pays to be kind

I started my shift with a ride from WB20 on Cesar Chavez to Nob Hill. It’s a nice ride going straight up Potrero hill and then avoiding traffic by going up 7th, which turns into Leavenworth. And being on nob hill puts me right into the mix. Soon enough I get another flag, which takes me to pacific heights where I get another flag back down to Sansome.
In front of Park Hyatt I get a businessman going back to Salt Lake city where there is no fog. I take him to SFO where I wait 20 minutes for another ride back to Richmond district and the passenger spends the whole trip on his cell phone.
It’s a busy Friday night and where I drop off there is usually someone running down the street with arms waving and ready to zoom off somewhere else. I’m taking people to dinner, the movies, concerts, bars, parties, home, BART, and even church. An attractive woman flags me down on California st. and she’s going to Benders on SVN. I’m listening to KPOO and I don’t say much to her and when we get there she gives me $20 for an $8 fare and
says to me, “ that’s for playing cool music and not hitting on me”. Wow, I get another ride to SFO with a Korean guy going back to Seoul. He tells me how much he likes SF and how good the weather is. He likes the SF Giants and explains the Korean league to me. He says that Byung Kim, Choi, and Seo were all on the same high school baseball team. My fare back to SF is with some guy from Houston who grew up in St. Louis and he talks the whole ride about Cardinals and their history of titles.
I’m back in the city and it’s a blur. I take a radio call for the Wash Bag and it’s a no-go and the bartender comes out and tries to give me five bucks for my trouble and I refuse. I get lucky in last hour with 3 long fares and a night ending ride to Daly City.