Real life experiences
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General) North American (US Midwest- Chicago, Great Lakes) US African AmericanTranscript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
So I pull up to the to the light and, well, I'm sitting there, I notice on the curb next to me there is a trio of men bellied up very close. And, uh, it's a short white guy, really tall black guy that I recognize from begging change at the, uh, at the baseball games. And there's a medium height white guy also, and they are huddled really close together. And I'm watching them and their mannerisms and I see that, uh, their bellies, their chests are actually touching while they're talking. And then the the medium hide white guy looks around, he sees me in my taxi and he raises one finger, and I can tell that is a very conservative gesture to let me know he wants my service. So I ease over to the curb, and it wasn't even the type of fair I would take at that time. But my curiosity curiosity got the best of me. Uh, they just made an odd an odd trio, and I I had just against my better judgment, I had to know what was going on. So I pulled over, they slide, the guy slides the door open and, uh, he leans in and he asked me, um, are you available? And I recognize he's got an English accent and okay, he's from out of town and I tell him, yes. So he turns around and mumble something inaudible to the other two and then the short white guy who I will call, uh, fish and, uh, the big, tall black guy who I will call Fozzie after Fozzie Bear. Um, get in the taxi and the other guy will call Butch so they all crowd into the bench behind me. I'm driving a minivan and as they get in, uh, fish is just jumping and screaming and excited, and he just can't be still and he can't be quiet. He's just Oh, stop it, Stop it, Stop it! And Fozzie is getting in behind him. And Fozzie is like pinching him and tickling him and pushing him. And the whole time is like get in there, you get in there, get in there, sit down, sit down and he gets in, pushes fish up against the window, sits in the middle of the bench and then Butch gets onto the bench, uh, next to Fozzie and he slides the door close and Fozzie and Fish go on to, uh, play and Butch leans forward and in a very reserved tone, says we will be taking this gentleman to a location of his preference in choosing. And then we will be returning to the Wyndham Hotel. I said, Okay, no problem. And I asked, Where are we going? And phrases like turn right here. You're gonna go up to 84th and right away. I'm like, Oh, man, drug run Because 84th is, uh, it's it's a sketchy neighborhood and the 15 blocks before they're sketchy and the 15 blocks after their sketchy. So now I have to keep track of everything. I have to know what people's intentions are. I have to know what people's level of awareness is. And I have to know if I am going to be responsible for protecting or escorting these two guys from out of town. Um, in the event, something doesn't go the way they intended it to go. So we started driving. And, uh, fish continues to just be loud, like a school kid on the bus, you know, he's just constantly stop it. Stop it. Oh, stop it. Don't Don't do it now. And Fozzie is man handling him and tickling him and grabbing him around the neck with with his farm. And at some point, he, uh he starts, uh, Paul in the dude. Basically, it was like he was patting him down, but he was like, What you got over here? What you got over here? What is this, Bill? Give me this built Put this belt your nick and I hear him unsnapped fishes belt, and he pulls it out and makes a leash of sorts and puts it around fish's neck. Now, um, at no time did I feel that there was anything to worry about. It was all playful interaction. And, uh, it was there, their interaction. So I had no issue or problems with what they were doing. Um, I got the feeling that Butch was a little uncomfortable, um, with them being so raucous and active, and so he attempted to engage me, you know, conversationally. And so he leans forward. He means forward, and he says, uh So how long have you been driving a taxi? And I was like, you know, for a few years, probably about 10 years and he says, Oh, so you're pretty committed to your trade and I'm like, Yeah, you know, I'm I like people. And I know the city really? Well, um, I, uh I happen to be from a mixed, mixed race family. And so, uh, I got to see, uh, the black neighborhoods and the white neighborhoods and that gave me a, uh, an edge of sorts. When it comes to driving a taxi, he's like, Oh, I see. I see. I see. So I'd right away. I turned the conversation back to him because I need to know, you know, just how how aware these guys are, what's going on, you know, just conversationally. I asked him, So what? Bring what brings you guys to town? And he tells me, he says, Oh, your your Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Uh, there are several places we love American music, all American music. But your city Cleveland had the most to offer. We we do a lot of research in our line of work, and, uh, we we we landed on Cleveland as a place to take a holiday, and I was like, Okay, that's that's kind of that's kind of gratifying. It's, You know, I'm glad you guys picked up pick Cleveland. You know, I'm always glad to see people coming, you know, from another you know, another continent to come here in Sierra City. He's like, Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. We love the music. We've, uh we were actually going to a baseball game, and we've had the opportunity to drink it. Quite a few pubs, Uh, when we are walking around this evening. And, uh, we'd rather enjoy it. And I was like, Oh, that's cool. I said, What what do you guys do in England? And he says, Well, we are kind of like muppets. I said, What do you mean, Muppets? He says, Well, uh, are you familiar with double 06? And I was like, Yeah, he goes, Well, we work for the same people, but we're not Double 06 were Well, uh, we're more like your FBI state police. I said Okay. He says, uh, we we are m I five and we are. We watch things. Uh, we watch people, we watch places, we watch everything. And when something happens or we believe something is going to happen, we pop up Showtime just like the Muppets and we are. We interfere with someone's bad plans and we clean up the mess and then we go back to watching, and that is that is what the both of us do. And some minutes had passed and we were getting close to the destination. So I had to get, uh, more specific, uh, directions on where we were going. And so Faizi, who had at this point been, um, pulling on, uh, fishes, leash and, uh, straining the boundaries of horseplay. Um, he at this point, um, turns his attention away from fish and he starts directing me. He tells me what street to turn on and what side street to turn on. And then we come to a block. It's a one way street, and all of the the street lights are busted out on the street. There is no no light whatsoever. We go down to the end of this one way, and there's either right turn or left turn you can make in. It appears that the left turn goes into a dead end. He instructs me to park here and directly in front of us. Uh, where the street ends is a house, Um, that appears to have boards on the windows. And there's quite a few people in front of the house. There's people in the street, people on the sidewalk, people on the steps, people on the porch and people inside the house moving around. And, um, Fozzie, uh, tells the guys to, uh, okay. All right, I'm going here. I'm gonna talk to him, and I'm gonna come back and get you okay? So far as he gets out and I can hear the change that he's been collecting, Um, his day job, Um, moving around in his pockets. And I, um I'm taking it all in as he gets out, Bush steps out of the taxi. They make room from the get through the door, and Fozzie begins to walk down the side walking across the street. And as he crosses the street, he's engaged by a couple of people. Shadowy figures at best because I've got the headlights off. Um, the engine is still running, and he talks to those people, and then he gets on the side, walking some more people stop him. He talks to those people. And I realized right away. Um, this this house has all of the, um, has all of the flags of a dope house or a, uh, shooting gallery. Whatever happens to be the trade that they do there. And so, um, he gets to the steps, He stopped again. He gets on the porch, he has to talk to somebody else. When he gets to the door, he has to talk to somebody else. And then finally, I see him go in the house. He's in the house for about five minutes. And during this time, um, um, Fish wants to get out of the taxi and follow him. Butch instructs them to wait. He's like, No, no, no, no, He's going to come back. We'll wait here for him. And as we're waiting, Butch lights a cigarette and I can see that stretching his legs was woken him up a bit. So he stands back from the taxi and he begins to take in the scenery. He looks up and down the block, and I guess his, uh, law enforcement training started kicking in. He's turning in a circle, and I guess he's, you know, making mental notes of everything that's going on. And suddenly he realizes that we are in, um, a position of, uh, vulnerability. And he becomes, um, quiet. No more conversation, no more instruction to fish. He just is watching very intently what is going on at the house in front of us. And he sees somebody else approach, and they're engaged in the same manner. And finally they get in the house, and then another person approaches and same thing happens. And short time later, Fozzie comes out. Fozzie. He's walking fast and tall, and he gets to the cab. He's like, All right, fellas, I don't talk to him. I don't talk to him and it's cool. We can go in. We can, We can go in. We can get a room in there and and fish goes to jump out of the taxi. Um, and Bush tells him No, no, no, no. One moment. One moment. He's like, he's like, Look, we've come here. You need to acquire what it is you came here for. And then we are going to return to the hotel, and we have liquor. And, um, we have the whole night too celebrate. So, um, it's time to go, right away fish starts to protest. He's like No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. If I was just like, well, I'm staying here, man, y'all y'all can come in, man. It's safe, man. Y'all can come in with me. You're good. You got your look, I got his permission. Everything is cool. Y'all couldn't come in. And, uh, Butch is He's adamant. He's like, No, no, no, we won't be at this point. Fish is trying to get out, and Butch has to physically force him to stay in the taxi, and Fozzie stands back and he's given him.