Lets start off with the bad news, I got a ticket, a damn ticket. Getting one ticket for a cab driver is like receiving a failing grade from half your classes in college. You must then wiggle your way through various authorities to get back on good terms. Apparently I ran a red light up in Washington Heights on that snowy tuesday while making a right turn. First off, I wouldn't have even been on those streets if it weren't for the snow. I figured it was safer to take the streets and perhaps get a really early commuter, rather than taking the highway back down. Secondly I was only caught between the yellow and the red lights while my car was in transition between the street and Broadway because my timing was thrown off by the snow. I drive slower in the snow and reduce my use of both the gas and the brake pedals, so I may catch myself going through a red light. So tuesday while I made 169.00, I lost at least 270.00, but I will have to get a lawyer to try to get me out of the ticket, which most importantly is 3 points on my license. I can't have any points on my license because 6 points brings a suspension. I have gone 3 years without one ticket although I have been very close, extremely close to receiving tickets in that time. I will go into more depth on the blog (Tips for cab drivers). However, for my first 2 years of driving I was living in extreme paranoia, constantly getting tickets and pushing court dates back, working with a lawyer. And while driving I was always looking for cops on every corner, watching them to see what they were looking for, each unit goes out with a mission to stop a certain driver for a certain driving infraction it seems. I grew so cautious that I would never make turns from the second lane, I wouldn't even pass cars within visibility of a police or Taxi commission vehicle. But since I've had this 3 year streak of having no tickets, I've eased into more reckless behavior as each day went by without a ticket. I knew I was getting worse, but the taxi driver's career revolves around finding the balance between safety, rebelliousness, and completely legit driving.
Anyway the good news is I think I took the most beautiful picture that tuesday. It was later on in the day, but still the sun hadn't risen. I stopped in front of my favorite hotel and watched 7th Avenue down to Times Square. The snow was catching too much heat at that time and was falling to the street as water. When all the traffic lights turned red, red v marks were reflected off the black top, and in addition there were bright greens and blues translated onto the street from the neon advertisements. A particular building that gives the Avenue a lot of light in a bright green and then a distinctively darker blue is the old Lehman Brothers building, I'm not sure if it still is Lehman Brothers, or maybe it's the magazine publisher, whatever, the building is awesome. And so in the bright neon backdrop with the dark pavement conducting the electric lights all the way up to the 50's to see me, I witnessed the professional people crossing 7th avenue, all as silhouettes, walking in darkness with bright-lights just behind them. So I snapped a few pictures and though I didn't get that image exactly, I never saw that large group of suits crossing the street when I had my camera up for the shots, it must have been a subway that unleashed them, I did get a shot of one man crossing just up the street, a more personal story was told, and he was framed perfectly by the red v of the traffic lights. I'll edit that shot soon and have it up on the cover tomorrow. Scratch that, the shot is up top now.
Well I thought I was gonna tell a few more stories, at least one more, but this post seems long enough.
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