Richard Bostwick Reminiscences

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Welfare Office Stories
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Cab Driving Stories
Introduction
The Way It Was - 1930
The Gambler And His Gal 1927
The Last One To Know 1926
Just A Couple Of Hustlers 1925
Cash On Delivery 1923
One Born Every Minute 1923
Fun Is Where You Find It 1923
An Ace In The Hole 1922
And A Little Child Shall…
Gold Tooth Murphy
Aiding And Abetting 1929
Buried Treasure 1927
The Good Samaritan
Just A Country Trip
The Prodigal Son
Occupational Hazard
Four Bags Full
Overtime Pay
Above And Beyond The Call
Fourth Down And Ten
Let There Be Light
Take It Or Leave It
Double Or Nothing
Bandit
The Champ
Three Of A Kind
My Silent Big Spender
N.P.R.R. (Northern Pacific Railroad) Mr. Moody

Extras

Prohibition Stories
A Little Competition
Some Did Burn
Last Words

Double Or Nothing

There was a race horse barn located about two miles south of town where several racehorses were stabled. The horse trainer in charge lived on the premises, with living quarters in the upper section of the barn. Every Wednesday evening, this fellow would always be visited by the same call girl. She would always call our cab company where her customer had an account, then early the following morning one of our cabs would be called to come pick her up and return her to her apartment.

Dolye Cab Co. after an accident (FH 566-06)

I had just delivered her to her Wednesday night call and was on my way back to my regular stand. I had proceeded only a few blocks into town when a car coming out of a side street struck my cab as I was leaving the intersection. My cab sustained only minor damages to the right rear fender. The driver of the other car came over to where I was examining the extent of damages to my cab. He appeared to be a rather young farm boy. He apologized over and over for having struck my cab, and promised me that his father would come to town and pay for the damages that he readily admitted he had caused.

The next day, the damages to my cab were repaired at a cost of $11.00. That same evening, the boy's father came into our office as his son had promised. After introducing himself to my boss, he said his son had explained to him exactly how the accident had happened and, consequently, he felt that I was as much to blame for the accident as his son was. He also said he wanted to be fair about the whole situation, but under the circumstances he would only be willing to pay for ½ of the repair bill.

I happened to be in the office at the time and it made me furious to be blamed for any part of the accident. There followed some discussion on what was fair, and my boss finally agreed to accept the father's offer. The father then asked, “What did the repairs cost?” My boss then picked up a piece of paper from his desk, pretending it was a receipt for the repairs and said, “$22.00.” The boy's father seemed well pleased with the ‘bargain' he had made as he gave my boss $11.00 and went smiling on his way.