The New York Narrative - How to Hail a Taxi

I got up really early and outfitted myself in business attire for my medical conference. My biggest concern was certainly not how I looked or whether I was mentally prepared for the information to be presented but I found I was really nervous about getting out onto the street and finding a taxi.

First of all, would there be taxi's on my street that early in the morning? Ha....in the words of a Jewish bubby, "Oy vey. You schmuck dis is New York!" Yellow and black Taxi's were everywhere at all hours and times. Then there was my worry about my hailing technique. I've never hailed a taxi in my entire life so I was a little concerned about whether or not I would have the necessary skill. I paid a lot of attention the previous day to anyone who was stepping off the curb for a cab and I learned there is certainly is a personal art to it.

One older businessman did the traditional two finger whistle and walked right out into the middle of the road. An older woman in her designer jacket and high heeled boots toddled onto the street, stuck her arm out and did a frantic wave several times before one of the yellow and black cars stopped. A young mother who was taking her daughter to private school reached out and pointed at each taxi that she wanted, following several with her finger before one pulled over to the side of the road to pick them up. From another well-dressed man I learned that standing on a corner was not a great place to try and hail a cab since an "almost" accident occured when the taxi slammed on his brakes in the middle of the intersection.

When I got down to the street in front of our apartment I tried to compose myself and steady my shaking arm so that I would look like I knew what I was doing. Sucking air through my teeth I reminded myself that it was I would had conquered the Tower of Terror in Disneyland four times despite my fear of elevators and the Eiffel tower despite my fear of heights. Surely, sticking my arm out and calling a cab couldn't be that difficult. I found a vacant spot just off the corner where there was a fire hydrant and stepped off the curb. The sunlight was shining quite brightly in my eyes so it was difficult to tell if the taxi's approaching had their roof lights on or off. I squinted and tried to look into the cars to see if they had passengers. One taxi coming in the lane next to me was clearly empty and I raised my arm bending it at the elbow in a two finger sideways salute. Whether I looked like a dork or someone who'd done this before, I'll never know but the taxi I wanted pulled over and I jumped inside.

My driver seemed happy to see me until I told him I wanted to go to New Jersey. Ah..now that might be a problem as he didn't know how much it would cost; he would have to look it up. So he pulled over and spent about 5 minutes consulting his rate book and contacting the office. After that though he plugged the address I needed into his GPS unit, I sunk back comfortably into the seat, breathed a sigh of relief and gave myself a mental pat on the back. I'd conquered my fear and I'd been successful on my first try!

Later that night after the conference was over I stood in the lobby of the Hospital dialing a number for the local taxi service. It wasn't long before the taxi drove up and I got in giving directions to the apartment. I was sad that I didn't have another opportunity to try my new found taxi calling talent and somehow that ride back home was not as satisfying as my morning jaunt!

Salynne ©2009