I'm reminded of two "unregulated" cab trips I took in Mexico. At the time I was staying in Lukeville, Arizona while working in Organ Pipe Monument and traveling

I'm reminded of two "unregulated" cab trips I took in Mexico. At the time I was staying in Lukeville, Arizona while working in Organ Pipe Monument and traveling a few miles into town. The first trip my co-workers and I were picked up by an elderly man who was extremely drunk. He even had a beer in the cup holder which he sipped on at regular intervals during the ride. The car was a huge boat... something like a 1980's Chrysler Lebaron. The guy drove about 12 miles an hour and took huge exaggerated turns. Oddly enough, I felt perfectly safe. He seemed to be a well experienced drunk driver, and everyone on the road just kind of stayed out of his way. The next trip down we were picked up by a gang of pre-teens. The driver might have been 11 and had two kids maybe 8 or 9 with him. He had the seat pushed all the way forward and could barely reach the pedals with his toes. He looked through the steering wheel at the road. On the way we came to a 4 way stop with a traffic cop directing traffic. The kid stopped and pulled himself up on the steering wheel in an attempt to make himself look taller. "Here it goes" I thought, "We are going to jail in Mexico for child endangerment or something....". The cop was not fooled by the tall act. But he glanced at the kid, glanced at us, deliberately looked the other way and waved us through. The kids waited for us at a few shops, and then drove us back to the border. We tipped them $5 and some ice creams. I don't know what the point is. But unregulated taxi services can be interesting.