they say cab drivers are the best tourist guides. i say they’re a lot more. they are windows to the harsh reality of life… and the colorful.
mang leon is around 50-55 yrs old, white-haired, on the thin side with weather-beaten face and crinkly eyes – eyes that smiled and laughed a lot. i was riding on his cab on my way to the bus station last night. our conversation started from a news report on the radio about a man who conned a medical representative into giving him her cellular phone, claiming he was a doctor. we were both shocked, not of the incident, but because we couldn’t believe someone would still be gullible enough to take the bait, hook, line and sinker. so anyways, after the news, i asked mang leon if he ever encountered anything similar while on the job, knowing cab drivers’ are usually ripped off by hold-uppers. fortunately he hasnt encountered such but he then started to tell me stories…
photo from aristide
one of his buddies had a passenger, in white suit, who claimed his name to be “dr. araneta”. the passenger asked his buddy if he would leave his taxi cab at his place, and drive his mercedes benz and bring the doctor and his guests to a nearby town for a certain amount of money. the driver agreed. “dr. araneta” then told him he has several errands to do first, drop by the hospital, the country club, the mall then onto his house to get the mercedez benz before picking up his guests. from the hospital on the way to the country club, the doctor asked the driver a favor. he told the driver he still has to get pesos from his house and all he’s got are dollars. he needs to buy something from the mall before proceeding to his place. “dr. araneta” then asked if he can borrow 700 pesos from him and will pay him back at the doctor’s place. believing “dr. araneta”, the driver gave him 700 pesos. they then went to the mall and the doctor went in to buy some stuff. and the driver waited. and waited…. and waited… “dr. araneta” never came back.
flabbergasted, i just laughed and laughed with mang leon- i wasnt sure at whom – at mang leon’s buddy or “dr. araneta”… but i think i was more shocked at discovering up to what extent people would do to get money – even play a part! while some work their ass off day and night to earn honest living…
and mang leon went on and on and regaled me stories of men and women trying to con drivers… and the sad part is these people taking advantage of cab drivers are relatively well off compared to the latter – who has to scrape in at least 1500-2000 pesos a day to meet the operator’s quota and gasoline – in excess of which is their take home – which is on the average around 300-400 pesos… for a family of 6-8.
so next time you take the cab, take a closer look at your cab driver… they’re not just drivers… they’re life.
Hello friend! Thanks for your recent comment on my blog. I enjoy visiting your site as well. Until next time. . . .
Comment by Sacul — June 2, 2006 @ 1:18 am |