My trip to Illinois is winding down. I’d like to take a moment to point out that if you all thought I was a bad driver for The Bertinator, I’m better than American Taxi service. They were my ride to the airport this morning. They rolled in 24 minutes late and pulled up a good 30 feet away. I waved them closer. If you want me to walk to you, show up on time so I have time to amble over to you. When I got in, after establishing I was not going to O’Hare as their text message noted, I observed that the order was to take the Johnson family, party of 3, to O’Hare. My phone number was the only data captured correctly. Smith, party of 1, got underway to Midway. We took the backroads because of traffic and I pleasantly resisted the urge to point out that traffic was not quite so bad 24 minutes earlier when he’d been due to arrive. As we drove, the driver said, “You’re flying Southwest, right?” I replied that I was and he told me that Southwest doesn’t fly out of O’Hare. “Yes. Exactly. That’s why we’re going to Midway.” He told me the fee to Midway was different (aka higher) but I couldn’t make out what he said - it was lost in his accent and reggae music. I felt like saying they should eat the extra cost given the start but I was ill equipped to be assertive - operating on one measly cup of coffee. I haven’t lived in Illinois since I was 17 so it was impossible for me to determine if we were really on back roads to Midway. I wanted to ask a fellow driver stopped beside us but the window in the back did not roll down. Instead, my Waze confirmed we were 2.6 miles from Midway. I relaxed, knowing I have run further distances. I mean - not dragging a suitcase behind me but still.
We made it to Midway without me having to leap from the car. The fare was $2 more. I felt like they should pay me $2 but no time to quibble. The driver did dutifully observe the speed limit. I could have given him some pointers there.
