4 ms·

Reading this I got the impression that the person is a professional writer and fictionalized for emotional effect. Indeed, this is from an author. I'm all but

Reading this I got the impression that the person is a professional writer and fictionalized for emotional effect. Indeed, this is from an author. I'm all but immune to sentimentalism on the internet, and this story came across like a facebook chain letter.

kurisufag 4y ago
I'm glad someone shares the sentiment. "Facebook chain letter" is a good descriptor -- I was thinking "college application essay".
- linuxftw 4y ago
  College application essay is equally good!
TonyTrapp 4y ago
From the previous thread on the same story: https://www.truthorfiction.com/cabbie/ https://www.truthorfiction.com/cabbie/ TLDR: "He told TruthOrFiction.com that the story is true and happened to him in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the early 1980’s. At the time he was working as a driver for the Yellow Cab company and worked what he called “the dog shift” overnight."
- linuxftw 4y ago
  Fictionalized doesn't mean the entire story is fake, it's that fictional elements were added to it. While I believe he was a cabbie, and took someone to hospice at some point, I think that's as far as the truth goes. For starters, little old ladies don't call cabs at 2:30AM to go to a hospice facility.
mynameishere 4y ago
Yeah, something about a person who can still haul around luggage going to a hospice doesn't work for me. Hospices are usually the last stop for the bedridden, not the doomed-but-ambulatory. I'm no expert, of course... Also, the "not taking a fare" aspect is just, eh. You're okay explaining the hours of mileage to your company? "She was a nice old lady... And she needs some spending money in the afterlife."
- jakzurr 4y ago
  I don't know how cab fares & driver pay work now, but decades ago I was told that after the driver payed the "drop fee" (iirc), he just kept the rest of the fares for the shift. Also, the driver paid for all the gas - so cabs drivers frequently kept as little as possible in the gas tank, and just added what was needed if they got dispatched farther out. This was west coast; please correct me if anyone has more information. Also, until just now, I'd forgotten seeing 2-way radios when I got into cabs in the 70's. Wow, technology!
JackFr 4y ago
Honestly I love the message, but this is just bad writing. The grammar and style are fine, but the narrator and his fare are just cardboard cutouts. The most interesting line in the story is that she was an elevator operator. A snippet of authentic dialog would have gone a long way.

kurisufag 4y ago

I'm glad someone shares the sentiment. "Facebook chain letter" is a good descriptor -- I was thinking "college application essay".

linuxftw 4y ago
College application essay is equally good!

TonyTrapp 4y ago

From the previous thread on the same story: https://www.truthorfiction.com/cabbie/ https://www.truthorfiction.com/cabbie/ TLDR: "He told TruthOrFiction.com that the story is true and happened to him in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the early 1980’s. At the time he was working as a driver for the Yellow Cab company and worked what he called “the dog shift” overnight."

linuxftw 4y ago
Fictionalized doesn't mean the entire story is fake, it's that fictional elements were added to it. While I believe he was a cabbie, and took someone to hospice at some point, I think that's as far as the truth goes. For starters, little old ladies don't call cabs at 2:30AM to go to a hospice facility.

mynameishere 4y ago

Yeah, something about a person who can still haul around luggage going to a hospice doesn't work for me. Hospices are usually the last stop for the bedridden, not the doomed-but-ambulatory. I'm no expert, of course... Also, the "not taking a fare" aspect is just, eh. You're okay explaining the hours of mileage to your company? "She was a nice old lady... And she needs some spending money in the afterlife."

jakzurr 4y ago
I don't know how cab fares & driver pay work now, but decades ago I was told that after the driver payed the "drop fee" (iirc), he just kept the rest of the fares for the shift. Also, the driver paid for all the gas - so cabs drivers frequently kept as little as possible in the gas tank, and just added what was needed if they got dispatched farther out. This was west coast; please correct me if anyone has more information. Also, until just now, I'd forgotten seeing 2-way radios when I got into cabs in the 70's. Wow, technology!

JackFr 4y ago

Honestly I love the message, but this is just bad writing. The grammar and style are fine, but the narrator and his fare are just cardboard cutouts. The most interesting line in the story is that she was an elevator operator. A snippet of authentic dialog would have gone a long way.