Adventures in Westchester Part I
A couple of weeks ago the Boy and I were at a Matisyahu concert in Westchester. Matiswhaa?? Matisyahu-a sensational hasidic Jewish reggae singer who guest starred on Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, to name a few. I'd never heard of him before the Boy called me up at work and asked if I could go to the concert with him. The Boy's boss bought charity tickets to the concert and couldn't attend. Pretty much everyone in the office was a Matisyahu fan and had already gone to his prior concerts, so the Boy had no trouble scooping up the tickets for us.
At first I really wasn't up to it. I had a headache all day, and getting to Westchester by 7PM was going to be a challange considering I would be off work at 6PM. But the Boy seemed really excited about it, the tickets cost the Boy's boss a small fortune, and the opportunity to see a man sing and dance about the stage in full hasidic Jewish garb was intriguing, so I skipped out of work 15 minutes early and headed out to Grand Central Station. The Boy gave me instructions to take the Metro North to White Plains and then catch a cab, specifying that the cabbie should take me to the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College.
I did exactly that. I got off the train station at White Plains and found a line of cabs waiting outside where I read off the instructions and then hopped in. But to my surprise, we weren't leaving just yet. As I sat down and shut the door, a huge throng of people came rushing out of the train station. Without my permission, the cabbie began soliciting more customers until the cab was full. I was running a bit late and annoyed, but complied as I didn't know what else to do. I had no idea where we were going, in what order we were going to be dropped off and if any of these stops were along the route. They weren't, and although I was the first in the cab, I was the last to be dropped off.
The first drop off was about 5 minutes away. The driver charged the lady $4.90, and the lady handed him a $5 while thanking him and exiting. The $.10 tip pissed the driver off, leaving him to mutter incessantly through the next route and even prompting his own high pitched rendition of her "thank you very much."
The next route was about 10 minutes away. Where the hell were we going?! Was I next?! We stopped at the home of the guy sitting next to me. He could tell I was irritated, having been the first in the cab and now the last drop off. That he left a huge tip for the driver was really no comfort to me. Now I was really late, had no idea where we were and was worried that the driver would charge me an exorbitant fee, seeing as how I had been driven around for 15 minutes and could very well have been taken far off course. I also wondered if the driver had other plans for me. He seemed a bit crazy. Not wanting the driver to know that I had no idea where I was, I began madly texting the Boy to let him know I'd be late, that I had no idea where I was, and to find out how long his cab ride took from the train station.
The Boy called immediately, demanded to know where I was and let me know that he was going to kill the cabbie for driving me all over town and soliciting other passengers without my consent. Now I had blurted out that I didn't have the slightest idea where I was. Great. The cabbie had the green light to devise a plot as he drove me out to the middle of nowhere and I wouldn't know a thing. The Boy called me repeatedly to make sure that I was on course.
Finally, I'd arrived. The Boy was waiting outside and opened the door for me to get out. I was about to pay the driver when the Boy shoved my money away and would only pay the driver as much as the cost of his cab ride. Then he screamed at and cussed the driver out until he drove away and made no protest for more money. I imagined more muttering and gruff imitations in the next few minutes as the driver drove off.
At first I really wasn't up to it. I had a headache all day, and getting to Westchester by 7PM was going to be a challange considering I would be off work at 6PM. But the Boy seemed really excited about it, the tickets cost the Boy's boss a small fortune, and the opportunity to see a man sing and dance about the stage in full hasidic Jewish garb was intriguing, so I skipped out of work 15 minutes early and headed out to Grand Central Station. The Boy gave me instructions to take the Metro North to White Plains and then catch a cab, specifying that the cabbie should take me to the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College.
I did exactly that. I got off the train station at White Plains and found a line of cabs waiting outside where I read off the instructions and then hopped in. But to my surprise, we weren't leaving just yet. As I sat down and shut the door, a huge throng of people came rushing out of the train station. Without my permission, the cabbie began soliciting more customers until the cab was full. I was running a bit late and annoyed, but complied as I didn't know what else to do. I had no idea where we were going, in what order we were going to be dropped off and if any of these stops were along the route. They weren't, and although I was the first in the cab, I was the last to be dropped off.
The first drop off was about 5 minutes away. The driver charged the lady $4.90, and the lady handed him a $5 while thanking him and exiting. The $.10 tip pissed the driver off, leaving him to mutter incessantly through the next route and even prompting his own high pitched rendition of her "thank you very much."
The next route was about 10 minutes away. Where the hell were we going?! Was I next?! We stopped at the home of the guy sitting next to me. He could tell I was irritated, having been the first in the cab and now the last drop off. That he left a huge tip for the driver was really no comfort to me. Now I was really late, had no idea where we were and was worried that the driver would charge me an exorbitant fee, seeing as how I had been driven around for 15 minutes and could very well have been taken far off course. I also wondered if the driver had other plans for me. He seemed a bit crazy. Not wanting the driver to know that I had no idea where I was, I began madly texting the Boy to let him know I'd be late, that I had no idea where I was, and to find out how long his cab ride took from the train station.
The Boy called immediately, demanded to know where I was and let me know that he was going to kill the cabbie for driving me all over town and soliciting other passengers without my consent. Now I had blurted out that I didn't have the slightest idea where I was. Great. The cabbie had the green light to devise a plot as he drove me out to the middle of nowhere and I wouldn't know a thing. The Boy called me repeatedly to make sure that I was on course.
Finally, I'd arrived. The Boy was waiting outside and opened the door for me to get out. I was about to pay the driver when the Boy shoved my money away and would only pay the driver as much as the cost of his cab ride. Then he screamed at and cussed the driver out until he drove away and made no protest for more money. I imagined more muttering and gruff imitations in the next few minutes as the driver drove off.
posted by LANYTransplant at 8:33 PM
2 Comments:
OMG, that's horrible! Can the cab driver really get away with doing that??? The Boy was right to chew him out.
No, but I later realized that the cab I hopped into was one of those unregulated ones. Always hop into a yellow cab with the medallion.
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