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Richard Bostwick Reminiscences Welfare Office Stories Cab Driving Stories Prohibition Stories |
Overtime Pay The time was about 2:00 a.m. on this cold and blustery night. I had just checked in my night's receipts with Howard, our dispatcher. I was driving for the Royal Cab line on the swing shift-1: 00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. I had worked a little overtime due to my last trip having lasted longer than expected. It was cold out and I was dog-tired. I was anxious to get home, for due to the weather, I was busy all night. All the rest of our cabs were out on calls. I was just about to leave for home when five young fellows came up and rapped on the window indicating they wanted a cab. Howard said, “Go ahead Dick, make one more trip. Take them where they want to go, I will not have a cab in for quite awhile.” I complained that I had already checked in and was tired, but Howard insisted. So I went outside, loaded all five passengers in my cab and asked the usual, “Where to?” These fellows were not city boys, but instead were real bumpkins-fresh off the farm and evidently looking for a good time. One fellow answered my query by asking me if I knew where the Dixon Hotel was. I told him I did and he said that was where they wanted to go. The Dixon was only a few blocks down the street. It was known to be a real “hoopty-doo” joint-girls, booze, and what have you. Upon arrival at the hotel, I opened the cab door for my passengers and as the first one got out, he inquired as to how much he owed me. Even though it was a short drive, the total fare for all five of these fellows came to $1.00, so I told him, “$1.00.” He gave me $1.00, and as each passenger alighted (and much to my surprise), they each handed me $1.00 and went on up the stairs. Well, I just figured that's $4.00 the girlies won't get. I drove back to the cab office, turned in the required $1.00 for the trip, put my cab up, and proceeded on my way home with $4.00 in my pocket that I considered “overtime pay.” |
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Institute for Regional Studies Home Page 701-231-8914 Published by the Institute for Regional Studies, NDSU Updated: 7/30/2007 |