Before you go any further, read this...

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.

You see, 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 28 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.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

If this happened, funnier than shit...

PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Barack Obama claims to run a clean campaign, but someone in his camp took a swipe at Hillary Clinton through the candidate's theme song.

As Obama and his wife, Michelle, strolled triumphantly into his victory party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 3, Jay-Z's "99 Problems" was blaring — a song where Jay raps, "I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one."

Most listeners took it as a not-so-sly reference to Clinton. "We didn't know he used that," a shocked Clinton spokesperson said.

Obama has no problem admitting he's a rap fan. "I tell you what. I can tell you the kinds of stuff that I love dancing to, and that is, I'm sort of, of the generation of Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind and Fire," he told CNN along the campaign trail.

"But I'm sort of hip to the younger stuff. You know, like Beyoncé's 'Crazy in Love.' That's a good song to dance to. Eminem . . . although he curses sometimes." Clinton seems less committed to any theme-musical style. She made a "Sopranos" spoof video last year to unveil her official campaign song, "You and I," by Céline Dion. The lyrics go: "High above the mountains, far across the sea, I can hear your voice calling out to me." The song later disappeared from her campaign, however.

But maybe Clinton could use a rap number of her own. Lil' Kim's hit, "Can't [bleep] With Queen Bee," would have been perfect to celebrate her win in New Hampshire. It goes: "It's a new day, and all you . . . back-stabbing . . . haters, you're all history. So you can hate, or hail the Queen. I got a vision, I think for the future, baby."

Instead, she entered her New Hampshire victory party to "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. But now, she's using the Big Head Todd and the Monsters rock song, "Blue Sky." The lyrics go: "Yes you can change the world, true love discovers. She stands, and she won't back down. Oh, yes, you can change the world. There is no other one, just see if you can find blue sky." "We use a variety of songs, those are the most recent," said Clinton's spokesperson.

(Unknown Source)

No comments: