Guest Column: Nick the Cabbie – “Convention People”
It’s a little after nine o’clock in the morning and for the past forty-five minutes I’ve been driving back and forth from the MGM Signature towers to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center as fast as the passengers and the traffic will allow. It’s not the most desirable fare, but today I happen to be restricted. (Restricted cabs are prohibited from picking up rides Downtown, on the Strip, or at McCarran International Airport.) In a non-restricted cab I could go just about anywhere else, but the Signature is the closest location without a Las Vegas Boulevard address and there are plenty of rides because everyone is going to the convention. A short ride now is always better than another potentially short ride after a possible wait in a taxi line.
Most people travel to the conventions in groups and talk amongst themselves about who got the least amount of sleep and what they expect their day at the convention to be like. Sometimes the sleep conversation will also contain the most incredibly vague bits about the previous night like “I couldn’t believe Jim last night” with the typical reply “I know! That was crazy” or some other equally boring statement with no context. I’m almost always ignored until they have to pay the fare. (Being ignored is no fun unless it comes with a good story.)
I thought that the single person waiting when I returned meant that the convention loop would soon be broken, but the guy paused from his phone call only long enough to dash my hopes. About halfway to Mandalay he ended his phone conversation and I asked, “How are you doing today?”
There was a slight pause before he brusquely answered, “I just woke up.”
He paused in thought again before adding, “Drunk.”
The only response I could muster was: “Welcome to Vegas.” This unintentionally ended our chat.
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2 Comments
Brandy Duckworth on April 10, 2009 :
Waking up drunk? Isn’t that supposed to be something reserved for first year liberal arts college students? What kind of convention were these people attending? That can’t be a fun place to have a hang over. I don’t know…I guess if you’ve got to do it, then Vegas is the perfect place!
Nick the Cabbie on May 16, 2009 :
I don’t remember what convention it was…probably something boring. hehe
definitely not arts related though.
(and, just for the record, no place is ever fun for a hangover.)