At around this period the taxi cab drivers of New York were almost daily protesting on the streets about the threats and danger of their job, without hardly a day going by with yet another one of their colleagues being murdered, and were demanding more protection, more petrols and speedier reactions from the New York City Police Department.Naturally enough, I was only to well aware of this situation, as I was one myself.

Continued :

It happened to be a particularly nice Saturday morning, and I had just started my dayshift when I made my first pick-up of the morning outside a hotel called the Millenium, which is located adjacent to the New York Stock Exchange in Downtown Manhatten.Both of the customers were English and as I was driving them to their destination, which was JFK International Airport, we chatted about this, that and the other, and I was feeling pretty good about myself, given that I looked upon the fare that I was going to receive as being a great start to the mornings proceedings, as well as the fine day that was in it.I dropped them off at the airport and they paid the required fare, plus the customary tip.After dropping them off, I waited for about fifteen minutes at the airport taxi rank, but there were just to many taxis queing up waiting to pick up potential passengers, and because I didn’t want to lose the momemtum that I had gathered from the proceeds of the first fare, I headed off in the direction of Manhatten.Just prior to leaving the grounds of the airport I noticed a guy at the side of one of the roads waving for a taxi and I, naturally enough, picked him up, knowing, of course, that what I was doing was illegal, as taxi drivers are only allowed to pick up passengers within the airport grounds at the designated taxi ranks.I didn’t even think twice about it.My attitude to this was who really gives a fuck, given that I'm in a daily stock car race which just about enables me to grind out a meagre existence, and if anybody was going to have a problem with that, well then they can go and fuck themselves.Maybe, on this particular occasion I was wrong to think the way that I did, because ten minutes into the journey he pulled out a knife, and threatened to use it if I didn’t hand over the money that I had on me.My money was located in the pouch of those rap around waist belts, that was located around my grind area and which contained fifty dollars, two twenties and one ten dollar bill.I told him that I had only just started my shift and that all I had on me was ten dollars, which I fumbled about for in my pouch, and when I say fumbled I don’t mean trembled, because all that that mother fucker was going to get off me was ten dollars, oneway or the fucking other, and I, eventually, did get the ten dollars out and handed it over to him.He told me to stop the cab after this exchange, which I did, and he got out.

Its pointless going into what could or could not have happened, as it serves no purpose, but suffice to say that my feelings were more ones of dis-appointment and anger, not against the robber personally, but more in relation to the situation that he had put me in financially, because it meant that I had lost the initial ten dollars, as well as the twenty dollars fare which I would have collected in getting him to his destination.

However, I continued on that day, finished my shift without any further mishaps and at the end of that evening I thanked God for letting me be, at last, a vibrant member of the richest city on the face of Gods holy mother fucking planet.