radio zone map, but it was all gibberish. I hastily flipped through the training manual, found the listing of hotels, acquired the address of the Radisson, then matched it with the city map, again consulted the radio zone map and finally pressed the northwest button.
"How do we get to the Radisson?" Kern asked once I had finished shuffling through my papers. He snorted as I reopened the map.
"It's atGrand Canyon and Odana," I said after quick study. "We can get there fromMineral Point Road ."
"How do we get toMineral Point Road ?"
"That is a good question, Kern."
"Well, check this out. Cab driver's shortcut." He took a sharp right and drove like a madman down a stretch of particularly bumpy road and past a cemetery. "This isFranklin .Franklin runs unabated from University toSpeedway .Speedway turns into Mineral Point. Pretty cool, huh? No stop signs. No lights. A key to cab driving. Gotta keep moving. Remember, moving wheels mean big deals."
Big deals for whom? Was he not getting his usual commission plus an extra hourly wage for training? I felt pushed and was not completely certain it was all for my benefit. But I had successfully turned words into money. By the false bliss of heaven, Icould do this. If someone like Kern could do it, if all these children I had seen around the cab company could do it, certainly I could as well.
Shortly, we arrived at the hotel. As we pulled up to the front entrance, Kern continued his dissertation.
"It's what I call 'the fine art of loading calls.' It changes depending on time of day, whether the pick-up is a house, an apartment, a hotel, a bar or a restaurant. It's always easiest when they're right out there waiting, but you can never count on that."
Except there they were, waiting right in the lobby. I immediately pressed the destination button.
"Very good," Kern said with a laugh. "Of course, these guys, for once being ready to go when we got here, they're not making my job easier."
The two men, quickly chilled by the night air, practically sprinted to the cab.
"Howdy," Kern said. "Where to tonight?"
"State Street," one said.
Kern shifted into gear, maneuvered out of the parking lot and turned on the meter. "Which end of State?" he asked. "Down by the campus?At Lake Street ?"
"Just get us close to the bars."
"No problem," Kern replied. "Oh, by the way, we're training tonight." The men grunted, then began speaking among themselves. I consulted the radio zone map again. I could findState Street and was pretty sure it was in the downtown zone, but wanting to be absolutely sure, I consulted the city map. Kern shook his head.
"We're moving, so we should be listening to the radio closely," he rebuked. "Now, we're a ways from the downtown, so we shouldn't bid until we get much closer because there'll be plenty of cabs already in that neck of the woods that'll beat us on pretty much anything. If, on the other hand, we were goingfrom the downtownto the Radisson, I would say bid on anything west."
"What if I hear an intersection called, but I am uncertain where it is?"
"When in doubt, bid. The dispatcher might make fun of you over the air, but fuck 'em. And remember, if you get a call every time you hit the bid button, you're not bidding enough."
It was becoming clear that Kern was quite the mercenary fellow, but who better to learn from?
"Are you paying attention to our route?" Kern asked.
"I am trying." Mineral Point had becomeSpeedway , curving around that lovely cemetery before turning intoRegent Street at a queer five-way intersection where three different streets converged. "From here we would take Regent all the way to Park? Where we dropped off that specimen at GML?"
"Not bad," Kern replied, "but it'd be better to take Regent to Monroe, cut over by the stadium, then turn north onto Randall and east onto Johnson. Going downtown to deep west is pretty easy. Just three basic routes. Regent toSpeedway to the Point.Monroe to Odana. Or straight out University, though you might want to take the Old Middleton cut-off. Remind me to show you that one."
My head spun with the names of all these streets. Fortunately, Kern quieted as the dispatcher called a cluster of intersections, some of which I actually did recognize as downtown and campus. Extensive mnemonicswould be necessary.
"Would now be a good time to bid?" I asked. We were much closer to the