WHAT A BORE...

I HAD THE PHONE

And was definitely not a "chore". The calls were sparse and by the time it reached 10:30 PM, I had 3 cabs on the road. Well, actually parked. Among the 3 of us, I was the statue again. Not one fare, what few there were, reached $16. I did get some nice tips and my take was almost equal to the meter. Wish that would happen on a really excellent night.

Had a brief conversation with a young guy in the "Triangle". I had just dropped his wife and 18 month old son off. She was coming down to get the car keys and drive home. She wanted to be positive that he wouldn't become another statistic. He offered to do some body work on the cab, minor scratches, and was disappointed that I wasn't the owner. He asked how business was and I told him the truth. He agreed. He sells used cars at a lot in north Kihei and people have stopped buying.

This pending recession is already showing its affect here. The resorts are full, the condos are full but the tourists have drastically downsized their expenditures. The car rental companies are moving out vehicles, hand over fist, but the renters are not upgrading to the fancy and sporty models. That means the rental agents are getting lower commissions and spending less.

Restaurants have seen a slide in business. They still have their peak periods but those are a lot shorter than before. And fewer "tops" means reduced tips and hours for the servers.

I could go on. Obviously there is a classic "snowball effect" to all this.

6 fares / 62 miles / 3rd quarter below $100 bracket

Typically, Thursdays are an improvement on the week. Lets hope that adage holds true tonight.

See ya mañana.

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

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Over The Limit?
UNDER ARREST!
Please don't drink and drive

"Let's all be careful out there!"