In fourteen years of driving a cab full-time, I have never seen the business or the city like this. It is insane! I mean no hyperbole. It is insane. The tires of my cab have not stopped in the last three days! That has never happened. Considering that we now have Bolsheviks running the White House, it was good to experience some good old style capitalism that would have made Adam Smith brim with pride.
I have picked up Steeler fans, Cardinal fans (they showed up today in mass), strippers, and more party people than at a Winter Olympics, and I was run off the road by the Cardinal Bus caravan going to the Grand Hyatt on the Courtney causeway were the team is staying.
Dale Mabry is insane, Ybor City is insane, Channelside is insane, people get out of your cab, and another group gets in and that continues all day long. The money just flows! I have and idea. The NFL should have the Super Bowl in Tampa every year.
Even the "Naked Cowboy" was in town. I stopped in Ybor, and in my rear view mirror, I saw this handsome man playing a guitar with just his draws on. You got to feel real good about your body to do that.
The Super Bowl parties are everywhere, and all the beautiful people are in attendance. There is no way a little cab driver can keep up with, but I try. This weekend I am the information booth. Tell me where you want to go and I will take you. If you need advice about Tampa and where to stay, eat dinner, go out, and so forth, I am your man. I have helped many people, and I consider that part of my job.
All the NFL owners are staying at the Marriot Waterside in downtown Tampa, and that has turned into a cluster fuck. All the cabs were supposed to line up in the morgan street tunnel were the starters would load the next fare. The hotel is barricaded to prevent a terrorist attack, so the people have to walk up to the cab area. The problem is that not everyone fully understands this including the cab drivers. So thay are running around and loading on the streets as people just walk up. It is total caios. I think it's a lot fun actually to see even the best laided plans go bad.
Enjoy the feast Tampa Cabbies. We did all we could to hold the PTC's feet to the fire with enforcement & discourage VFH in Tampa not in strict compliance with the law.
Stay busy, enjoy the feast as famine is just around the corner as we are all aware of.
Posted by: zak | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 05:02 PM