The taxis that Dad had were yellow with a black roof.
'Black Top Cabs'. Main office & parking lot right in the core of downtown Vancouver.
Could be somewhat of a sketchy area at times.
Front office issued a memo notifying the owners & drivers that on hot sunny days to leave a rear side window cracked when they parked the vehicle between shifts.
But..some of those guys either ignored it, never read it or the typical ESL driver's language comprehension was lacking.
1/2 the fleet (90 cabs) were idle on Sundays and sure as ****, Monday morning the glass guys would be on site, replacing several rear windows.
...and they wouldn't just break. They'd explode when they let go. Showering shattered glass 20' behind the vehicle, across the parking lot.
Sound like a high-powered gun shot when they explode.
What was weird was that when one would go, it would set off another that had all the windows up...& then another. ...& another.
My first shop was next to the cab parking lot.
I'd work Sundays. No-one around to interrupt me. Most productive day of the week.
The first time I heard several of those window explode, one right after the other, think I spent 1/2 an hour after the initial explosions under my bench!
Sounded like a war zone.
Couldn't figure out why there were so many shots going off.
Not a mall, no school, no churches, movie theaters, concert venues nor any military installations within miles.
Why was someone killing the cabs?...and where were they shooting from? Were they up on one of the bridges? An office tower? A vehicle drive-by? Should I take a chance & stick my head out the door for a peak?
Once there was a decently long period of relative silence, screw it, I'm done for the day! I. am. outa here!
Ran around the shop, hunched down below the windows & any sight lines, turning things off & locking the place down.
Open the door, look both ways. Up, down, all around. Listening. Listening.
Psych myself up. Get ready. Deep breath. Run to the truck.
Practically on my hands & knees getting to it.
Jump in, scrunch down, start it up, drop the clutch & GO!
No looking back.
Monday morning, I found out what was going on.
Didn't tell any of the guys what I had gone through the day before.
The ribbing I would of got would of been relentless!
