Time it was when barbers used to be the class of service people that talked the most. You got movie reviews, tidbits about celebrities and general funda from them. Today it's also the taxi drivers ( A friend tells me using the taxi driver as a narrative prop is the new cliche). Mine have a lot of opinions. But they can also be observant folks. And one of my regulars has other ambitions.
He wants to work in an office, has even taken courses in spoken English to equip himself for his aspirations. But he's also a realist. His idea is now to work in an office where he gets to go out and be a delivery man - a sort of courier. That way, he says, he will have to be of better service and less servile.
It's not unconnected to his frustrations with being a cab driver. He hates the traffic, and the stress. His temper gets frayed, and he is more likely than not to get into an argument over a minor infraction. Come summer, it'll only get worse, because of the heat. So he's using this time, when things are calmer, to try and get a job, so he asks his fares - like me.
The other day, I watched on TV a landlord, after a run-in with the police over a small argument near his property, get into his car. And as he was leaving, he accelerated and ran down one of the people he was having an argument with: right in front of the same policemen!
Which brings up my cab driver's concern: is road rage on the rise?
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