800 th posting

A bookcase full of Video tapes, my son says he will pit it all on a cloud for me.



A very famous Dublin pub.



Grand Canal dock



Aviva Stadium from Bath Ave.

It is hard to believe that this posting is my 800th

Who would have thought when I first started back in September 2006 that the blog would keep on going.
I was going to stop once as I felt that no one was reading it, but some people said that they read it and asked me to carry on.
I didn't start it to put right the wrongs of the world, or to complain.
(Though most of us do a fair bit of that)
It is just the world as I see it.
For a well educated population who are well able to articulate their views. I despair when I see how our elected representatives behave.
It is best not to dwell on them, I never voted for them so its not my fault.

If the people of Holland were running this country we would be feeding the world.
If our lot were in power in Hollandthe the population would shurly drown.
Listen to classical music and let your troubles drift away, thats my remedy.

Back then in 2006 the taxi drivers were full of fight though the taxi numbers still kept on growing, until we are in the situation where we outnumber the taxis in New York city a city with a population of around 8.2 million People, though it would have a larger population who commute to work.
We are 2 million people in Dublin, so we have a large taxi problem.

All in all the New York taxi drivers life is not a bed of roses either, click on the link here and listen to the radio show.

So driving a taxi becomes for me an education, both for driver and passenger, we each learn from each other and believe me when I say we are becoming very well educated as we drive through life.
Interesting, clever,stupid and rude people all come through the door.

There are many people who impressed me in my time driving a taxi.

One was Chuck Feeney.
Who?
Well I didn't know who he was either, but he is the man behind Atlantic Philanthropies.

I only learned who he was and what he achieved because a law was passed in the USA which declared that you must state who you are exactly if you gave away a large sum of money.
I read it all in the Irish Times newspaper the next day.

Work life balance, nutrition,and financial awareness were all covered on the trip in from the airport. He invited me in for a cup of tea, which I declined, to my eternal sorrow I said.
"All this talk doesn't pay for the wedding breakfast."

I still send him the odd e mail and follow his fantastic work.

The other great man I didn't recognise either.
I had the airport pass at the time and was number 4 in the queue, this man came out and spoke to the first driver, the second, the third. Then he came to me.
"Will you accept Dollars, I don't have any €uro?"

Yes!.
Just like that.
Who did I meet?
So I loaded up a teenage boy and girl, a lady and himself and off we went to the K club.
He was a great talker and we shared some great ideas along the way.
He took out a notebook at one stage and took down notes, he told me that it was a habit,so that he didn't forget things. These notes are kept in 2 diaries one in his office and the other in his home, he can go back more than 20 years to recall an idea.
I felt I knew him and he said he was no one famous, but I felt that perhaps we had worked together years ago and had not seen each other since.(in Prison perhaps?)Ha ha.

When we reached the K club he wanted me to come back to collect them and bring them to Dublin and back again.
Well you see ! That is 4 trips for me and I would be only paid for 2 (down empty and back home empty) And they have a lovely limo there which is free.
I honestly didn't know him and I was very tired , but even though he offered to pay for the 4 trips I told him to take the Limo.

So the next night on the Late Late show Pat Kenny has a special guest.
A big round of applause for Mr. XXXXXXX
So he cane on and said "Hi John, thanks a lot for bringing us to our hotel last night, we really enjoyed it and I look forward to meeting you again."
So if you see him tell him he is very good company and I could see how clever he is.
They don't come any bigger than those 2 people.

Both clever like a Fox for sure.

But the otherpeople affect in other ways, too.
Some people share their thoughts and dreams, others say nothing.

That girl going to buy drugs, knowing that she is on the road to hell.
People buying drugs are plentiful here in Dublin.
Heroin is more an epidemic rather than a problem in Dublin.
Perhaps that is why they put up a giant needle in O'Connell St.

That street prostitute who worked around Baggott st.a few years ago. She just loved her son to bits and she would buy him wonderful presents for that coming Christmas, how I hoped she would get her act together, in reality she was a really lovely girl.
The last time I saw her she was skin and bone, very frightening a total waisted life.

So this has been an education for me,there is very little business to go around for such a large number of taxis. Every new taxi that comes on the road takes work from those already on the road.
Then there are the illegals !

Something new is coming to Dublin very soon it is called Hail O Cab App





www.hailocab.com
12 upper Mount St
Tell them John sent you, from the Blog.

This might help business and NO BASE COST

So thank you for reading this, sorry it is not more professional.

But then again I am just the taxi driver.

Pop over to visit us some day.