Give It Up! by Mary Carlomagno

Author:Mary Carlomagno [Carlomagno, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062034700
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2006-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

August

TAXIS

“You talking to me?”

—TRAVIS BICKLE, TAXI DRIVER

New York City is one of the best walking cities in the world. Hordes of tourists arrive each year to walk the streets of SoHo, the Upper West Side, and the Village. One need only arrive in the theater district on a Wednesday matinee day to become enveloped in foot traffic. Working in the city every day should provide me with enough knowledge to navigate local streets. Sadly, this was not the case when a group of Central Park tourists asked me for directions. Suddenly, this fast-talking urbanite was at a loss for words. The head of the group asked, “Metropolitan Art of Museum?” Despite the order of the words, their question was understood. Most New Yorkers would be able to provide quick, clear instructions or at least point in the general vicinity. Instead, an awkward back-and-forth ensued, perhaps attributable to a language barrier, but the truth was harder to admit. Having no idea how to get there without the aid of a local cabdriver, I was without direction, literally.

The tourists were under one of the many universal misconceptions about New Yorkers. They assumed that I actually knew where things were located. Having grown up in the suburbs of New Jersey, it took a few years to perfect the city stare, city strut, and aloof sense of city indifference. Happy to be part of this thriving city, I found it hard to adopt a stern face despite the well-meaning advice, including my mother’s simple instruction, “Keep your head down, look mad, and no one will bother you.” This might have kept me out of danger, but would do nothing for the awareness of my surroundings. In all the time I spent in New York, the look was a guise for my malfunctioning inner compass. There were, of course, certain questions I could answer. When in my neighborhood, I did a fair job of helping stray tourists to navigate shops and streets that I passed every day on the way to work. My cursory directions were never very specific. The response would be something like, “Oh yes, there is one on Sixteenth or is it Seventeenth near the park, all you do is go over three and down one. You can’t miss it.” These highly specific instructions worked only in my neighborhood, where it is hard to tell that you cannot distinguish north from south or east from west. You can take the girl out of the neighborhood, but don’t expect her to find her way back without her trusted taxi.

As far as misconceptions go, there are many about New York City taxis as well. Like, why during a beautiful spring day are there no cabs around at rush hour? Experienced passengers know that hailing a cab at 5:00 P.M. is nearly impossible due to the 4:00 P.M. shift change and the collective workforce demanding cabs all at the same time. If you are traveling downtown, a convincing argument might persuade even the most reluctant driver to make you his last fare.

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