Paradise Driver

Friday, November 24, 2006

BUSY?

YES AND NO

Where we were busy last night is a matter of perspective. By volume of calls, no. Basically a very slow night. By driver load ratio, what calls we did get kept us very busy.

Started the night at the usual time. Took over ONE-NINE from Mary. She switched into cab #5. I had no runs pending but she was already prebooked into 3 runs and "Crazy" Brian (#15) was booked into another three. I was also awarded the phone for the shift. TMR is off for the week, Tina was off and Hardin was off. Since #5 and #15 were unavailable for the next two hours, that left just me to handle calls. Then the calls started coming in to transfer people back to their hotels from various dinner locations. I was able to handle a few but the majority were 6 to 16 people per location. They didn't want to wait for me to shuttle them, 4 at a time (ONE-NINE's maximum capacity). I don't know how they got back.

I didn't have time to worry about it.

The requests for a cab continued and eventually I was backed up about 1 hour. Shortly after 9:00pm, #15 cleared and was able to assist. #5 was enroute to OGG and then had to wait for a "Meet & Greet" coming back to town. She went home about 12:30am, she had been on duty since 11:00am.

Fielded 23 trips, 16 between 7:00pm and 2:00am and 7 more during my solo hours. Drove 190 miles (306 km).

Even after the "day" shift started logging in, I was still kept busy until 6:00am.

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The picture above is of the Christmas pixie lights that wrap the trees lining the entry to The Grand. It is really beautiful.

There are more below. The first one is basically the same shot as the opener but just taken in the early dawn.

THE PICTURE GALLERY

I Have No Idea What Type Of Tree This Is But I Thought It's Blossom Was Pretty

Thanksgiving Day Sunrise

The Beauty Of The Ocean

Another Nice Day At The Beach

Kaua'i From A Helicopter

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Thursday, November 23, 2006

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

HAU'OLI LA HO'OMAIKA'I

A very mellow night. We didn't start moving until 9:00pm. As the night progressed, my fares kept getting larger. Finished off the shift with a run from the Mana Kai to OGG.

About 11:35pm I am dispatched to the Unocal 76 station, just south of the "Triangle" for a run to OGG. Alarm bells started going off in my brain. A pick up to the airport is not a common occurrence from a gas station. Also, there are no flights that late at night. The last "red-eye" should have departed 10 minutes earlier. Third alarm when I pulled into the station and there was a solo male, with NO luggage. He was a very nicely dressed and very intoxicated Hispanic gentleman. Probably in his mid-50s. He spoke in a moderate Spanish accent.

"Good evening. Where we headed to?"
"The airport."
"Which airline?"
"I don't know. I want to go to California to see my son."
"Uh, sir, the airport is closed at this hour and won't reopen until 5:00am."
"Really?"
"Yes, sir. In fact, I can't even drop you at the airport during the night. Security will stop me and they also won't let you sleep there while you wait for it to open."
"Then take me to a bar."

Which is what I did. All 100 meters of the $3.80 trip away.
Well, at least I got something out of it.

THE PICTURE GALLERY

VIEWS FROM MOLOKA'I

A View Of Mau'i From Moloka'I

View Of Lana'i From Moloka'i

Garden Of The Gods

Moloka'i Fish Pond

Kalaupapa Overlook

Phallic Rock

Cliffs At The West End Of Moloka'i

Near The Westend

Looking East From The Westend

West End

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Hana Road Waterfall

A View From Kaua'i

An Isolated Country Road On The Big Island

Another Hawai'ian Sunset

"Let's all be careful out there!"

MACY'S THANKSGIVING PARADE

LIVE WEB CAM

http://www.earthcam.com/events/thanksgiving/

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

43 YEARS AGO

16 years old, 10th grade, Portsmouth (NH) High School, biology class, principal announces over the in-class PA system that the president had been shot. Lesson stops, all ears focused on the audio being relayed from TV channel 6 out of Portland, ME, over the PA system, prayers (silent and whispered) being offered, soft sobs damping everyone's eyes. Bell rings, students move to the last class of the day. Almost 5,000 people in the building (my class of 1966 was 1800 alone) and absolute silence during class change, just the TV audio. Final class of my day, geometry, the teacher had a test scheduled for that day and come hell or presidential assassination she was going to give it. Passed out the exam, the announcer tells us that the president is dead, the teacher tells us that his death isn't important, the country was better off without him in the White House, and that the test would count 10% towards our final grade. Failed the test. Went home and was glued to the TV screen until the curtain rang down on this macabre play five days later.

I guess this day is etched in my mind until I am dead.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

JUST CALL ME KLUTZ

WITH A CAPITAL "K"

About 3 hours into the shift and I was hungry. During my hours, the are very few choices of things to chow down on. Went to 7-Eleven and the only thing that appealed to me were their nachos. Added the cheese sauce, the chili sauce, minced onions and jalapenos. Get back in the cab and immediately get a dispatch. That is what usually happens when I try to eat. Finish the run and park at Azeka Place. I knew it was going to be messy and had acquired a huge fist full of paper napkins. Was reaching for my second bite when the entire container slipped and up-ended in my lap and spilling down the front of the drivers seat. Recovered what I could and took a look at myself. Covered from crotch to ankle with everything. Went home, ate what was left and changed clothes. Since it was a quiet night, I was not in a rush to return to the streets and turned on the TV and immediately fell asleep. Woke up at 1:30am and went out to pick up the phone from "crazy Brian". Had a few pu-pu runs during the early part of my solo hours. and then it died. Day-shift has a few reservations but nothing interesting.

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~ Mary ~Mary was my first ride of the night. Picked her and three male companions up from a condo in north central Kihei. The guys were headed to work at Moose's and she was going home.

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~ Joanna & Ralph ~This lovely couple, from Chicago, were married yesterday. Picked them up from one of the "big box" hotels in Wailea and took them to their condo in Kihei. I love newlyweds.

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Cab #5's Hula GirlStopped to chat with Tina, early in the shift, and saw that someone had put a li' ol' hula dancer on the dashboard. Ones this small are rare.

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Things Are Rough In Victoria, Australia

The State of Victoria, Australia, is really in bad shape, waterwise. No significant rain this winter and now they are going into summer with reservoirs that are basically empty. They went on "Stage 3" water restriction on November 1st and will go to "Stage 4" on December 1st. The image above is what will happen if they go to "Stage 5" and beyond during the remainder of the summer.

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