A Global Imposition

(While in college I relied on trains to get to and from my home for breaks. I had a car, but didn’t trust the area of town the train station was, and instead elected to take taxis from campus to the station. On this occasion, I called for a taxi a few hours in advance to be sure they’d have time to reach me.)

Me: *calling dispatcher* “Yeah, my taxi was supposed to show up about 15 minutes ago, and he’s still not here.”

Dispatcher: “Well, he says he’s on his way.”

Me: “Well, okay, but I have a train to catch, so this is kind of time sensitive.”

Dispatcher: “I’ll let him know.”

(Fifteen minutes later and still no taxi. I’m getting really anxious now as the grace period I left myself is running out, so I call again.)

Dispatcher: “I’m sorry, miss, but all I can say is he’s on his way. I’ll try to contact him again.”

(A few minutes later, my phone rings.)

Driver: “Yeah, I’m just trying to find your apartment… it’s kind of hard.”

Me: “My apartment is ON CAMPUS! On the academic side!”

Driver: “Oh… OH! Okay! I gotcha. I’ll be there in a minute.”

(Finally the cab pulls up and I all but throw my bags into the trunk.)

Driver: “Sorry about the wait. What time is it, anyway?”

Me: *noticing a GPS on his dashboard displaying the time* “It’s [time]. And you know, it says right there on your GPS.”

Driver: “Oh, that thing. I never look at that.”

(Well, maybe you should have, buddy! I almost missed my train!)