Partisan means Patterson

I pulled up to a jewelery shop on Pacheco Street in Concord for a pick up. The man got into my cab smelling of alcohol, clearly and completely drunk. He told me he wanted to go to "Partisan Blvd in Pleasant Hill." I had never heard of it because it doesn't exist. But he insisted that he knew where it was and he would direct me to it. As we get to the far south end of Pleasant Hill, almost to Walnut Creek, he informs me that this isn't right. "We need to go that way," pointing north, where I had previously picked him up in concord. As we arrive back in concord he again tells me that this is wrong saying, "where are we?"

I become quite frustrated with the situation, with him, and his extreme drunkenness. At one point he says "it is near the library." At that moment, I think of the library in Pleasant Hill and it occurs to me that nearby is a street titled Patterson Blvd. I think to myself "are you kidding me?" In his drunken speech, I had heard Partisan. I finally get him to an apartment complex on Patterson and the fare comes to 38 dollars. If I had driven him straight there from the pick up point it would have been 15. I had learned after this night that this kind of problem happens all the time. Drunks have obvious problems talking clearly and cab drivers, like anyone, can't understand them.

Anyhow, after parking I ask for the fare of 38 dollars to which he replies, "I am only giving you 14." He handed me the money and walked off. Since this was my first week in and I really had no clue what to do, I said nothing but watched him walk into the apartment. I called my boss and he said he would call the police immediately. My boss assured me that I was not at fault because the man was to drunk to be understood. Before I hung up, he told me police were on their way.

The officer showed about 5 minutes after and I was able to direct him to the correct room. He talked to him for a good ten minutes and insisted that he pay the whole fare. After all, when you get into a cab you agree on an unwritten contract with the driver. If the driver full fills his part, then the passenger must do so as well. In the end, I got paid and I have actually driven this man twice since. Both times, he was sober and didn't argue against the fare. I guess he learned his lesson. And I have learned mine. Make sure I know where I'm going before ever leaving the pick up point, especially if the passenger is less than sober.




"Jesus said to them, 'Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.' And they marveled at him." - Mark 12:17