The Busy Season Begins...

Well, here we are deep into October, which is supposed to be the first full month of Fall. However, here in Arizona, most days are still warm, so that it really feels like an Indian Summer. Don't get me wrong, I have no complaints about the weather, especially this time of year. I think that it is beautiful at this time of year, but not for the reasons that most people think.

You see, the cab business, like a lot of other businesses, I guess, has its slow and busy seasons. For reasons I can't truly comprehend, things really seem to slow down during the summer months. Okay, you caught me. I'm lying about my lack of comprehension. I know why the cab business slows down in Phoenix during the summer. It's just so frisking hot! No sane person who has a choice in the matter voluntarily comes to Phoenix after about May 15, or much before about October 1. Unless they just can't afford a sauna back home.

Now me, I've lived in Phoenix for over thirty-five years, and I have gotten completely used to the heat. I didn't say that I liked the heat, I just said that I've gotten used to it. I have my little methods of adjustment and compensation. I drink plenty of fluids. I stay indoors as much as possible. I run my car air-conditioner at all times, and keep a very careful watch on the maintenance of that handy little device. I fantasize about places that are much cooler, such as Hell, and the sunward side of the planet Mercury. But mostly I just keep a running commentary in my head, which consists of but a single sentence running over and over and over: "Remember... it's a dry heat!"

So why do I think that Phoenix is beautiful at this time of the year, if not for the weather? The fact that other people think that the weather in Phoenix is beautiful at this time of year. Yes indeed, the cooler it gets in other parts of the country, the more visitors our fair city gets. Some people drive here, but most visitors arrive in our town via the airport. To get out of the airport, quite of few of these visitors take a cab. Now, I don't work at the airport, the reasons for which I won't go into here. But anyone leaving the airport in a cab didn't rent a car, so that means, to get around, for the most part, they're either going to ride the city bus, or call for a cab.

When was the last time you visited a city not your own and relied on the city bus system to get around? Maybe that's not a bad plan in other large cities with well developed public transit systems, but here in Phoenix, it's not only a bad plan, but an extremely bad plan. Unless you have a lot of time to spend waiting for the bus, and can stomach the thought of sitting next to whomever you might run into on the bus, or just plain love torturing yourself trying to figure out the schedule, taking a cab is a superior alternative. Unless you don't have a lot of money, in which case you just need to wait for the bus. Deadbeat!

So the winter visitors are starting to flood into our town, the cab company I work for is getting a flood of calls, and money is starting to flood into my wallet.

Don't you just love the way I managed to use the word 'flood' three times in a story about Phoenix, Arizona, one of the driest cities in the world? And all in one sentence, no less! No? Tough... I already wrote it, you already read it, so there's nothing that can be done about it.

But seriously... Welcome to Phoenix... stay a while... see the sights... take a cab ride or two... have a wonderful time! And, if you've been given good service, please tip your driver...

But if he's a surly son of a gun who won't even lift your luggage, feel free to stiff him. You have my permission.

Sincerely,

The Cab Guy