The One with the Bumpy Cab Ride

A lot of people don't know this about me but I can actually drive. I just never bothered lining up for a license and never bothered hard enough to get a car. I get by with riding cabs - hey less hassle with the parking and less issues with the bad traffic I have to deal with to get to work or to get home.

Traffic nightly from my place to Makati looks like this.Yes, even at 11PM at night! 

There are days when I'm thankful that I don't drive. When it's raining, for example and the roads are muddied, slippery and jammed with a bumper-to-bumper entourage of cars. Amazingly, just when it's raining and when it's crowded, that's when the mouth of hell opens and spews all the motorists in the world, throw into the mix the maze manipulating, passenger-hoarding jeepneys and you've got yourself a man-made disaster - the Manila traffic.

Not Manila, but close. And if this was Manila, this would be snake-like and not as orderly. 

What is confusing about the traffic is amidst all of this, a normal passenger is still able to manage his/her life throughout. Behind the long queue in train stations across the metro, the hundreds of people trying to steal your cab, the filled jeepneys and let's not forget the FX, the trikes and the other forms of transportation I have yet to ride, there are still people in their offices. Only when you're travelling during rush hour do you see how immensely and densely populated the city is. Isn't it a wonder how we all fit into this tiny city?

Crowded, crowded, crowded. 

So, here I am, soaking wet from the onslaught of monsoon rains, standing in a puddle of what appears to be water, motor oil and some other thick slushy liquid, do I chance upon this cab. I was desperate. I had to get to work because I, just like everyone else, have deadlines to meet (and miles to go before I sleep). I was lucky enough to get his attention (thanks to my ravishing red umbrella).

Everyone needs one. I am telling you! 

I struck up a conversation with the dude driving the cab. Profile: 40 yrs old or so (do you really want to know how I can figure this out?!), kids, wife, driving a cab for some time, can strike up a convo, isn't afraid to ask for more cash if the streets are flooded, safety-minded - meaning he cared whether I locked my doors or not. For some reason, we got into the fact that most passengers tend to be absent-minded and leave their valuables behind. This is where the conversation started getting testy.

Don't leave your cab without it. 

Apparently, the driver has experienced something bad when it comes to returning things. His passenger left her mobile on the cab and after a couple of hours, the phone was ringing. He picked it up. Naturally, the passenger asked for her phone back and he said he's a city away. Quezon City to be exact. The passenger was dropped off in Taguig. The passenger said to return it and she'll take care of the bill. Naturally, the cab driver assumed he'd get at least the running meter for the cab. Lo and behold, when he got to her, all she gave was a 50PhP bill. She was even mad that it took so long. From here on forward, he said, he's never going to return anything to anyone anymore.

Where the *ff are you?! 

Obviously, trying to reason with someone that has that mindset won't work. I tried questions and other means of making this guy realize that karma does exist and it bites you back tenfold and yet, I guess that harrowing experience taught him that doing good isn't always going to reward you.

Maybe all the dude wanted was a thumbs-up? 

I was honestly alarmed. It's kind of sad that people have lost all sense of goodwill towards others? It's not just the cab driver, it's the lady passenger who handed the driver a 50 and basically said "get lost". Then there's the driver who in his intentions got lost, thinking he needed a reward for the things he did. Isn't the reward of a good deed the act itself? I'm not going to launch into a litany of anachronistic phrases from the Bible, some gentleman's code from the 1800's or some old English poet, but when you think about it, doesn't it alarm you that people out there won't even give you the time of the day even if it's a good deed anyhow?

All pictures were taken from Stock Xchng, my leading provider of stock photos.