Around the World in D.C. Cabs
BORK, ELLEN
Around the World in D.C. Cabs You never know who’ll be behind the wheel. BY ELLEN BORK A taxi ride in Washington, D.C., can be at least as thought provoking as a panel discussion at one of...
...The men looked over at us and one answered...
...As we pulled up to my stop, I asked the driver what he thought...
...On a short trip back to the offi ce one day, a driver and I talked about his kids and my job...
...I paid the fare, the tip, and a little more and left them to go the rest of the way together...
...This is a great country,” he said...
...Come with us,” I said, and turned to the driver to ask if that was all right...
...Twisting around to face the new passengers, I asked them, “Do you support the lawyers...
...16th and what...
...I asked him to take me to the Jewish Community Center...
...He lowered the window on my side and leaned over, calling out to the men in another language...
...Do you think they are lost...
...They were all from Pakistan, and it turned out the visitors were accountants in town for meetings...
...There isn’t a Marshalls near here...
...To my right, under a street lamp, two men in dark suits and ties had fi nished crossing in front of us and were proceeding around the circle...
...I’ve had lots of Afghan drivers and Africans from several countries, although I can’t recall a Vietnamese or Cambodian driver...
...Getting into the front seat next to the driver, as I sometimes do, I noticed in the light from the open door that he had a soft, untrimmed beard and wirerimmed glasses...
...The only words I could make out were “16th Street...
...They were clean shaven and their conservative suits fi t neatly...
...I asked him if he was an art historian...
...I asked where he was from originally...
...The comedian pretends to be President Musharraf firing General Musharraf—or maybe it was the other way around...
...He dropped me off and we agreed to look for each other at Lalibela, a restaurant in my neighborhood where Ethiopians meet...
...referring to the members of the Pakistani bar who had been on the front pages of the newspaper leading the opposition to Musharraf ’s crackdown...
...I just want peace everywhere in the world...
...When I told the driver I was going to see a documentary film about art stolen by the Nazis, he replied: “The Russians took a lot of it...
...He was applying to become a citizen...
...No, he said, an artist, from Ethiopia...
...I wanted to go to the White House and hold up a placard saying, ‘THIS IS YOUR GOON!’ ” His outburst ended with a laugh, but he looked down and shook his head...
...Some time later, shortly after General Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, I hailed a taxi outside my offi ce near Dupont Circle...
...Like the trends in ethnic restaurants, the pool of taxi drivers often refl ects international upheavals...
...It was a block from where I was going...
...They also agreed wryly with Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani human rights activist who was placed under house arrest for two weeks, that while Musharraf claimed to be protecting the country from Islamist extremists, he was locking up the moderates...
...Those guys are probably here on business and had the afternoon off to go shopping at the mall...
...Yes,” he said to them, “we’ll take you for free...
...Ellen Bork works at the human rights group Freedom House...
...You can be reminded of important things about America, too...
...I asked...
...He had...
...He said he was just a simple man driving a taxi...
...Today I was so agitated,” said one of them, his voice getting louder and the accented syllables sounding more clipped...
...He asked me if I’d been to the Hermitage in St...
...You can learn a lot about what’s going on in the world by taking Washington taxis...
...Together, we watched them as we moved slowly around the circle, stopping at two more traffi c lights...
...16th and R,” the voice came back with a slight roll of the “r...
...We look the same,” the driver said...
...Gamely, the driver joined in, “Right...
...Several weeks ago, I took a cab to a movie theater...
...the driver asked me...
...One hundred percent, they said...
...BY ELLEN BORK A taxi ride in Washington, D.C., can be at least as thought provoking as a panel discussion at one of our local think tanks...
...Very tired, I was almost unaware that I was speaking my mundane thoughts out loud...
...I asked them...
...A few blocks later we caught up with the men again...
...Petersburg...
...Morocco, he answered...
...We drove up to the fi rst light on the south side of the circle...
...Well, not exactly,” I said, trying to see what they recognized in each other...
...The men got in the back seat...
...There are often a couple of cabs parked outside...
...It used to be said that one of the shah of Iran’s former generals drove a taxi at National Airport...
...It’s an interesting time to be in Washington,” I said...
...He couldn’t be persuaded to offer an opinion...
...He was wearing a wool sport coat and open-collared shirt...
...They were carrying shopping bags from Marshalls department store...
...How did you know you were from the same place...
...I know...
...The accountants recounted a comedy routine back home ridiculing the dictator’s charade of constitutionalism...
...I hadn’t...
...I told him I was glad to hear it...
Vol. 13 • December 2007 • No. 13
