When Santa Claus Drove Me to the Airport -- PART I

Going through the new founded Sunday rituals, I called the Yellow Cab at some point whilst packing. Yellow Cab’s system amazes me. I’ve been using them now for all of my three weeks in consultancy life!

Three hours later, I grabbed few last-minute things and thrown them in the luggage … forced everything to fit in that poor suitcase, and closed it. My backpack on my shoulders, and the suitcase hauled behind me, I was ready to meet my YellowCab! Momentarily, my phone rang telling me that my cab is here. I was excited. Not only I was ready on time, my cab was there exactly on time. You must understand, the idea of having anything, let me, be exactly on time is somewhat of an alien concept to me. Not only that, my memories of waving down cabs, standing in the heat of an afternoon, with the disadvantage of being a male while taxis passed me only to stop for the two girls standing 10 meters away from me, are somehow not pleasant!

My I’m-going-to-the-airport happiness is taking over me, but behind the front glass doors was no YellowCab; it was a blue mini-van United Cab. At the back end of the mini-van were two skinny legs in a once-were-blue jeans supporting an upper body that was either spying on me from around the corner or, hopefully, simply leaning into the back of the mini-van. “Hi,” slipped from my lips. The legs moved revealing the 6’4” tall moving mass. Large beer-belly, rough hands, thick arms, visible veins, wide shoulders, snow white beard down to the middle of his chest. Few bald spots on his head were lucky enough to have covered by his hair, which apparently is not lucky enough to meet any shampoo products. The mass was standing upright now. The hands to the side of his body are almost two shoulder width apart. They are way far from each other I bet they don’t know of the other’s existence.

He walked toward the driver door with his eyes fixated on me. I was not scared, no, not at all. I was just confused, where’s my YellowCab? The confusion was all over my face, while my hand grip was tightening around the suitcase handle. I thought I can throw it at him and then out run him, just in case… you know … but I wasn’t scared.

He finally spoke. “ heh huh hoh hee … bought out … blah bleh bloh,” is what I heard him saying. The fact is my ears were not sure that he spoke English. Whatever he said might as well be German; I had no idea what he said. But again, I doubt he knows of a country called Germany! So, I had a couple of choices: assume that he said YellowCab bought out United Cab and get in the car; object about not having my YellowCab –WHERE THE !@#! IS MY YELLOW CAB—and risk my life. Guess what I chose …

Turns out this creature loves to talk. It, also, turns out that the two words “bought out” where the last two words that I will understand from him.

I looked at the mini-van’s door wide open. It looked very deep, dark, and scary. What shall I do, it’s too late to run; my luggage is already in the car. “look at him … he looks like a retired Santa Claus … He must be nice .. ok .. he is a jolly Santa Clause …” I told myself instilling the confidence to get in that cab ….