Driving cab in Corpus Christi, I've had a chance to haul several guys who are either working on one of the oil tankers that's in port or guys who are working the off shore oil rigs. Many of them take the cab looking for some form of vice that can normally be satisfied at a bar or maybe a strip club.
I have had a number of them who have some real drug issues. Tonight, for example, I hauled a couple of oil rig workers that were serious crack heads. Man, these guys were worse off than most of the homeless low lives that would rather get high than find a place to live or food to eat. The worst of it is that these guys make a ton of money. Most of them (that I've dealt with) are single and have no families to support. That make for a lot of free spending cash to buy this shit.
What I want to know is how do these guys pull this type of on shore behavior off. I have to believe that there has to be at least some drug testing done. After all this is pretty dangerous work these guys do. You'd think their employers wouldn't want someone one a drug hangover or someone who is jonesing operating their equipment.
Next time you hear of a huge oil spill somewhere out at sea remember this little post.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Ready for work
Lori and I picked up a couple of those Garmin StreetPilot c330s to help us better navigate the streets of Corpus Christi. We've only been here a little over 3 months, and I've already worn out my map book.
I've had a little easier time getting around, mainly because I've had more experience driving cab in a strange town. Lori got to use a StreetPilot last weekend while she was doing luggage delivery for our company. She was hooked to say the least.
Having these tools will make much easier for us to respond to calls that we would have had to stop and look up first. I can't wait to hit the streets with these things later this afternoon.
I've had a little easier time getting around, mainly because I've had more experience driving cab in a strange town. Lori got to use a StreetPilot last weekend while she was doing luggage delivery for our company. She was hooked to say the least.
Having these tools will make much easier for us to respond to calls that we would have had to stop and look up first. I can't wait to hit the streets with these things later this afternoon.
Monday, January 22, 2007
The Begining
Dictionary.com defines a redneck as:
1. an uneducated white farm laborer, esp. from the South.
2. a bigot or reactionary, esp. from the rural working class.
It goes on to say that redneck is A slang term, usually for a rural white southerner who is politically conservative, racist, and a religious fundamentalist. This term is generally considered offensive. It originated in reference to agricultural workers, alluding to how the back of a person's neck will be burned by the sun if he works long hours in the fields.
While I can't say all that fits me to a tee, a lot of it is pretty damn close.
I lost both my parents before I turned 12 years old. I bounced around in a couple of foster homes before moving in with my uncle when I tuned 15. By age 17, I was on my own. I dropped out of school half way through 11th grade so I could go to work full time. Three months after my 18th birthday, I got behind the wheel of a cab for the first time.
I've learned more about life in 25 years in a hack than any philosopher ever could know. I've had multi-million dollar businessmen, celebrities and pro athletes as well as crack whores, drug dealers and murderers in my cab. I refuse to be an airport jockey or one of those guys that only stages at the hotels, so unfortunately, I have to deal with more of the bottom feeders of life than I do the upper crust.
It is the dealings that I've had the bad apples that has made me what I am today.
The Redneck Cabbie.
You see, to escape the madness of the city streets, my mind drifts off (not while I'm driving) to a quiet country town. A place where everyone knows everyone, and a man's handshake is as binding a contract as a person needs. A place where friends gather to down a couple of cold ones and listen to music that you can actually understand the words.
A place where young men don't walk around with their pants falling down over their ass, and young ladies don't have to dress like sluts to draw a man's attention.
I think you get the picture. I know, boring as whale shit to most city folks. I'd be living in a town just like that if it weren't for the fact that there's just not much demand for my line of work in most small towns.
This blog will reflect these feelings. If I seem a little bitter now and then, its just because that wonderful little town is nowhere in my near future, and because the life expectancy of someone in my line of work doesn't extend much past retirement age, all I can do is dream about it.
1. an uneducated white farm laborer, esp. from the South.
2. a bigot or reactionary, esp. from the rural working class.
It goes on to say that redneck is A slang term, usually for a rural white southerner who is politically conservative, racist, and a religious fundamentalist. This term is generally considered offensive. It originated in reference to agricultural workers, alluding to how the back of a person's neck will be burned by the sun if he works long hours in the fields.
While I can't say all that fits me to a tee, a lot of it is pretty damn close.
I lost both my parents before I turned 12 years old. I bounced around in a couple of foster homes before moving in with my uncle when I tuned 15. By age 17, I was on my own. I dropped out of school half way through 11th grade so I could go to work full time. Three months after my 18th birthday, I got behind the wheel of a cab for the first time.
I've learned more about life in 25 years in a hack than any philosopher ever could know. I've had multi-million dollar businessmen, celebrities and pro athletes as well as crack whores, drug dealers and murderers in my cab. I refuse to be an airport jockey or one of those guys that only stages at the hotels, so unfortunately, I have to deal with more of the bottom feeders of life than I do the upper crust.
It is the dealings that I've had the bad apples that has made me what I am today.
The Redneck Cabbie.
You see, to escape the madness of the city streets, my mind drifts off (not while I'm driving) to a quiet country town. A place where everyone knows everyone, and a man's handshake is as binding a contract as a person needs. A place where friends gather to down a couple of cold ones and listen to music that you can actually understand the words.
A place where young men don't walk around with their pants falling down over their ass, and young ladies don't have to dress like sluts to draw a man's attention.
I think you get the picture. I know, boring as whale shit to most city folks. I'd be living in a town just like that if it weren't for the fact that there's just not much demand for my line of work in most small towns.
This blog will reflect these feelings. If I seem a little bitter now and then, its just because that wonderful little town is nowhere in my near future, and because the life expectancy of someone in my line of work doesn't extend much past retirement age, all I can do is dream about it.
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