Risa Mickenberg - Taxi Driver Wisdom

This Chronicle Books LLC edition published in 2016.
Introduction copyright 2016 Risa Mickenberg
Copyright 1996 by Risa Mickenberg
Photographs copyright 1996 by Joanne Dugan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. ISBN: 978-1-4521-5763-4 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5820-4 (epub, mobi) The Library of Congress has cataloged the original edition as follows: Taxi Driver Wisdom / [collected by] Risa Mckenbert : photographs by Joanne Dugan
p. cm.
ISBN 0-8118-1165-4
1. Quotations. 2. 2.

American with and humor.
I. Mickenberg, Risa. II. Dugan, Joanne.
PN6081.T28 1995
081--dc20 95-22085
CIP This edition typeset by John Parise Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com ALL THE QUOTES IN THIS BOOK WERE TAKEN FROM CONVERSATIONS WITH NEW YORK CITY CAB DRIVERS. THANK YOU: Abdul, Abdul, Achileas, Ahmed, Aitzaz, Anitoliy, Angel, Aqueel, Augustin, Belgaam, Ben, Bernard, Bolivar, Carlos, David, Dilawar, Eamon, Edouard, Feliks, Fils Jean, Francisco, Garri, Gladys, Gurmeet, Hafiz, Hanif, Hardial, Hassan, Humayun, Igor, Ishrat, Jaime, James, Jamil, Jaspal, Jean, Jean, Jean, Jean, Jean Fils, Jesus, Jitendev, John, Kahled, Kahlil, Karnail, Kofi, Lawrence, Leocadio, Leonel, Leslie, Libardo, Louis, Maamar, Mahlik, Malid, Mauricio, Michael, Mieczyslow, Mohinder, Muhamed, Muhammed, Muhammed, Muhammed, Munawar, Nelson, Omar, Oomen, Peter, Philip, Philip, Pushap, Ramen, Ramon, Ramon, Rene, Richard, Rousseau, Sahik, Sainristal, Salimm, Sam, Samir, Serge, Shawsul, Sheldon, Sidi, Silvio, Staphano, Sukwinder, Tahir, Taujeed, Vasilios, Willince.

Or was it Krishnamurti? The truth is, most of the worlds greatest philosophers wouldnt look out of place on a hack license. New York cab drivers are the worlds most accessible source of truth and wisdom. Where else can you have intimate discussions with someone from Tibet, Bangladesh, Liberia, India, Zaire, Pakistan, Vietnam, Iran, Russia, Haiti, Peru, Lithuania, Poland, the Ivory Coast? Where else can you hear the wisdom of Taoism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Islam, Santeria, Zgqen, Zoroastrianism? Maybe because people can only deal with limited-time intimacy, we get into a taxi and suddenly we can reveal our souls. We can ask questions weve been afraid to ask. A cab is a kind of confessional-mobile. Musky with incense or air freshener, sealed off from the rest of the world, slide open that glass divider and its just you and your guru, sharing a few minutes of reflection and advice.

An ashram costs $5,000 a week. A psychiatrist costs $250 an hour. An astrologist will run you around $100. But a cab ride is only $2.50 for the first mile, plus fifty cents per 1/5 mile or 60 seconds in slow traffic or when the vehicle is stopped. In cabs, I have learned how to fight fairly, how to manage fear, when to accept fate, when to avoid midtown. The next time youre in a taxi, ask the driver what function truth serves.

Ask why evil exists. Ask if jealousy contradicts love. Keep your mind and your bulletproof window open. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, In every man, there is something wherein I may learn of him. Or as one cabdriver put it, If youre a smart person, you can see whats smart about the next guy. If youre secretly afraid youre a moron, okay, then, to you, everybodys a moron.

In the twenty years since this book was first published, the wisdom within remains as true as ever. And in the era of lost-without-an-app rideshare drivers, theres still no better route than with a cabbie who knows more than just where youre going.