THE WEEK ENDED WITH

A WHIMPER, NOT A BANG

When I logged in, we had 9 of our 12 cabs on the street. Half in Wailea, the rest in Kihei or on runs.

Sat and sat and sat, working my way to the top of the queue.

First run was a pu-pu from the Wailea Marriott to the Diamond Resort.

Back to the end of the line and start through the process again.

Grabbed a turkey wrap sandwich from the deli in The Shops.

At 8:15pm, I am dispatched to The Grand for a 2-pax going to OGG at 8:30pm. They were a no-show.

Back to the top of the queue, but by that time things were really slowing down. Most of the good runs had been given while I sat idle.

My next run was just before 10:00pm, when I took the people from my first trip back to The Marriott from The Diamond.

Our S.O.P., at 10:00pm, is to move any cars left in Wailea into Kihei. There is minimal business out of the resort community after that hour.

We still had 5 dayshift holdovers plus the 4 nightshift cabs. Since luck was not my forte for the evening, I went home. Returned to the streets at 12:45am and started helping move a large crowd from Mulligan's. That added $70 to my paltry meter. There was still one day driver working, the others had finally left. Also, one night driver had folded up shop.

The few runs I did have tipped very generously, which saved my night.

My last bar close run was a couple from Mulligan's to central Kihei. Pull in front of the requested residence, illuminate the interior and the lady reaches forward and takes my digital camera out of the ashtray cup holder and starts to exit the cab. A drunk thief. Retrieved it before she got out of ONE-NINE and then she tried to claim that I was stealing HER camera. I asked her to describe what images were in the memory. She couldn't. Then I told her that all the images were of Christmas trees and Christmas decorations, and showed them to her. Her male companion tipped $20 over the meter and apologized.

I have passed the point where drunk, pretty girls, with big boobs falling out of their dress, have any effect on me.

There is just one reservation for Sunday. Day shift is even leaner than nights, which explains why so many drivers are holding over until they are exhausted.

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

The Grand Wailea Resort

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"Let's all be careful out there!"