Travel Rogue

June 23, 2005

Travel Karma: An NYC Cabbie Books the Holy Grail

Believe it or not, I'm writing this on the bus on the way home from O'Hare. How obnoxious. I can't wait till they make smaller laptops. Once again, I luck out with taxi drivers. On the way from Chelsea Piers to LaGuardia, I am panicked. I have only two hours till departure and I'm all the way on the very western edge of Manhattan, and the airport is clear across the island and over the river aways. And, it's rush hour. I frantically try to wave down a cab in front of Chelsea Piers, but a very nice Manhattanite tells me it's easier on 10th. So okay, I hike over a couple blocks. Still, cabs pass me by. This is odd, because in Chicago, cabs are usually jostling to pick up a passenger with luggage. Luggage means airport, airport means good fare. In New York, nope. That doesn't happen. Another Manhattanite takes one look at me and suggests I head another block north. I figure, what the hell. So I do. What an act of random kindness, he directed me to a taxi depot. Dozens of cabs, and still, not a one wanted to pick up a fare. I suppose they were on their break? But then another stranger waves a cab down, gestures at me and says, "After you." Whatever anyone thinks of New Yorkers, I'm here to say that I've had nothing but the best experiences. Even Mustafa, my cabbie was warm and sincere. I was madly making phone calls for the initial few minutes, trying to make up for the rude, hasty goodbyes I tossed off at the meeting in my harried effort to make my flight. And then, in the midst of stressing about traffic and chastising myself for getting such a late start, I dropped off into the sweetest slumber. Next thing I knew, we were on the FDR Bridge, the worst of the traffic was behind us, and the meter was at a mere $20, indicating that not only did Mustafa not rip me off when I was sleeping by driving in circles, he somehow maneuvered his way across the island like a pro. And still, so sweet and unperturbed. When I opened my eyes, a gentle voice from the front, "You slept a little, eh? That's good, you looked like you needed to." Turns out, his degree is in chemical engineering and every morning, he does some sort of financial risk management, my guess for a family fund or something of the sort. But I asked him what his passion was, and he said, "Driving. I love driving." He asked what I did, and we talked shop for a bit. He's one of the few people I've met that actually scored a great, great price on an airline ticket. When airlines advertise fare sales, they have to set aside a certain number of seats at the lowest advertised fare. Usually, it's not that many, so it's always key to jump on a fare sale as soon as it's advertised. Whatever this guy did, and I think it must be travel karma, he landed a round-trip direct flight from Chicago to Orange County for $180 on United. A fare like that is like the holy grail. You get it once, and you feel blessed because you know it exists. I still think there's some karmic force about it though, because if I could be that at peace with myself and the world around me, I'd jump at the chance to be an NYC cabbie.

Posted by carolyn at June 23, 2005 10:34 PM

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