Cab #324

Date Taken: 4/2/07
From: State and Grand
To:: Wicker Park

The Cab: Spotless. Not brand new spotless, but as spotless as a cab with a bit of wear could be. A light odor of cab scent. I have to say I was also thrilled, for some reason, at the cab's low number. It was like riding in a clout cab.

The Driver: Exceedingly polite. Exceedingly. His "Thank you, sir" routine was a bit off-putting. I don't like being called "sir." I kept wondering who he was talking to, but there was no one else but me.

The Driving: Exceedingly correct - until coming upon the tricky westbound Milwaukee-Division / MIlwaukee-Ashland intersection. Up until then, Driver #324 kept his cab as well-centered in its lanes as any vehicle I've ever been in. His stops were also well-measured, keeping a perfect distance from the cars ahead of him and perfect slowdown rate approaching each stoplight. It was uncanny. And then Drive #324 made a rookie mistake - he got caught in the Milwaukee-Division intersection as the light changed and traffic backs up, as it is wont to do, from Ashland. Working himself out of the mess, he ended up uncharacteristically - as far as I could tell and imagine - screwing another driver then pathetically putting his hand up and looking in the rear view mirror seeking penance. The other driver just honked angrily. The rest of the journey wasn't far, but hit was clear he was rattled, like a pitcher who loses his perfect game and then gets lit up. I wanted to call for a relief driver, but the game was over. Driver #324 lost.

Overall rating: 1.5 extended arms.

- Steve Rhodes

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