Kihei, Hawaii Whitefish, Montana Bloomington, Minnesota Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria UTC/GMT Iraq Afghanistan Republic of Korea Ocean Grove, Victoria
Optimized for 1280x1024 resolution

Friday, April 06, 2007

NEVER GIVE UP

NEVER GIVE IN

I waited 3 hours before my first trip of the night. The next 4 hours brought me very close to $100 on the meter and graveyard added over $50 more. So, the night ended better than I had hoped for. And some really good tips, too. My takehome was less than $20 below my total meter.

~ Scott & Anastasie ~
Danville, CA, USA


This wonderful couple is part of some group staying at various locations in the Makena/Wailea area. They are all from Danville, CA, USA. I had 3 cab loads of them last night. These were the nice ones. Oh, the others weren't really bad, just bordering on the precipice of obnoxious.

I did have 2 fares, both solo males, that did fall over that edge. Picked one up at the Page and took him to the Four Seasons. He was just this side of "blithering idiot". He would ask a question, Answer it. Ask me what my opinion was. Then, when I agreed with him, tell me why my answer was wrong.

The other drunk had passed the "blithering idiot" stage. Got the call from "Triangle" Security about 2:20am. I was already on a runs, so it took me about 20 minutes to "clear" and then get back there. Security had found him passed out drunk in the shrubbery surrounding Bada Bings. It had taken them almost 15 minutes to get him to stand on his own feet, unassisted. Made the pickup at 2:41am and asked where we were headed. Naturally, he didn't know the name of his hotel. Just that it was in Kihei. Probably. I asked for his room key, I can often recognize which hotel it is issued by, even though the hotel's name is not usually on the key or access card. He search for about 5 minutes, meter running, and presented me his rental car keys 5 different times. We started a "drunkards walk" by taking him to the front of FoodLand, so he could orient himself. It is really hard to aid someone when every question you ask is met with dumbfounded silence. Finally located his "hotel", which was actually a vacation condo. It only took 15 minutes (normally a 5 minute trip) and the meter was 50% higher than it should have been. He gave me $30 on an $11.90.

One fare made a pass at me last night. Unfortunately it was a 20-sumptin' guy, who thought that resting his hand on my knee was perfectly acceptable. I told him that he had EXACTLY ONE SECOND to remove it or I would stick my switchblade in his chest. It was gone faster than one of Scotty's "transporter beams". Oh, I don't carry a knife.

***
Spotted this vehicle in the "Triangle" last night.

Your guess is as good as mine.

***
Why do people have these on their "rice rockets"?
They wouldn't have any affect on the vehicle until it passed 200 MPH (320 KPH).

***
My final fare of the shift was from central Kihei to an area known as the "baseyard", down Mokulele Highway towards Pu'unene and Kahului. Just a few hundred yards from where I dropped the guy there was a cane field being burnt prior to harvesting.
I am lucky. Later today the fine particulate from the fire will cover my end of town in soot. Those who live at the north end of town will find charred pieces the size of corn husks all over their property. One of the down-sides of "Paradise".

***
As always, I appreciate your visits. I hope everyone has a wonderful Good Friday. I forgot to give a Passover wish to those of you who would be honoring it. What is the proper honorific for Passover? I just realized that I don't know. Would someone please educate me?

Mahalo

Aloha


THE PICTURE GALLERY

Haleakala Visitor Center
Silverswords
Kalaupapa Peninsula
Kaua'i
Moloka'i Open Range
***




"Let's all be careful out there!"