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If you want to ride your bicycle after dark would you, for your own health and safety, wear a reflector. Also, it would help all of us if you just possibly could add some lights. Those flashing strobe types are really pretty and come in so many stylish colors. Doing this makes it so much easier for us drivers of those gas guzzling automobiles to get a better shot at running you down. Do you know how hard it is to get a "sight target" on you when you have no lights or reflectors and insist on wearing black clothing? It makes you so much more difficult to locate.
Picked up cab #14 for the shift. It is parked just 1/2 mile, if that much, from where I live. Not quite as appointed as #7 but a decent ride. Since I was still in Kihei, I was made #1 up in town. At that time of night there are better chances for a fare than sitting on my ass in Wailea. Just a few minutes after logging on, I am sent to Maui Kamaole, a mixed use condo complex. It was a 7:15p time call and nobody came out. Walked to the door, knocked. No response. Called a "10-13" (no show/no load) and started to leave. Turned onto one of the internal private roads in the complex and my four people were standing at the edge of the drive, waving at me. They had left via the rear door and were wondering where I had gotten to. I guess being picked up at the front door is not the common mode of operation in their neck of the woods. Another pleasant group from Sydney, here for a wedding on the beach in Wailea today. The pre-wedding dinner party was being held at Mulligans. When I did the return a few hours later, had just one spot of trouble. We picked up two additional to drop at one of the resorts in Wailea. One of these extras had an open bottle of beer, which I informed him that it could not be brought into the vehicle. So, of course, he brought it with him anyway. Reached over and took the bottle from him and placed it on the parking lot curb. In the USA, every State has a law that makes it illegal for a vehicle operator to allow an "open container" in the car. Its not the person with the beer who is in trouble, but the driver. After dropping him and his partner at their resort, the remaining people apologized for him. They had heard me make my respectful request and were a bit dismayed that he had ignored it. They did explain that in OZ it isn't illegal to have a drink in the car. Is that true, DB?
The night wasn't slow, until 11p, but it also wasn't busy. Made the majority of my money on the dog-watch.
My next to the last run was from central Kihei to OGG (airport). He had wanted to be picked up at 3:30a but the driver dispatching had failed to get a callback number. I was already scheduled for a 3:45a, so there was a conflict. Just as I am picking up the 3:45a, the 3:30a calls. I explain why I hadn't picked him up but that I could get there in 20 minutes and, anyway, the airport doesn't open for passenger business until 5:00a. He insisted that he had a flight scheduled to leave at 5:10a. I told him that the earliest departure is at 6:25a. He didn't believe me. Hustled his ass across the isthmus and, sure enough, the departure terminal wasn't open. It was 4:28a when I dropped him. He still had 1/2 hour to learn that somewhere a mistake had been made.
I had just departed Kahului when "Maui Jim" called me with a request to pick up one of his fares from MMMC (hospital), back into Kihei. Called the cell number he had given me and the people wanted me to collect them from the Ale House, a bar, instead. Whatever makes them happy. The bar had been closed for almost 3 hours and is located in the middle of a large retail district. which won't open for another 4 hours. Oh, well. It was the largest run of the shift.
10 fares / 112 miles / 4th quarter $100 bracket
TGIF!
MAHALO
ALOHA
THE PICTURE GALLERY
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"Let's all be careful out there!"
