Cab #101

Date Taken: 3/21/08
From: Roscoe Village
To: Wicker Park

The Cab: Clean, uncluttered, refreshingly un-air-freshened. Windows were open despite the dodgy weather, but wouldn't you know it? The brisk breeze actually proved rather invigorating.

The Driver: There's a reason this is Cab 101, because you're about to get quite an education. We begin right here in America with the "criminal" deployment of traffic cameras, move swiftly to armed uprisings in the driver's native Romania, swing over to the NATO countries for an examination of their attempts to manipulate global economies, have a cup of coffee in Baghdad, visit underage prostitutes in northern Italy, and end back in Chicago for a discussion of the sad state of affairs for cabbies. All of this in less that three miles. Turns out, Ceausescu's son? Not such a bad guy. And what about our prospects for long-term social stability? Don't bet on it, according to Driver 101. To quote directly from the source, "maybe it will go nuclear. Maybe that's not so bad." A word of advice for future students: Bring your notebook. This is a lecture, not a discussion forum.

The Driving: Honestly, I was so engrossed by the tapestry of international intrigue and unrest being woven before my very ears I didn't even notice we were moving.

Overall rating: 4 extended arms

- Natasha Julius

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