Reading about these tickets and fines I got to share a quick story. I am 60
years old this coming June, so this was years ago when I was around 35 years
old.
My first trip to New York . . and I am driving a rental car. . a Ford
Taurus with my wife, three young children and of course my mother is in the
back seat along for the trip.
I come off the bridge and drop into New York.
I have driven enough in downtown San Francisco, but this place is different,
much different.
As soon as I come off the bridge I get out half way into an innersection and
the light changes. I actually had two New York police officers yelling at
me out of their windows, one to my right and one to my left . . yelling full
bore at me for being an idiot. Crap, I don't know if I should back up or go
forward or what kind of a ticket I am going to get? I couldn't back up due
to the car behind me pulling up to the line, so I hit it and headed forward
. . both cops left me alone.
This was so many years ago. . but I can still see the cop to my right
yelling at me.
It took me a while to get the hang of driving around Manhattan. I got
better at it at least. And when I tried to see the Dakota. . (where John
Lennon was shot). . of course you cannot stop. . I had to drive by and get
a look at it and circle around and drive by again if I wanted to catch
another glimpse of the place.
I came away with a new understanding as to why so many people use taxi cabs
to get around.
And some people might think San Francisco is a challenge with all the steep
hills and trolley cars . . but all I recall is that Manhattan is a
completely different place.
And some of the cab drivers are nuts. I have had a few roller coaster rides
in cabs while in Tijuana. . no rules and full on crazy driving. San
Francisco cabs are fun too, as they at times get air jumping over the top of
steep hills . . the front tires get a little lift that you can feel. In
Manhattan I saw a cab car that had just crashed into a brick building. . it
seemed to be a testament to the way some of them drive that city.
Anyhow, I grew up along the coastal area of San Diego. . so of course this
was a whole new world to me when I arrived.
Kirk
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