Sketchbook Cabbie

Gal waits for the Marin Airporter

Sausalito Holy Ghost Festa Parade

 
I was caught in the annual Holy Ghost Festa parade through downtown Sausalito.

The annual celebration was begun in Sausalito in 1887 by early Portuguese immigrants in southern Marin County. The festival honors Queen Isabel of Portugal who in the 14th century fed the poor during a famine.

Keepin’ it Secure

“You gotta report every incident,” says Kyle, while on his 5:00am to 2:00pm shift as the security guard at the San Rafael Transportation Hub. “I can’t do much with the dealers here but ask them which bus they intend to be on soon.”

To me, this place, at times, can be a nexus for drug dealers, prostitutes, trannies, and people who just show blatant disregard for the place. Like the homeless guy who took a crap on the waiting room floor, last night. Kyle has a more enligthened attitude. He tells me he’s working on his Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice at Sonoma State and that he's also on the waiting list for the CHP Academy. “I figure I’m learning stuff I can use later. When it’s slow and there are no buses here, I’ll just sit in my booth and read through every report and have a good laugh.”  I imagine that’s not a bad a way to cope.

Tiburon Wine Festival

Quick sketch of happy wine drinkers at the Tiburon waterfront. Chauffeuring them back to San Francisco proved lucrative.

Speaking their Language

I’ve made it a point to learn a few phrases in Spanish. Sometimes it seems like half of Marin County is Spanish-speaking. “Derecha aqui, senor?” is the one I use most often. Also,”El viaje costará 10 dólares, por favor” is a biggie. Not as much call for French (“Bienvenue sur mon cab”) and Italian (“come stai, gli italiani”), which I know a little. The young couple from Paris I drove last weekend to the L'Église Notre-Dame-des-Victoires on Bush at Grant spoke fairly fast, but I understood enough to know they were on vacation and they wanted to go eat dim sum in Chinatown, right after. Taxis are as ubiquitous in the world as Starbucks. Which is why the reality show travelers on The Amazing Race depend so much on us. Every Sunday morning, I drive Millie, who was born in the Fiji islands to the San Rafael Mission Church. I always greet her with, “Bula Vinaka” ("Hello" and "Thanks")? I’m an immigrant myself (from Canada) and I’d appreciate a little native tongue from my taxi driver. Well, you know what I mean.

Nurturing the World

 I’m driving the dude from downtown Sausalito, a little further up the Bridgeway to Le Garage. Matt’s going to have a nice Sunday brunch on the waterfront. Just as I make the turn onto Liberty Ship Way, we both set eyes on the young woman pushing her one-year-old in a stroller. She has copious and well-formed bosoms. “Wow”, I exclaim. I wouldn’t normally do that but for the fact that they are extraordinary and I sense Matt in the back is a comrade and appreciates the female form as I do. “The nice weather brings out the breasts", he says. "Yup", I agree. "That Mom is nurturing the world.” He adds,” It’s a beautiful thing.” I drop Matt at the restaurant. He gives me $20 for a $6 fare. That’s a moment worth savoring, I think.