There are a number of signs dotted around Austin advertising Emergency Call Boxes. I think it has something to do with the city's promotional strap-line: 'Keep Austin Weird'. This relates to the city's independent nature and rather left-field attitude. I mean where else has a festival devoted to Eyeore's Birthday (a load of hippies banging drums in honor of a fictional donkey) or a 'Spamarama' (a festival that involves doing weird things with something posing as meat)? But today I felt like reaching for an Emergency Phone when I came across a taxi driver who was cross between Grizzly Adams and Travis Bickle; I'll call him GT.
GT picked me up from my airport hotel and by the time we'd left the parking lot I already knew most of his life story (even allowing for the oversized nature of most car-related things here, that's pretty good going). It went something like this: GT was brought up by 'Indians' and his 'father' was over 100 when he died. He took him up to a holy mountain when he was small and made him commune with a variety of Native American gods who proceeded to talk back to him prompting lightning to strike, and the young GT to immediately pee his pants. He then served with the Green Berets in 'Nam during the early '60s, and was later taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese for 3 years. On his return Stateside he was invalided out of the US Army and spent some time in a VA hospital in the Carolina's diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. GT also had a line in bigamy - simultaneously married to Asian and American wives - and later chronic alcoholism. Throughout this time he drove a taxi armed only with his father's knotted stick, and a Denny's beaker filled with Bourbon riding shotgun.
Today GT no longer drinks. This is due to his father visiting him on the wings of a Raven whilst he was living the life of Grizzly Adams in Alaska and telling him to come home to Texas to be reborn to the 'Wheel of Spirits' of ancient Lakota Gods. It also seems that he has become obsessed with numerology, reborn as a baptist, and believes something about white buffalos symbolizing Hilary Clinton.
GT was most definitely, and by all sane definitions, pretty weird. Unlike the 'real' Travis Bickle he didn't want "...a real rain to come and wash all the scum off the street", and unlike Grizzly didn't appear over reliant upon wild animals. But he did have a strange knotted stick he banged on the floor of his Crown Victoria, a plethora of Voodoo-esque silver rings, and some real crazy stories. In the UK he would not be allowed in a Taxi, let alone able to drive one. But guess what? I'm glad he was. I don't know how much of what he said was true but he sure believed it. And if only half of it was - and GT got through it, living happily (and soberly) driving his taxi - then I think he's done well.
And without doubt GT is 'Keeping Austin 100% Weird'.
GT picked me up from my airport hotel and by the time we'd left the parking lot I already knew most of his life story (even allowing for the oversized nature of most car-related things here, that's pretty good going). It went something like this: GT was brought up by 'Indians' and his 'father' was over 100 when he died. He took him up to a holy mountain when he was small and made him commune with a variety of Native American gods who proceeded to talk back to him prompting lightning to strike, and the young GT to immediately pee his pants. He then served with the Green Berets in 'Nam during the early '60s, and was later taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese for 3 years. On his return Stateside he was invalided out of the US Army and spent some time in a VA hospital in the Carolina's diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. GT also had a line in bigamy - simultaneously married to Asian and American wives - and later chronic alcoholism. Throughout this time he drove a taxi armed only with his father's knotted stick, and a Denny's beaker filled with Bourbon riding shotgun.
Today GT no longer drinks. This is due to his father visiting him on the wings of a Raven whilst he was living the life of Grizzly Adams in Alaska and telling him to come home to Texas to be reborn to the 'Wheel of Spirits' of ancient Lakota Gods. It also seems that he has become obsessed with numerology, reborn as a baptist, and believes something about white buffalos symbolizing Hilary Clinton.
GT was most definitely, and by all sane definitions, pretty weird. Unlike the 'real' Travis Bickle he didn't want "...a real rain to come and wash all the scum off the street", and unlike Grizzly didn't appear over reliant upon wild animals. But he did have a strange knotted stick he banged on the floor of his Crown Victoria, a plethora of Voodoo-esque silver rings, and some real crazy stories. In the UK he would not be allowed in a Taxi, let alone able to drive one. But guess what? I'm glad he was. I don't know how much of what he said was true but he sure believed it. And if only half of it was - and GT got through it, living happily (and soberly) driving his taxi - then I think he's done well.
And without doubt GT is 'Keeping Austin 100% Weird'.
2 comments:
That bloke sounds brilliant. It sounds like your having a blast MC, blending in with the locals is a sure fire way to make sure your journey will go as smooth as possible, even if there appear to be dangerously insane.
Tankx
Thanks Tank!
Please see other blog on Jedi Master Henry Jenkins!
TTFN
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