NIGHT CABBIE It's the deadest part of a dead evening, and I'm hungry. I've written about a cool Subway employee before; tonight's is a weathered woman with heavy black hair. I'm often uncomfortable merely waiting ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE A tall, lanky, black-clad individual gets in, topped off by a marvelously messy mop of black hair. He looks familiar, but many a man in Portland looks like that. He asks about the music I'm playing. H ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE The girl, one of a group from Sabala's, asks the usual question with far more intensity than is usual, but gets the usual, "If I was, I certainly wouldn't tell you."However, she is not to be dissuaded ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE My passenger is gorgeous. I had assumed she was performing at the cabaret/burlesque show tonight, except she's not carrying a bag of gear."It's funny," I say, "I'm trying to remember when 'Sinferno' b ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE "There's lesbian porn made for men, and lesbian porn made for women."My passenger is about 40, extraordinarily beautiful, with bone structure that ensures she'll remain so for another 40 years. "Have ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE "Hey, you're the Night Cabbie, right?!"My passenger is a very attractive young woman working for Basic Rights Oregon. For a fevered few weeks a few years ago, she and I had many passionate discussions ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE I'm in the transit lane in front of the Rose Quarter, to pick up someone from the MAX. A cop sits about 50 feet in front of me. No passenger arrives, so I drive off, waving at the cop as I go by.So I' ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE R.E.M.'s Murmur is on the stereo when another aging ex-hipster gets in my cab. "Oh man, these guys were my favorite band all through the '80s." "They're still mine," I respond. We argue, good-naturedl ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE I get a call at our own garage, which is almost always from another cab driver. Imagine my shock at finding a Buddhist monk, albeit an American, in saffron and scarlet robes. He has just returned from ...   More

NIGHT CABBIE I hate picking up passengers at the Ace of Hearts, no offense to that "erotic" nightclub or its patrons. They seldom talk, and I don't even get them to try. I probably wouldn't want to talk either aft ...   More