Tampa Taxi Shots

It was bound to happen. A car hit the trolley on the way to the cruise ship today before the Gasparilla parade. The cross ways are poorly marked, and someone from out of town would not be looking for it, or expect it. Believe me, I have come very close in the past. I always thought those things were a bad idea for nobody rides them, and the conductors come flying through intersections. I wonder who was at fault. We were busy today as the pirate festival kicks off the start of our tourist season. May, 5 will mark the end.You will see me with my Corona beer that day drowning my sorrows for the party is over. That's what really sucks about the seasonal nature of Florida. Today was not a normal Gasparilla day for me. I was working the Westshore area and got three ship runs in a row. They were very nice people from up north that were amazed and loving the beautiful weather we are having. They wondered what all the fuss was about and I explained the pirate heritage of Tamp...

José Gaspar, known by his nicknameGasparilla (supposedly lived c. 1756 – 1821), was a purported Spanish pirate, the "last of the Buccaneers," who is claimed to have raided the west coast ofFlorida during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Though he is a popular figure in Florida folklore, no evidence of his existence appears in writing before the early 20th century. His legend is celebrated every year in Tampa with theGasparilla Pirate Festival. A statue of Jose Gaspar in south Tampa posted from Bloggeroid

Tampa Bay is known for its tropical beaches and sunshine Christine is a fitness,glamour,lingerie, and swimwear model. She was born in Clearwater, Florida but now resides in Ft. Myers, Florida. She was crowned Miss Hawaiian Tropic Tampa in 2006 and competed in the Miss Hawaiian Tropic International finals in 2007. She is now in the 2008 Miss Hawaiian Tropic Calendar. Some of her print credits include Hooters magazine, Natural Muscle magazine, American Curves magazine, Maxim magazine and many others. In 2007, she was offered a developmental contract with the WWE but turned it down due to professional and personal commitments. She has also done a few infomercials that can be seen often involving Tony Little as well as Technopower. You can find out more about Christine at her own personal website at  http://www.idreamofchristine.com/  or at her myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/christinelemaster . Image Credit:  http://www.idreamofchristine.com  &  h...

My taxi friend, Tom Castros (pictured) is a taxi driver for United Cab - Tampa's finest cab company. He and I have driven by Oaklawn cemetery for years but never understood the history of it. It is Gothic in design and was created in 1850 for "slave and freeman." We were able to find the most famous grave in there. The grave of William & Nancy Ashley is a testimony to eternal love. Nancy was a slave and William was her master. They were in love and married. Because of this, they were both hanged. What is strange is the executioner was named Jackson. He is the one that put this tombstone on the grave. That's a little creepy. posted from Bloggeroid

The day Obama became President (notice the price of gas) It's about time! The photo above was taken at the Racetrack gas station the day Obama took office in 2009. The photo below that is at the same station today and its back to the same level. Gas is a major expense for taxi drivers. Nothing could be better news than to see gas continue to fall. Gas is lower today then six years ago Are you going to give the credit to Obama? Is it his economic and energy policies that have led to this fall? I would like to believe that but I can't. If it were not for Obama's green energy policies, gas may even be lower then it is today. He has tried to kill the coal industry. He won't allow off shore drilling. He has stopped the pipeline from being built. Thank God, the fracking guys have been able to create a new source of oil and lower the demand for middle east crude. This president (and his fans) for years wanted investigations into the oil companies because they t...

Well, searching for a good image. I had this concept of juxtaposing the modern skyline of downtown Tampa with the Gothic theme of Oaklawn cemetery. Sunday morning was calm with nobody around. I found my shot but could only notice the state of care for this historic place. They need to at least cut the grass. Everyone from slaves to a Florida governor are buried here. posted from Bloggeroid

This is a post from 2007: This was the view today form the new holding area at Tampa International Airport. What the authority has done is move us over to the quad areas. They believed that the cabs were the cause of the traffic tie ups in the terminal. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is because in Tampa Florida we now do 5 times the volume of traffic since the airport was built in the early 1970's. I guess they needed someone to blame all of this on. Anyway, I did not have to wait long today and caught about 4 rides in 2 hours. They did not go far, but tipped well and it was well worth my effort. With things getting cold up north I need to incorporate the airport more into my daily activities. I did take this guy about my age who had meet this chick on the internet and they were like video caming for the last year and he was now in town to get laid I guess. I wonder why he went to a high end hotel. Love modern style. posted from Bloggeroid

You would have to be a very long time driver to remember James Riley. I first met James twenty years ago. He was a United Cab driver who had a few crazy girlfriends if I remember. He disappeared for a few years. Then, he showed up on the old 23 stand one day in 2010. I took this photo. Then, he vanished again. Today, I got an email from him and he is living in los Angeles. That's about all it said. This is the entry I did in 2010. I was sitting on the Dale Mabry strip zone stand waiting for a call.  This little toyota came puling up, which is not unusual.  People often ask the cab driver for directions this time of year. The guy behind the wheel looked familier, perhaps he was someone I have picked up before.  As he got close, I could tell it was James Riley.  I had not seen this guy since 2002 when he left town after his girlfriend flipped out on him and left him holding the bag.  James "Irish" Riley. He said he had been living in New York but was kind of vague on ...

One of the things you can count on if you work late night is guys wanting a sure thing. It is getting late and they have not hooked up, so they are ready to be taken. In short, they get very, very stupid. I had a call at a Tavern about 2 AM and this guy from out of town wanted to get laid in the worse way. At this point, he was ready to pay for it. If you want to pay for sex in Tampa, you have come to the right town. This area is loaded with everything from strip clubs modeled after petting zoos, old fashion bordellos, all the way to cheap peep shows. What ever you want.  He was counting on me to show him where the action was at. That is one thing taxi drivers are good for, finding where all the vice is at for the clients we are hoping will actually give us a tip for accommodating their illegal activities. We can be a live version of NightMoves magazine published in the Tampa Bay area that detail where all those kind of places are at. I have had fares not really want to go to a ...

The Occupy movement was right about Wall Street Corporate greed. The advent of Uber shows they don't care about jobs (they are destroying them) they only care about investors. Uber drivers would be better off working at McDonald's where they would receive benefits. Fuck Uber!

Its just an app folks In an attempt to make nice with Europe after getting kicked out of Germany, Travis Kalanick stated that Uber creates jobs. In fact, he said it could create 50,000 jobs if transportation authorities would only change their regulations to allow Uber to operate. He said Uber will increase efficiency and reduce emissions. They would be able to do all these wonderful things if European cities would STOP making Uber play by the rules that all forms of transportation much follow. He must think his "app" company is not a taxi company which most municipals are figuring out. Stop this madness. First, I am having a hard time figuring out what Travis means by a job. His claim is they have created 7,500 jobs in San Francisco alone. Those are mostly part time punks that don't want to work at Starbucks or Wall Mart. Kalanick fails to mention the erosion of FULL TIME jobs from hard working men that he is destroying as the vanguard of his Borg like empire r...

A few years ago I had the opportunity to attend a glamour photo shoot in Arizona called The Arizona Shootout. It took place in a very scenic canyon area north of Phoenix, with heroic surroundings. It allowed me to improve my "book" and I am looking forward to possibly attending again in the spring this year. This is me in action next to a large cactus. Critics of mine say this makes me a pervert. I also shoot landscapes and wildlife. posted from Bloggeroid