drivers and even the owner has told me that I am better at it than he is ( and he is GOOD!). Personally, I think TMR Alex is my peer.

I felt sorry for the day driver. Listening to him struggle was as bad as watching a train wreck in slow motion.

---

LAST NIGHT

While I only handled 10 runs, I made good money. Tips were a bit shy but I did do multiple long runs, including a run from Hapa's to the Kahana Ridge subdivision, on the westside, halfway between Ka'anapali and Kapalua. $93.50 and got a 50-cent tip. Gee, thanks.

All five shifts this week ended within a $15.00 span. Not bad, very consistent.



Later.....

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