Taxis (7/16)

So today was a noteworthy cab ride which inspired me to write on a long overdue topic:

Taxis

1) Passengers: Today my cab ride consisted of:
Me
The Driver
2 Adults
2 Children
and 4 Sheep in the station wagon trunk.

The loud Twi in the cab was intermittently interrupted by a brainless "BAAAAAAA" and while my arm was draped across the back row of seats I felt a puff-puff-puff-puff on my forearm. I look back and a sheep is staring at me with confused eyes. Just breathing on my arm. His eyes looking 2 different directions, and I doubt I have ever seen a dumber looking animal in my life.

The 4 sheep were hog-tied individually (Safety first, guys) but that didnt stop small scuffles. The white sheep with the big horns was angry that another sheep was kicking him and so he started butting his head against the interior panels and back winshield of the cab. He was just ramming away, and the people in the cab seemed to think it was the most normal thing, like a baby crying in the back seat. When I was dropped off nothing had yet been broken so I'm guessing they made it OK.

2) Doors:
These cabs drive the same few miles all day long, in a circuit from A->B then B->A. They surely do at least 2-3 loops every day and wait for at least 4 people. Each one opens and closes the door on entry and exit. Figure they drive every day doing this routine and you start to get an idea for the condition of these cabs. The panels are falling off inside, if they ever had electric windows the buttons are almost assuredly broken off, and even the door handles can be a Rubik's cube to figure out. It's not uncommon at all to have to reach out the window and open your door from the outside (like a child-lock, but not intentional.) Then of course there's the doors that will only open if you push, pull and squeeze at the right angle, in the right order. The driver usually has to operate these password-protected doors for me.

3) Maintenance:
Your cab stalling somewhere along the ride is about a 60% probability every time you get in a cab. It's no problem though, they just start the car again. In the US it's embarrassing to stall out, here it's part of the job description with a picky car. Many times the passengers must get out to push-start the cab, and one of the cabs I ride straight up will not turn-key "on" ever. When it's our turn to leave, our driver signals that he's ready, the other people at the station give us a shove, and we're off. Then there's also the driver who saves gas by noting that from my language town back to the middle town it's mostly downhill, so he just turns the car off and rolls through the twists and turns at 40MPH (I'm just guessing, his speedometer doesnt work). There was the one driver that on every stall: got out, popped the hood, pulled out a hose from the engine, siphoned out some liquid, made a gross face at the fluid that got into his mouth, plugged it back in place, and we tried again. That same car stalled on the way up the other side of the hill me and Arjun ran out of gas on. We rolled ALL the way down the very long hill (backwards) into a parts shop where he got a patch fix and we were off.

4) Decoration:
They all have 3 stickers on the right of the winshield: Insurance, Tax ID, and I think a registration. And from there they personalize. American Ghanaian and Brazilian flags, toy eggs, and mini boxing gloves are just some of the things you can find hanging from the winshield inside. Some have sound systems, some dont even have a radio. The back winshield can sport such thoughtful phrases as "Think Twice" or "God's Time is the Best". They're all rickety, squeaky, shaky rides but it's unique each time and always fun. If you accept it for how it is, it's a great time.