I took a lot of cabs while I was in DC, and had a couple of interesting conversations with the drivers while dodging other cars and weaving up side streets.

The first cab ride from the airport to Capitol Hill was a none stop monologue from the driver that started as soon as I entered the cab and told him I needed to go to a Senate office building.  “You going to a meeting?”   Yes I told him.  “What do you do?”  I’m a banker.  “Oh…good job for a woman.”  I bit my tongue and told him sometimes it was a crazy stressful job.  “Everyone always want the job they do not have” he said.  “People need to be more optimistic.  People are always so negative.  Not the way to go, people need to be more optimistic.  People here, they don’t know how good they have it.  If they travel around the world like I do they see, when they come back, this is the best country in the world.  Rest of world have nothing like America.  Do you like Obama?  I’m scared that Romney win, this country go to war, lose everything.  I pray it not so.  How many kids you got?  None?  Why not?  You don’t want kids?  I guess OK no kids if you have lots of nieces and nephews? ”  And on and on it went.   As I slipped out of the cab at my destination he said “You have good meeting lady!”

The second conversation I had with a cab driver was more evenly divided between us.  He picked me up in front of a Senate office building and was driving me back to my hotel in Georgetown.  He asked me why I was in Washington and I told him I was working on some trucking fatigue issues.

“Like when they get sleepy and weave all over and then run off the road and kill people?”

“Yes exactly like that.”

“Why do they do that?  Fall asleep like that?”

“Because they get paid by the mile, and the more miles they drive the more money they make.”

“Well that’s stupid.  They should get paid by the hour like everyone else.”

“Yes they should.”

“So why you working on this?”

“Cause my dad was killed by a tired trucker.”

“Oh man, I’m sorry.  So how often do you come to Washington to do this?”

“Maybe once a year, sometimes twice if there’s something important going on in Congress.”

“How are you gonna stop them from driving too long?”

“Well, we got legislation passed last August that requires electronic monitoring of the miles they drive, so they can’t lie in their log books.”

“That’s good.  That’s very good.”

“Yes, it took a long time to get that”

“Everything slow in Washington.”

“And we’re working on a lot of other stuff too, to make the roads safer for everyone.”

“Truck drivers…. they agree with you?”

“Lots of them do.  They die too, you know, in truck crashes.  Everyone on the road is at risk.  Cab drivers too.”

We pull into the hotel parking lot.  As I’m paying the fare he turns around and looks me in the eye.

“I want to say thank you.”

My eyes tear up.

“I want to say thank you, and I wish your group well lady.”

“You’re welcome sir.  You’re very welcome.”