The Turkish Dude

I was driving down Main Street around 2:30 in the morning and I came across this man that was zig-zag staggering down the street, barely staying on his feet. I pulled up next to him and asked him if he wanted a ride somewhere. He made his way over to my window and just stared at me. I asked him again if he wanted a taxi ride. He said "okay" and got in the back. I asked him where he wanted to go and he asked where he could go at that hour to find women and alcohol. The particular city we are in stops serving or selling alcohol at 1:00 AM. I told him he would have to cross the state-line to buy booze. (The first city into the state of Nevada west of here is Wendover. Wendover is a very, very mini-version of Las Vegas. It is a dirty little gambling town with bars and clubs that are open all night.) My new friend/customer agreed that he wanted to go to Wendover. I told him that it would cost $200 dollars each way. He responded "what...you don't want to go?" I asked him to show me the cash and we headed toward the highway.

As we were driving toward the highway he told me that he had to "take a piss". By now it was nearly 3:00 AM. There really was nowhere to take him. I drove him into an industrial area and into an alley and told him he could "piss" there. He said, "in the alley?" I said, "what do you want me to do? It's 3 AM!" He got out of the car and just fell into the dirt, still quite drunk. I didn't want to lose the fare so I got out and walked around the car, helped him stand up and steadied him by the elbow while he took care of his business. After he finished, I helped him back into the car and off we went.

No sooner did we get on the highway, he was passed out cold. I could hear him breathing really loud and heavy. The drive to Wendover takes about ninety minutes. When we were about 10 mintues out of town he sat up, ready to have another drink.

When we walked into the casino, the entry had about eleven or twelve stairs going downward. I grabbed on to his elbow to steady him. He shrugged me away and said that he could do it on his own. I let him go and he took one step down and lost his footing and rolled down to the bottom. He cut his forehead and one of his hands. His blazer was a wreck. He got up and walked straight over to the bar and started tipping back tequila. He was so sloppy, I collected the cash for a one-way fare and left him there on his bar stool.

I saw him back in town a few days later. I was sitting in front of one of the busier bars in the city and a pretty SUV pulled up next to me. There was a younger woman driving, looked like a "dancer" of sorts. He stumbled out of the passenger seat and made his way over to the line. I yelled his name out the window. He looked over at me and staggered to my window and stared at me for a minute. He said, "you left me there!"

Sketchy Passengers

I picked up a group that I immediately deemed "sketchy" in a part of town already established as being "sketchy". They were at a hole in the wall bar called AJ's. We finally got the other guy to come over to the cab because I drove off. He came running and yelling behind us. Anyway, he got in the front seat and immediately became my best friend, patting me on the shoulder everytime he said anything. He said a lot. I mostly ignored him. He felt "disrespected". (You just can't ignore anyone these days, without it becoming personal) Not far into the trip a guy and girl who must have been in a relationship of some sort, started screaming at each other. At the intersection going through town we stopped at a red light. The guy was fumbling with the door behind me trying to unlock it. In order to rid myself of one screamer, I unlocked it for him. He jumped out. The girl screamed that he wasn't going anywhere and jumped out after him. The guy that was patting me on the shoulder up front also decided he wanted to jump out. Of course he couldn't use his own door though. He had to climb in between the front seats to exit the back door. There were still two more people on the rear bench. We continued on down the highway with the door open. It is a minivan, by the way.