It
was four years ago today, March 5, 2016, Mike and I began our trip to Las Vegas.
He was going for a conference, and I was tagging along. A few of our highlights
were typed up at the time, and here is the first of them:
We
touched down at McCarran Airport and after baggage claim, we got into the long line for a taxi. The
line moved quickly. and soon we were on our way to the Tropicana Hotel. With
just a couple of questions, Mike and I heard most of our taxi driver’s life
story.
I
did not place his accent very well – my first guess was Russian, and my second
guess was Greek. Both were incorrect. The driver offered a hint:
“Did
you see Godfather III?” he asked.
“Sicily?”
“Yes, Sicily. Palermo.”
He came to the United States 34 years ago, living in New
York City for the first 17 of those years.
“Did you move to Vegas when the people in the Godfather
started building the hotels?”
He laughed and said no. But he moved from NYC to get away
from the cold, the rude people, the smell from the sewers on the few days that the
city was hot, and the two bedroom $1500 a month apartment where neighbors
pound on the walls and tell you to turn down the music when you have friends
over on the weekend. In Las Vegas, the weather is beautiful all year around.
For $1800 a month, he has a house, and he can entertain without fear of making
too much noise. Less rudeness.
I asked if he has become a US citizen, and when he said
yes, I then asked who he liked for president this year? The cabby said a few
things regarding the buffoonery of Donald Trump and then revealed he is leaning
toward the guy from Texas. “Cruz?!” Yes, he likes Ted Cruz.
He
did not mention any of the Democratic candidates.
“Do you go back to Palermo often?”
That question got me a look in the rear-view mirror – when we
made eye contact, he replied, “No, never. Too many bad memories. Bad stuff went
on there.”
We pulled into the taxi drop-off lane of the Tropicana. The
driver blew his horn at a man walking in front of us, and then he yelled an
ethnic slur at him! The man who was being honked at and yelled at walked over
and leaned into the cab through the open front passenger window. He and the
cabby laughed, shook hands, exchanged brief greetings, and then he continued on
his way.
Who
says America is not great? Our taxi ride and the story were both so pleasant
that Mike tipped generously. What more awaited us in Vegas?
20200305 29 20160305 Las Vegas
Taxi
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