A Place to Visit

There's an element to this work I've neglected to mention. Actually, there's a lot about driving a taxi I haven't gotten to yet in these anecdotes. Maybe it's the job, maybe it's this place...maybe I'll just tell the stories and let you judge for yourself.

There is something funny about Peoria. You can't really put your finger on it, or articulate it...but you can feel it. I heard a rumor that even the Native American inhabitants of the Central Illinois River valley labeled it a place for passing through, not settling. Strange vibes.

Sometimes you pick up on things. Little windows into worlds you've never known. Mostly the customers take you there, to their respective worlds. I've found the key to surviving is adapting to whatever you find there. Strut fearlessly like you're wearing a big fucking shirt that says "Don't hassle me, I'm local." If you believe it, so will they.

No two trips are exactly alike, but some are extra special. Weird shit happens so regularly, I have lost sense of it. It's all weird, and most of the time I don't realize it until I'm remembering what happened.

I picked up a black guy I don't remember well and a muscular white guy with a shaved head and a goatee. He did most of the talking, which is why I remember him and not the black guy...I'm not racist.

"Hey, what's up, my man?"
"Not much. Where you headed?"
"Don't worry about it, just head up to OSF."
"Is that all?" I asked, because I knew it wasn't.
"No, we're picking up a friend," he said. He was direct when he spoke, almost impatient. Like he wasn't completely pissed off yet, but he was on the verge of it all the time.
"Well I need an address."
"Just say OSF. Here's a twenty," he said, handing it to me. "Just get going."

I took the money and we sped a few blocks over to the Hospital. I wasn't worried, but the guy was intimidating. Not in his size, he was ripped, but not huge. Intimidation is in the eyes. One look from him and I knew he was an unstable and probably violent man.

We picked up a petite, short haired nurse and all I could think was "What the fuck is she doing here?"

"Where is it?" he asked. From the moment she got in there was an unspoken sexual struggle going on between the two of them. He acted like her possessive asshole boyfriend but she certainly wasn't his girlfriend. She was timid toward him, politely evasive, yet submissive.

"In the North parking deck."
"North parking deck," he echoed.
"Alright," I said.

There was silence for a brief moment, I was hoping it'd last the duration, I wasn't so lucky.

"We're going to pick up my car," he said proudly.
"Is that right?"
"Yeah, that's right. She parked it right over there for me. In the North parking deck."
"Oh," I said, trying to come up with a proper response. "What kind of car is it?"
"Chevy..." he trailed off looking to her.
"Cavalier. It's a white cavalier on the second level," she said.

I knew he was a criminal and I was starting to think she owed him a lot of money. Maybe for drugs. Maybe for something else.

They directed me around the concrete maze to a white Cavalier and I parked behind it. I gave the total, he told me to keep the twenty and they began piling out of the backseat. The girl was the last to get out and at the last moment I asked "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," she said, closing the door. I wanted to help, but as i drove away, part of me was grateful the trip was over. Maybe it's better not to get involved.