long time, with the wind-chill dropping as low as fifty degrees Fahrenheit below zero, and it seemed that once the snow began falling in late December, it did not cease until late February.
However, another factor had asserted itself, contributing to the cab company's overall boom. Following what many had called "the annual January thaw," the naked body of a university coed was found on the west end of campus, near theUniversityHospital , amidst the remains of what had been a massive snow bank. Though the crime generated much sensational publicity, details were sketchy. It was publicly reported that her body was badly mutilated and covered with queer cuts, rips and tears. Rumors circulated like wildfire that the body had been drained of blood. That notion struck me as preposterous, merely the puerile imaginings of these vulgar Americans who seem to feel a need for that sort of grisly event.
I did not take the matter seriously. Instead, I just worked hard, as we all did, to provide service for all those people too scared to walk - for awhile at least, until the matter seemed to have been forgotten.
After three months, my probation finally neared completion. It had been a truly profound education in procedures, geography and defensive driving, especially considering the nasty weather conditions Wisconsin offers during winter, be it wet roads, wet roads covered with damp leaves, sleet, snow or one of the greatest dangers of all, glare ice, also known as black ice, which manifested itself as winter loosened its icy grip, this after it felt as though winter would never end. When the daytime temperatures climbed above freezing, the icy tongue of night would coat the streets with this invisible menace.
My first encounter with that fiend shall prove unforgettable. The invisible demon had transformed the roads into a dangerous creature to be respected and feared, and this creature's influence was felt all over town, making even the simplest maneuvers in a parking lot an adventure too exciting for this cab driver's taste.
In a level parking lot, I was unable to get the cab moving without quickly shifting back and forth from drive to reverse, thus creating a rocking motion that garnered enough forward momentum to get the cab moving. Stop signs and traffic lights were all ordeals; even increasing stopping distance by a factor of ten could not prevent the cab from sliding into crosswalks and intersections.
After a few hours of this farce, I had a party of students going to the Field House next to Camp Randall Stadium. When a traffic light near the stadium had turned yellow, I proceeded through the intersection with no hesitation. The creature had made it very clear that it did not want me to use my brakes in any but the most gentle and gradual manner.
A block later, I glanced at the rear view mirror and saw the flashing lights. I immediately pulled over, hoping the vehicle would pass, hoping it was a City ofMadison officer in a good mood; Kernhad said theMadison police usually give cabbies the benefit of the doubt.
As the Americans say, no such luck. In the rear view mirror, I watched the squad car pull behind my cab. Then I watched the officer approach, noting that his uniform was not navy blue, but sky blue, marking him as University Police.
"Do you know why I pulled you over?" he asked, his voice a lisping, whining tenor. His face was round and fleshy, his nose flat, eyes dull. By the way his upper lips met, as if torn apart, then pulled up and stretched too taut in the center and cobbled together, I determined that he had a cleft pallet.
"For running a yellow light?" I replied meekly.
"The light was red," he snapped.
"The light was yellow when I entered the intersection," I countered. "I am sorry, officer, but I was concerned that there might be ice in the intersection."
The officer removed the flashlight from his belt, turned and shined the beam at the intersection. The asphalt shined inconclusively, its blackness glowing flatly under the streetlights.
"I don't see any ice," he said.
I held my breath and counted to ten. I knew it was especially important for me to cooperate with the officer, though I would certainly state my case, respectfully, of course. "There is glare ice all over town," I said finally. "I was simply attempting to exercise caution. It matters not whether there is ice in the intersection, only whether I think there might be."