I got into the cab slowly enough to size up the situation.  One car in the family means that every once in a while I’m well and truly stranded, public transportation not being enough.  I have to trust some other person to be a decent driver who will get me where I want to go safely and quickly.  When I’m lucky, I can get a story out of it, too.  The tall thin frame of a Somali man greeted me, as usual in cabs these days, and that was the situation.  I needed a ride, he was  making a living, and that was all there was to the deal.  I told him where I needed to go and we were off.

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