The lead story today on one of my favorite sources for ideas was, "Almost 100,000 New York City cabbies are being asked to donate one day's tips - an estimated $15-20 each - to help raise and educate 13-year old twin boys whose parents were killed in a hit-and-run accident on Valentine's Day this year.
The children's father was a livery cab driver. He and his wife, Egyptian immigrants," the article goes on to say, "were killed when their cab was broadsided by a speeding luxury car that ran a red light on a Staten Island boulevard. Records showed that the other driver's license had been either suspended or revoked nearly two dozen times since 2005."
Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy! This story brings up so many questions* on so many different levels!! Well, the first thing I did was Google "livery cab driver - New York City", because I had no idea what a 'livery cab driver' was. This is what I found.
*Just a couple of my questions ... 1) Why was she with him in the cab? "Side riders" are illegal in Houston. 2) If they know who the other person is who was driving the 'luxury car', why isn't his/her insurance company paying through the schnoz for the now-orphaned children's upbringing and education? 3.) How is it possible that this manslaughterer was still driving and on the road?!?
The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers organized a "Tips for the Twins" fundraiser, and plans to make this a yearly event.
*Another question ... 4) Why? If every one of those 100,000 donates even one dollar, there's $100,000 smackeroos. If every one donates ten dollars - and of course they won't, there's a cool million if my math is correct. And if each succeeding year one is "asked" to donate, what then? Will it become a matter of the union taking it out of their dues? It wouldn't be unheard of! (My anti-union prejudice is showing here, I admit it.)
This story just tears your heart out, probably. It did mine!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Hmmm...sad, sad story.
You are a livery cab driver of sorts, aren't you? I mean, maybe not LIVERY CAB driver, but kind of...??? You have customers who call you in particular instead of hailing a yellow cab.
I'd never even heard of livery cab drivers before reading this!
Interesting story, I can see why it caught your attention!
Anyone who wants to flag down or hail a cab - and there are MANY different-colored cabs in Houston other than yellow - will never again have me as their driver, Tammy! (Stuff like that only happens in my dreams.)
At the same time, I AM occasionally driving long-timey customers - all pre-arranged, of course - so I guess you could say (particularly in light of the link I gave all of you in this post) that I am a "livery cab driver". I wasn't at all familiar with the term, either! Would not have thought of myself still as a 'cab driver', per se, but I guess I am! :)
I am with TAMMY, it is a sad story.
Post a Comment