Cabbies

I made a quick trip to Washington D.C. for work this week and there were some very entertaining moments. The best were the two cab rides I took, to and from the airport. I was staying in Silver Spring, MD and flying in and out of Dulles, so it was about a 30 mile trip each way.

The cab from the airport on Wednesday was driven by an older gentleman who was a native of India. He drove a very clean and well-kept cab and was also very well-dressed himself. When we started out on the drive, he told me all about the big news for the day -- the Oil moguls on trial in Washingtong! He talked about the price of gas hitting $135/barrel and American Airlines starting to charge $15 per bag on domestic flights. All were an outrage. He went on to talk about how cab fares have not risen in years and that it's close to impossible to make a living at it now. I have to admit that I felt for him. He was driving me all the way to Silver Spring and would have to drive the return trip empty. The trip was almost 90 minutes, so I got quite the earful.

On my return trip to Dulles, I was driven by a gentleman from Camaroon. He started the drive by asking if I was familiar with African music. I'm not such a world music aficionado so I said no. He then told me that he would play two CDs for me and find out which one I like best. The first CD was all in French and it was pretty good music. Jacques told me the name of the artist, but I couldn't quite understand the name. The entertaining part of this music appreciation adventure, however, was the commentary. I got the whole back story on every song. One song was about how every woman and every man in Camaroon want to be with a white man or woman. Another was about a woman who's husband left to work in another country so she put a lock on her knees. Another was about a priest who goes to France and starts to do all kinds of things preists shouldn't do. The last one was about how a man needs to be busy working and living and loving or he will get depressed. I then heard the first two songs of the second CD, but didn't have a chance to vote since we got to the airport in only 55 minutes.

I feel like I got a very cultural diverse experience going to the nation's capital, even though I never saw much more than the airport and a two-block section of Silver Spring. Adventure -- it's just a cab ride away!