Modern Khazaria

I've been intensely reading this book called "The Thirteenth Tribe" by Arthur Koestler. It's about the history of Eurasia since medieval times, in regards to the emergence and geographical movement of Jews, or at least people who consider themselves as such, and everyone else who came into contact with them. The book is an anthropological gold mine. It adds a lesser known dimension to all the theories concerning our ethnic origins.

Then again, there is the simple fact that human beings are 99.9% genetically identical and .1% diverse. So what's all the fuss about the .1%? Well, in my opinion, our external differences really don't matter, and I'd even dare to call myself an avid xenophile. But as a Jew, or at least someone raised secularly, yet informed their entire lives both by maternal and paternal relatives that they are in fact a Jew, I find it necessary to ask, "how so?" No doubt I feel Jewish and most would say I "look Jewish." Still the question remains. Where did my ancestors live throughout the centuries and with whom did they commingle?

All I know is that my dad's side is entirely Romanian, as far back as we can trace, and my mom's side is a mix of Polish and Ukranian, with the exception of my mom's mom's mom. She's a Colombian hybrid of mostly Spaniard Catholic roots, with a dab of Mestizo (indigenous Amerindian), and she's about a century old (still alive.) She married a Jew who escaped from the Bolshevik Revolution in the Ukraine and somehow landed in Colombia, hence she become one of the first ever, fully-certified Colombian converts to Judaism. Since that was like three generations ago, and the family has remained closely tied with the rabbinical community in Bogota and Medellin, it is safe for me to presume that this crucial ingredient to my Jewry is valid.

Mind you I'm paying lip service to some orthodox notion, which brings me back to the book I'm reading. It declares that in the 8th century a Shamanistic (Turkic) empire that sat between the Black and Caspian seas converted to Judaism in order to gain equal respect from its two Abrahamic neighbors (the Muslim Caliphate and the Christian Byzantium), and that the Ashkenazim of today are mostly their descendants, as opposed to the almost mythical pure-bred Semitic lineage. The truth is none of this really even matters because to be a Jew is something from deep down inside. It's a soul thing, not an ethnic (or religious) one.

However, I still hold on to this general inquiry about universal Jewish identity because I have always sensed a sort of racialist hypocrisy in the way many European Jews tend to view the Jews of Arab nations, and indeed their view of Arabs in general (not to mention gentiles in general.) Whatever happened to the integrity and definition of the word "semitic"? And I'm not even delving into all the other directions and amalgamations occurring throughout Jewish history, which are all mentioned in the book. All I know is this: a chosen people are a people chosen by the creator to carry out the responsibility of improving the world on behalf of all humanity, not for self-serving interests and in the name of exclusivity.

Europa on Shoestrings

.....is where we found the cheapest airfare to Europe this summer. We were originally going to stay in Iceland for a few days, before becoming continental, but concerns over post-volcanic particulate matter affecting the island's air quality changed our minds since Jenine is asthmatic.

ITINERARY OF TENTATIVE TENACITY:

7/25 at half past 9 pm: Jenine and I fly out of Boston aboard Iceland Air.

26th at half past 6 am: We land in Reykjavik for an hour layover.

1 pm: Arrive at Charles de Gaulle in Paris.

Regional rapid transit to La Vesinet (suburb where Vera lives).

Acclimate and meet Vera's beautiful family.

7/27 thru 8/1: Explore all of Paris and celebrate Jenine's 31st birthday.

My top points of interest in the city of lights: Belleville, Latin Quarter, and the 10th Arrondissement.

8/2 (my birthday): We hitch down through France toward Barcelona.

Depending on the rides we get: stops are possible in Marseille and Gerona.

Barcelona becomes our headquarters for the week, with a possible excursion to Madrid.

We have no current contacts in the Catalonian capital, so please help us out if you can.

I'm not worried about it because there are over 5000 couchsurf members out there.

8/9 at 8 pm: Our flight to Germany, with an 8 hour overnight layover in Stuttgart.

8/10 at 8 am: Arrive in Berlin. Settle into my friend Jeffrey's spare room and explore that city on borrowed bicycles. Visit friends Aaron and Corinna in town.

8/13: Hitch to Hamburg and visit a friend of Jenine's.

8/15: Arrive at the home of my Dutch relatives outside of Utrecht.

8/16 thru 20: Jenine attends Fab 6 Graduation and Conference.

Meanwhile, I explore Amsterdam mostly on my own that week.

8/21 thru 25: Jenine and I do the Netherlands and Belgium together.

She flies home from Schiphol airport and I remain in Europe for another month.

8/26: My solo hypersonic auto-stop journey thru 11 extra countries begins.

8/27: Explore central and east London on foot and a tight shoestring.

8/28: Thumb my way east to Prague.

8/29: Explore the Czech capital. Catch overnight train to Krakow (Poland).

8/30: Explore my maternal grandfather's hometown.

8/31: Meander through Slovakia to visit friends in Vienna (if they're in town).

9/1: Make my way to Budapest and spend the night there.

9/2: Enter Romania. Either travel to the northern hometown(s) of my paternal grandparents....

9/3: or head to Bucharest via Transylvania.

9/4: Explore the Romanian capital thoroughly.

9/5: Catch a bus to Bulgaria. 9/6: Explore Sofia.

9/7: Catch a bus to Turkey. 9/8-9: Explore Istanbul.

9/10: Catch a bus to Greece. 9/11: Explore Thessaloniki.

9/12: Catch a bus to Athens. 9/13-14: Explore the Greek capital.

9/15: Hitch to the Adriatic coast (Igoumenitsa).

9/16 : Ferry across to Brindisi (Italy).

9/17: Thumb it to Napoli. 9/18: Explore Napoli.

9/19: Hitch to Roma. 9/20-22: Explore the Italian capital.

9/23: Fly Aer Lingus to NYC via Dublin.

I can shorten and/or elongate these flexible dates (and route) based on my experience as it unfolds. I know this schedule seems too rushed, but it's my first time ever to Europe and for me it's mostly a geographical marathon to put together the ethno-cartographic puzzle pieces of my anthropologic mind. Future trips will be more concentrated on specific regions and cities. Not so spread out and hurried. IF YOU KNOW ANYONE I SHOULD STAY WITH OR MEET ALONG THIS EXTENSIVE ROUTE, OR ANY POINTS OF INTEREST I SHOULD VISIT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT.

LONG LIVE THE TAXICAB!

The centennial anniversary of the metered NYC taxicab was celebrated in 2007. The Empire State Building was lit yellow in commemoration.

Shirts with the design below printed on them were handed out at.... Taxi 07: A DESIGN TRUST PROJECT EXHIBIT (NY Int'l. Auto Show)

In the following commercial, a Mexican taxicab plays an important role in world cup soccer:

Xeno and Vexillophilia

#1 The flag of the nomadic Berber peoples of northern Africa. Their cultural (not to mention genetic) specificity has long been downplayed by Arab nations. #2. This flag is banned in Turkey, Syria, and Iran. It is the banner of the unrecognized Kurdish nation.

#3 The map is probably banned too.

TAXI ROOF CONES IN TOKYO

50 DIFFERENT TAXI TOPS IN A CITY OF 36,669,000 PEOPLE

THE CITY I WAS BORN IN

I only lived there for the very first month of my life,

yet for some reason it contains a large chunk of my heart,

tucked away inside an Andean valley of everlasting springtime,

on the northernmost reaches of the world's longest continental mountain range.

A short bus ride away from the axis of world-renowned coffee cultivation.

Just 60 miles east of the Pacific and 80 miles south of the Caribbean.

Colombia's 2nd metropolis and the world's 91st urban agglomeration.

An historical hub of oxen and mule path networks for cocoa farms.

Now the industrial capital of Colombia and orchid capital of the world.

Home of South America's first kidney transplant.

Affability and diligence are the qualities of its people.

Oh, and did I mention that it is Fernando Botero's home town?

He's the self-proclaimed "most Colombian of Colombian artists."

Famous for situational portraiture of proportionally exaggerated figures.

Did you guess which city yet?

Cartography of Football and Limited Recognition

Map of the most successful countries in World Cup history. 205 countries entered the 2010 qualification competition. The Philippines and Brunei had their late entries rejected. 848 games were played during 27 months and only 32 teams remain. Laos was the only member nation not to register at all.

With a miniscule exception, there virtually aren't any countries that are not members of FIFA, unless of course you count the ones whose autonomies enjoy limited recognition, if by anyone at all, such as Abkhazia, Northern Cyprus, South Ossetia, Somaliland, Transnistria, Western Sahara, and Nagorno-Karabakh. Kosovo recently became the world's newest country, but no football team yet. In yet another category are countries that don't exist in the eyes of a select few. Palestine and Israel don't recognize each other, but both are FIFA contenders. Taiwan and China don't recognize each other, but both are FIFA contenders. Then you have national identities that didn't even make it on the "ambiguation" map below, such as Tibet, Kurdistan, Kashmir, and the Basque community.

Red: No recognition by any state

Pink: Recognized by UN non-members onlyOrange: UN non-members recognized by at least one UN memberGreen: UN member states, not recognized by at least one other state

NY WATCHES AND LISTENS TO THE WORLD CUP, TOO!

Image Credit: Luiz Pagano at blemyaeng.blogspot.com

I took today off from work to go greet my mother at the airport, along with my father and sister. She has been in her native Colombia for the last several weeks, getting all her medical examinations at a fraction of the price, and with a more human touch. She also came back with a few Colombian expressions I'd never heard before. It's no wonder one of that country's nicknames is Locombia, as in loco (crazy.) Here are a couple examples:

"Que me corte una teta si no es asi," which means, "Chop off my tit if I'm wrong."

"Esas dos son como una y mugre," which means, "Those two are like fingernail and dirt."

Once back in our neighborhood we treated mom to our favorite local eatery, a homey hybrid of Mexican and Diner by the name of Grand Morelo's, off Graham Avenue in East Billy. We knew there'd be a crowd of onlookers glued around the television since the first match of the world cup had just begun in South Africa, and Mexico was pitted against the host country's team. As a multi-international family, we wanted to be around all the excitement and watch some of the game there since we don't own a TV set. While we masticated omelettes and sipped horchata, the entire restaurant roared proudly, slamming fists on tables as goal after potential Mexican goal was thwarted by the RSA's defense.

Both of today's games ended in a tie score. That means all four of Group A's teams are tied at one point, including France and Uruguay. Three matches will be held tomorrow-- all of Group B and some of Group C. I'm hoping Greece beats S. Korea, Nigeria beats Argentina, and the U.S. beats England. I'll be listening on 1050 AM radio from inside the taxi. Hopefully, I'll get some soccer- loving passengers between first kick-off at 7:30 A.M. and the end of my shift. Perhaps I'll go find flags from those countries and sport them on my cab, and honk like a maniac if they score.

Last, but not least-- today I stumbled upon this blog that posted a really neat entry. It visuallly compares some of the different taxicabs of the world. I thought it would be appropriate for the end of this global, yet very local post of mine. Savor the taxi designs on http://blemyaeng.blogspot.com/2010/03/taxis-around-world.html

Bogota to New York

This past March buses in the Colombian capital went on strike. It spread to other cities, and eventually they were joined by intercity buses and taxis in a nationwide strike. Taxis deliberately blocked traffic to increase the mayhem and commuters hitchhiked with private motorists and on flatbed trucks. The strike was a result of failed attempts between trade unions and the government to negotiate a dispute over the process of exchanging old buses for newer models through 2010. Taxi drivers involved themselves both out of solidarity and because the mayor's office was refusing to abolish the payment of outstanding traffic fines beyond three years of age. Imagine if Greyhound, all the other regional bus lines, and all of the taxis in major cities along the Northeast Corridor all decided to join NYC's transit union and go on one enormous strike? Only in Colombia! The difference is that here the MTA is one system, run by the city. In Bogota each of the thousands of buses are owned and operated independently, somewhat like NYC taxicabs. But we come out looking like weasels next to our Colombian counterparts.

Photo Credit: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/8471-bus-strike-brings-bogota-to-a-standstill.html

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Photo Credit: http://www.streetsblog.org/2006/12/31/setting-the-agenda-on-pedestrian-safety/

ETERNAL RUMSPRINGA OF THE MUNICIPAL ARRONDISSEMENTS

Dos (2) mapas de dos (2) turnos de dia (day shifts) from this past autumn. 24 hours of slapdash circumstance, split into 2 neutrally bouyant pools of slippery time. All the while building vocabulary, butchering jokes, and discombobulating molecules. It's the life of a happy-go-lucky (but not johnny-come-lately) trilingual taxicab aviator. Without a single traffic light it would feel more like a mid-air flight. The Hebrew letters were stenciled in (courtesy of my art journaling aunt's nifty utensil) on a recent visit to L.A.. Now I just have to find stencils for all the other written tongues I love, but know not yet how to read: Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi, Tibetan, etc.. Early mornings, between fares, the dial is often set to 89.9 FM (non-commercial and student-run), for the soothing ragas and galvanizing reggaes. Robust, complacent, and bionic all at once.

Bedpan Alley on York Avenue: the most boreal fare departure on the green shift (see map color). Bedpan as in how bedridden patients go potty. Alley as in a cluster of medical institutions. Boreal as in closest to the arctic. The corner that Ansche Chesed is on took that title on the red shift, while Lehmen Center for the Performing Arts in Bedford Park (Bronx) made the cut for septentrion terminus, and all the way from Sunnyside (Queens) of all places. The green shift's answer to that was the intersection that is home to Kieselstein-Cord and L'Ocitanne on the Upper East.

Yana, a friend from Moscow, was my guest of honor during the first eight fares of the green shift. She has always dreamed of driving a taxicab, but felt less so after this first-hand experience. I've never been a passenger of hers, but I know her personality would turn her into a great cabbie.

Many homeless panhandlers have told me that the only motorists who hand them change are cabdrivers. I believe it. We might not be without a roof over our heads, but we're on a frontline in the basic human struggle to survive. We must forge our way ahead, or be left behind just the same, because unlike the lawyers, surgeons, psychiatrists, engineers, managers, etc.... society has yet to assign a sustainable value to our endless efforts, those of us who try (our best.)

I imagine that, like me, most cabbies in NY have their preferred territorial turf to hunt for fares. Of course, you have your perpetual hotel and taxi stand loungers. And many of us wander aimlessly up and down the avenues without giving much thought to strategy or any sense of hyperlocal inclination. Union Square is the nucleus of my cruising grounds. Anything below 29th Street is Kosher in my kitchen. Anything above it and I feel like a fish out of water. Unless a passenger requests to be driven up there, I don't bother with Midtown, or Uptown for that matter. I'd rather go to Brooklyn.

I'm a downtown cabbie. I like my Villages, my Chelsea, and my Chinatown. Long live Alphabet City, the LES, and the FiDi. You can catch me in TriBeCa, NoMad, NoHo, NoCa, and the Civic Center. Less stress, less traffic congestion, less pretentiousness, less police harassment, and less of the dull, mainstream tourists. More locals and visitors alike who can actually think outside the box and/or appreciate history, art, music, diversity, honorable character, and quality cabdrivers. I know it's not as cut and dry as I'm making it sound. You have assholes, dimwits, snobs, and lame cops everywhere. But I know which communities I can serve with a stronger sense of eagerness and belonging.

Lastly, let's step out of our little bubble for a minute and take a look two things that I'm not very happy about :

#1. Israel ruining what's left of its diplomatic ties with Turkey and the world by being a naval bully.

#2. Guatemala being devastated by two 'natural' disasters in two days.

Might As Well Be.....

.....a chain of islands. This map makes the West Bank look almost likethe Philippines. It's the current, most fragmentized version of a Palestinian state yet.... and it's reality, except that if the blue parts of the map were actually water, its citizens could fish. Instead, the blue is the whole of present Israel, including both Israel itself and colonized swaths of the occupied territory. Instead of coastline, there are massive walls. Instead of seafood, there are plots of fertile farmland that people can't reach and tend to, and sustain themselves with. Hey, don't blame me! I voted for the one-state solution. One world rather, to be shared by all people. Information about the origin of this imagined map can be found on a neat cartographic blog that I just discovered, which I found through yet another neat cartographic blog.

Map Credit #1: Julien Boussac/ Atlas Du Monde Diplomatique. Map Source #2: Afroasiatic German/ Wikipedia

Two Shifts On A Single Map

SHIFT #1..........................................SHIFT #2

Friday 4/30/10................................Saturday 5/1/10

10 Hours= 5:30 to 15:30................ 11 Hours= 4:00 to 15:00

100 Miles for 32 Fares................... 160 Miles for 29 Fares

$150 Net from $313 Gross......... ....$250 Net from $412 Gross

$105 Lease/$33 Gas/$16 MTA Tax........$105 Lease/$42 Gas/$14 MTA Tax

10 unique situations..........................8 unique situations

UNSOLVED ETHNOLOGIES

I enjoy guessing exactly where and what purpose a passenger is off to when they provide a block or intersection as their destination. Call it creepy. I like to think of it as field work anthropology. A pleasant man in a fancy suit hopped in on Park in the 60s. He requested Fifth between 27 and 26th. Are you going to that building with all the chandeliers in the brightly lit lobby? No, I'm going to the not-so-fancy building across the street. Upon research, I found that it is the NY MarketCenter, 20 historic floors with over 200 showrooms for trade shows from a wide range of product categories. I'll leave it at that for now.

ONE'S STRANGE URBAN LANDSCAPE IS ANOTHER'S WORKPLACE

Just before 9 A.M. a Mexican man hurried out of Grand Central Terminal and approached my window very timidly. It's the second time in two weeks I got a fare to the Mexican Consulate with under 10 minutes to make it there on time for a crucial appointment. I think it's important for cabdrivers to know where it's located and the fastest way to get there from any other point in Manhattan, especially from the transportation hubs they are most likely to come out of. I was on Vanderbilt and 43rd. The consulate is on 39th between Park and Madison. Walking distance, but not if you're clueless. I shot down 43rd, hung a left on Fifth, another left on 41st, a right on Park, and a right on 39th. Voila! One minute early. I had thought about dropping him off on Madison, but he might have gotten lost again.

PASSENGERS FROM LIBYA ARE AS RARE AS THOSE FROM CAPE VERDE

Just before 10 A.M. I was hailed on Eighth by a casual Libyan man named Kamar. He just wanted to go across town to Second Avenue. We conversed about the similarities between Judaism and Islam. I loved his North African accent and he loved my openness. I wonder if he knows that Barnes and Noble flies a flag at the entrance to their bookstores that is identical to that of his country: solid green. Later on I picked up a young lady from the above-mentioned islands off the coast of western Africa. I could not, for the life of me, guess her origin.... something I'm often good at. She herself said people ask her if she's Asian, Latino, etc..

FOLLOWING RULES FOR TAXI DOWN TO THE TEE

Minutes later I was on 43rd and Lexington. A woman was hailing on the west side of the street, which is a big no- no for cabbies between 7 and 1 P.M. I motioned her to cross the street over to my side and to my surprise, she complied. I explained about the anti-taxi signs in the bus lane and she completely understood. She agreed it has become much more common to see cabs pulled over by the police. I hope she spreads the word about crossing the street to hail a cab there.

UNDERSTANDING EXPRESSIONS IN ENGLISH

Even though I moved to the U.S. when I was four years old, I never really learned all of the expressions people use in English because my immigrant parents never used them, nor did my mostly immigrant peers growing up in ethnically diverse parts of L.A. and Houston. I've learned so many new expressions in the last three years, simply from hearing them used in the backseat of my taxi. One lady on her cell phone said, "It's water under the bridge." I initially guessed it meant that 'it' was where 'it' should be (whatever 'it' was). I later discovered (on the web) it means something in the past and no longer important.

THE BEST SHAWARMA IS ON THE TONGUE OF THE BEHOLDER

A family trio on their last day visiting from Ramat Gan (suburb of Tel Aviv) claimed that the Shawarma at Bereket (Turkish spot on Houston Street) is even better than the heavenly stuff on the street back home. I found that hard to believe, so I tried it myself. The Turks call it Doner Kabab, even though it's the same exact thing: meat shaved off a rotating spit. I try to limit my consumption of meat, since it has a negative impact on the planet, but Shawarma is one of my Achilles' Heels. Bereket turned out to be alright, but not as great as the Israelis made it out to be. I've always gone there for Falafel, which they do really well. However, my favorite spot for Shawarma remains the new place on Second, between St. Marks and 7th. It's called Cheep's and it's only $3.75 for a loaded sandwich. That's an unimaginable bargain in NYC, and DELICIOUS!

APPLYING SKILL ORGANICALLY

Just before noon I picked up a guy at Macy's on 34th. He was in an incredible rush to get to 19th and Sixth, and he understood that no left turns could be made until Ninth. He said, "just do your best and I can run from nearby if that's easier." I took Ninth down to 22nd, made a left, and dropped him off at Sixth, so he could run three short blocks. 18th Street would've swallowed more time with all its delivery trucks. This was accomplished in five minutes flat, and was met with a compliment: "You're an excellent taxi driver." Always nice to hear.

ON DUTY IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

My sister called frantic and in need of a favor. She's at the end of her third year at Parsons New School for Design and she might just be the next big name in fashion. She needed her final essay edited for grammar and content within the next hour. I always carry my little netbook in the cab, so I pulled into the taxi relief stand on 16th, by Union Square. Sure enough, there was free WiFi on that block, and I was able to revise her paper and email it back to her.

CAB RIDE TO MEET WITH A CELEBRITY

I nearly never get anyone famous riding in my cab. I do, however, come within a degree of them. Around 1 P.M. I picked up an eccentric New Yorker in Midtown who was on his phone the whole way up to 77th and Columbus. He was debating over which snacks to serve at some event. He then said, "I am going to meet up with John Fraser right now." Upon later googling the name I discovered he's a renowned chef who owns a restaurant precisely on the corner where I dropped this guy off. I've had world-renowned chefs in my cab before, but I never caught their names.

COAST TO COAST TO SEE HIS DAUGHTER

The last fare of the day was a moody guy who visits his teenage daughter in L.A. bi-monthly. He didn't seem too happy with his life, but I think I managed to uplift him ever so slightly. Since it was already 2 P.M. on a Friday afternoon, we took the local Brooklyn route to JFK.

FROM SHIFT #2

I was taken to work by a cabbie from Uttar Pradesh who has hacked only 1 day a week for 8 years. He spends the rest of his time as a termite exterminator.

A BACHELOR'S DEGREE DON'T MAKE YOU SMART

My first fare was a polite (but drunk) couple who came off as Columbia grad students. They had me transport them from Chinatown back to their uptown abode just after the bars had closed. They tried to pay with a credit card, but the transaction wouldn't go through. I gave them a cash receipt upon cash payment and she asked if she could have the receipt for the first transaction too. "It won't print out because it didn't work," I said. She got real nervous, as if under the impression that she had paid twice. I guess there are some crooked cabbies out there who tell you the credit transaction failed, even after it just processed successfully, so that you pay them in cash as well, essentially doubling the fare. She stumbled out all worried and said she would figure it out in the morning. I hope she figured out that there is nothing to figure out. And it was already morning, by the way, in Morningside Heights.

For those of you who constantly anticipate this happening, know that the great majority of cabdrivers are honest people, regardless of how rude they might seem to you. Driver rudeness comes from overworked jadedness so don't take it personal. If you have to swipe your card a few times before it works, there's no reason to believe it's charging every swipe. Only one successful swipe is possible per fare. If your card is declined or unreadable by the machine, don't assume the driver is secretly scheming to make you pay in cash. Both the cheap machines installed in our cabs by entities we have no control over, and the cards themselves, are unreliable and not in any way our fault. Try to have cash as a backup if you jump in a cab, and please be aware that if you end up making us wait for you to try all of the cards in your wallet or purse, or make us drive around to find you an ATM, the lost time is directly hurting our income for that shift, so tip accordingly.

SLEAZEBALLS GET FREE PIZZA

Another drunk fare entered the cab in Hell's Kitchen and asked to go to a pizzeria on 14th because a gay clerk works there who has a crush on him and always gives him free slices. This guy reminded me of my friend Cormac, but chauvinistically opportunistic. He spoke of the gay clerk the same way he'd speak of easy girls. Cormac isn't like that, but a doppelganger nevertheless.

NEW JERSEY! KNOW YOUR WAY HOME WHEN DRUNK IN NEW YORK

From that same spot two drunk teenage girls got in and asked how much to Jersey City. I said what I always say: regular fare to the tunnel and then double rate, plus the toll. They seemed clueless about directions once inside Jersey, so I held my breath for what might come next. Luckily, they accepted the PATH train alternative. I dropped them off at the Christopher Street station. Later I noticed a South African driver license in the backseat that might have belonged to one of them, but the picture didn't match my memory. Regardless, if you know anyone by the name of Melissa Coton, who left her ID in a yellow cab, please refer them to my email address.

SERVING THE HUMAN BEINGS OF BED-STUY

Because God only know how much they already put up with. Just before sunrise I was returning from a fare out to deep Brooklyn when a black woman and her three children (one an infant) hailed me on the corner of Bedford and Fulton. It's uncommon to be hailed by anyone in that neighborhood, much less a mother with her kids at dawn on a Saturday morning. I have no doubt in my mind that 99% of the other yellow cabs coming down that street would have flown right past them. I'm so glad I was hailed by them because I love serving the under-served segments of my city. To the Ridgewood border they were headed and I rounded the fare from 12 to $10, which she gracefully accepted, appreciatively.

HIPSTERS SEEK YELLOW CABS ON CERTAIN BLOCKS

I've had such good luck coming down a certain street after dropping off anywhere east of Bushwick Avenue, that it's become my routine route of return toward Manhattan. The Mckibben Lofts often have a steady stream of all-night party-goers exiting its doors. Whether they're waiting impatiently for a car service or walking to the L stop, they'll hail me if I roll by. This time I had two foreign hipster ladies, one from Italia and the other from Ecuador, on their way to 92nd and Madison, a $23 fare that most other cabs would have missed in their incessant race back to Manhattan. Why pay the return time and gas out of your own pocket?

DO YOU KNOW OF A GOOD PLACE?

At 7 A.M. I picked up a Montreal documentary filmmaker at Times Square. She's here to interview an elder Jewish writer who survived the Holocaust and she had stayed up all night to organize all of her information. She was headed to breakfast in the Village so she could stroll through Washington Square Park afterward. It's the second time in a couple months that an out- of- towner has asked me to recommend them a diner in the Village. What else but the Waverly? It's either that or 7A Cafe.

AN UPTOWN ROLL ON A SATURDAY MORNING

Downtime? What's that? At 8 A.M. I picked up an Inwood fare in NoHo. Along my return through Hamilton Heights I picked up another Inwood fare. Upon dropping that one off, an East Village fare hopped in. That's what I call an Uptown (and Downtown) roll. $32, 14, and 37.... back to back! And then right before 10 A.M. it happened again. I picked up an Upper West Side fare on Canal Street, and from there I didn't move an inch before a Brooklyn Heights fare hopped in. From that destination I had a lad with 15 minutes to catch the Bolt Bus on West 34th. Right on time! Those were $19, 31, and 25.... back to back! That's how you make $250 in 11 hours. A mixture of luck, intuition, talent, swiftness, and charm.

Go for a swim in the Florida Keys or anywhere along the Atlantic coast of Florida while you still can.....

Photo Credit: NASA's Terra Satellite/ The Huffington Post

Carro Bomba En La Plaza Del Tiempo

Image Source: Lone Star Custom Builders

"No more New York," said Crysta Salinas. The 28-year-old Houston woman was stuck waiting in a deli until 2 a.m. because part of a Marriott hotel was evacuated because of the bomb.

It's too bad some Texans won't be visiting our great city again. Unfortunately, as is the general description of the social fabric of Texas, these folks are over-reliant on comfort, convenience, and complacency. Many Texans live one hundred years as if it were one day, where as many New Yorkers live one day as if it were one hundred years. I lived in Houston for 5 years, from age 10 to 15. I know a little bit about Texan culture.

Don't get me wrong, the Lone Star state will always have a tender place in my heart. Its dirt roads are where I learned to drive, at the beginning of a long road to NYC cabbie-hood. It's where my most beloved cousins, aunts, and uncles reside. It's where I migrated as a snowbird for a handful of weeks this past winter. It's where I'll be this upcoming December and January, along with the beautiful Rhode Islander I'm sweet on. She's set to have an entire section of the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, to display her creations.

But no place, at least out of everywhere I've been, compares with my great city. Once a Gothamite, always a Gothamite. To get back on the subject of car bombs, I'm grateful that whoever loaded up and left that Pathfinder there didn't exactly have all the right ingredients for chaos. I admire the vigilant street vendors who realized the SUV was out of place, for having a sense of ownership and responsibility toward the public space around them. These are the true New Yorkers.

A proud salute to the cabdrivers who sat patiently through nightmarish jams caused by abrupt and massive street closures on Saturday night. We have many blessings to count. Let's be thankful the image below wasn't actualized. Let's be mindful of how good we have it, and how emotionally tiring it must be to live in cities like Baghdad, Kabul, Lebanese and Colombian cities in the 1980s, etc.

In this day and age, car bombs are primarily a Middle-Eastern experience. A curious and unknown fact though, is that they were first introduced to the region by the Stern Gang, a Zionist group trying to kick Britain out of Palestine in the 1940s. Did you also know that in 1920 an Italian member of the Galleanists left a horse-drawn wagon carrying explosives and shrapnel in the Financial District of Manhattan, killing 38 and wounding 400?

Photo Source: http://www.sabbah.biz

Copa Mundial In 42 Days

Ever since I was a little kid this event has meant a great deal to me. In fact, it's the only major sporting phenomenon that has always kept my attention. Otherwise (to me), sports is something you do on the street or in the park with friends, not on the couch in front of a television. What makes this televised occurrence special is that it brings together all of humanity in mostly good-natured competition for a handful of weeks. As an ethnophile, I salivate over which of the 32 teams that made it through the heartbreaking eliminatory stages might be my favorites. As a New Yorker, I can't wait to rant and rave, laugh and cry with everyone.

Some interesting details about this particular cup's qualifiers: Can you believe both North and South Korea have made it to the world cup? There is in fact a small possibility they might both end up in the finals. Wouldn't that be weird? The two Koreas battling it out on the field?

Above are another two teams that curiously qualified in the same world cup: Slovenia and Slovakia. In the early 1990s each of these countries broke away from unions with neighbors. Algeria (emblem with crescent moon) was the only Arab nation to qualify. No middle eastern nation made it this time around. Not Palestine. Not Israel. Not that either of those ever do. Nobody. Not even Iran or the Saudis, who are often present. No Andean nation qualified either, which includes my dear Colombia. How sad. Virtually every non-Andean country in South America did get in. For Honduras, it's their second ever appearance. Obviously, I'll be rooting for such underdogs. Other teams on my favorites list include Portugal, Ghana, Greece, and Mexico.

Thank You Eyjafjallajokull

Image Source: http://blog.roomwithaview.is/

It seems everyone was so focused on the widespread inconveniences caused by that volcanic eruption in Iceland that they forgot to look at it from a different perspective. In the cab all week I broke the ice with passengers by commenting on how much kerosene wasn't being burned into the atmosphere, hence giving the planet's lungs a little time to catch their breath.

I HEARD ON THE NEWS THAT AS SOON AS SOME AIRLINES FLEW TEST FLIGHTS WITHOUT PASSENGERS THROUGH THE VOLCANIC ASHES AND CAME OUT ALIVE, THERE WAS AN UPROAR WORLDWIDE QUESTIONING THE NEED FOR AIRSPACE RESTRICTIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE. I'M SORRY BUT HUMAN BEINGS ARE QUITE THE INSATIABLE CROWD. IF THE AIRLINES AND THEIR GOVERNMENTS WOULD HAVE BEEN CARELESS AND ALLOWED FLIGHTS TO PLUNGE CATASTROPHICALLY OUT OF THE SKIES, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A CONTROVERSY TOO. YOU CAN'T WIN WITH PEOPLE. THE BLAME GAME NEVER CEASES.

FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT JET ENGINES SUCK IN OXYGEN IN ORDER TO IGNITE THE TURBINES, WHICH COMPRESS THE AIR, THEREBY PUSHING THE PLANE FORWARD. WE DO NOT WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN FINE DUST PARTICLES FROM THE VOLCANO INTERRUPT AND CHOKE THE ENGINES AND TURBINES.

On a side note, here's an article about a famous comedian who took a taxi from Norway to Belgium. And here's an article about how Eyjafjallajokull is affecting New York City. I love the butterfly effect. I do! Please do give my other blog a brief visit, especially if you live in NYC. You might find it helpful, whether you take taxicabs or drive one.

The latest post is called FROM FLEA TO SHINING FLEA!

Vernal Communique of Gilespie Avunique

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alphadesigner/3192055736/
Greetings on this late March in 2010. My sincerest desire is that this note finds you well on your path towards happiness. I'm writing to climb back unto the face of the planet. Doing fine for the most part. Still driving taxicabs in New York. Still trying to save enough money to travel across the ocean. This summer, if the light force of the creator wills it, I'll be exploring Europe for the first time. My itinerary is contingent on the slowly unfolding plans of my sister and those of my partner. It looks as though this trip might be split into three parts. Traveling with sis, alone, and with partner. Perhaps a couple weeks of each, between June and August.

The extent of geographical coverage also depends on my savings between now and then. The big ones on my list include Amsterdam, Paris, London, Barcelona, Casablanca, Rome, Berlin, Athens, Bucharest, Istanbul, and Tel Aviv. I know that's a lot of ground to cover, but my time isn't constrained, and my budget isn't fanciful. My cargo will be light as possible. A change of clothes. A toothbrush. A journal. A map or two. No more.

This past winter I spent large swaths of time hiding from the cold by paying old friends a long overdue visit in Florida and helping my father demolish my aunt's floor in Houston (2nd visit to TX in a month). I made new bonds with cousins and saw high-school buddies from lifetimes ago. The only person I didn't get to see, but really wanted to, is Waffle, a great inspiration of mine (and countless others). I had been promising to come down for weeks, and when I finally mustered up the gumption, he had taken off for Haiti, to help build shelters.

HERE IS THE PICTURE ALBUM OF MY SOUTHERN EXCURSIONS AND SOME NORTHERN ONES TOO.

Since I got back to NYC, I've been working 5 days a week, as a self-employed operator of yellow cruise missiles. Been leasing them out of my old old garage, the first one from nearly 4 years ago (in downtown Brooklyn). I've been through some drama with a burglar in the cab and all sorts of other scenarios, all of them blessings, whether hidden or outright.

Lastly, I leave you with a list of movies I've seen recently, that I really think you ought to watch.....

SIN NOMBRE, FOR MY FATHER, TSOTSI, UP, HURT LOCKER, and AVATAR.