Happy New Year from the
Breezy Family
Happy New Year. Another lap around the sun. It is incredible how fast
time flies. Having said that, this winter needs to pick up the pace and
get to spring time. I know I’m not the only one who has noticed how
slow business has been. Good news is the fact if you are broke you
eat less so I guess I will not gain winter weight.
So I was dispatching one Saturday night and I got a call, a longwinded
call. The guy needed a ride from the middle of the island. He
told me he was in his construction trailer, and that we had picked
him up there a thousand times and he needed a ride to the north end
condos. I said no problem, I would be there in less than 5 minutes. I
drove around the parking lot, looking for so called construction trailer.
Couldn’t find it so I called the man back. He didn’t answer. That really
gets in my craw, you need a ride but you don’t answer. I was about to
give up and go on to my next call, when he flagged me down. Turned
out his construction trailer was a closet in the parking deck hidden
by dumpsters. He got in the car and asked if I was new. Said he knew
all the drivers but has never seen me. I was cool, nothing to get upset
about. Anyway, we were on our way to his condo and I was answering
calls and dispatching my two co-workers. Dude was oblivious to the
fact that I was multi-tasking. I guess if you never shut up, you don’t
notice everything. After a convenience store stop, I got him to his
condo. He told me he may need a ride later. Fine, just give us a call.
I went about my evening, cold and rainy night I might add. I got a call
for a group of six going up to D.A.V. Island, so I jumped in the bus
and went to pick up the group. Now, I have realized over the last few
years people like to be cursed at. Doesn’t matter if you are joking
or dead serious. I arrived at my pick up and two dudes in their early
20s got on the bus and sat in the back. The one guy asked if the bus
30 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JAN 2019
By Ron Goralczyk
had heat, and I replied, “Yes you wussy.” Really it wasn’t wussy but
it rhymes with wussy. I heard his buddy say, “I think he called you
a wussy.” So he asked me, “Bro, what did you call me?” I looked
at him, smiled and repeated myself. They laughed and had a great
sense of humor.
The rest of the group climbed aboard. They were carrying two
baskets of liquor bottles. Turned out they had won the grand prize. I
had a country station playing on the radio, because Ron doesn’t do
Christmas music, unless it’s the Grinch. That’s a good song. Anyway,
we were heading north and you could hear Whitney Houston on the
radio. The dad of the group asked if I could turn it up. Hell No! I
explained it was a commercial and if he wanted to hear Whitney, he
could ask Alexa to play him some Whitney FN Houston. The next song
that came on was about drinking and mixing drinks. They all knew
the words to the song and sang like canaries.
Meantime, I got a call from the dude from the condo that I dropped
off earlier. I called Stephen and asked him to pick the guy up. When
Stephen arrived, I had to call the guy and tell him his ride was outside
the gate. Stephen took him to his destination and told him next time
to be waiting for us. We shouldn’t have to call you and wait.
I guess it was thirty minutes later when the guy called back for a
return ride to the condo. He was extremely long-winded this time.
He was telling me about the lecture he was given by the last driver.
He was upset that dispatch made the driver wait 15 minutes before
we called him back. I drew the short straw on this ride, so it was my
turn to pick him up again. I told him I would be there in 5 minutes or
less. I arrived and he walked to the car and told me he had to lock
up the trailer. Whatever dude. When he got in the car, he proceeded
to tell me he had been using Breezy for twenty years and always
tipped fat and never made us wait. He said, “I don’t know who is
dispatching tonight, but they made the last driver ‘Dave’ (his words,
not mine) wait 15 minutes before calling me to say he was there.”
Mind you, the whole time he was telling me this I was answering
calls and dispatching the other two cars. He asked me, “Whoever is
dispatching tonight, they need to get their act together.” I confessed
that I was dispatch and the other driver’s name was Stephen not
‘Dave.’ I didn’t curse the guy because some people are not worthy. I
save that shit for the fun fares.
Don’t forget to tip your severs and bartenders, and your Breezy
drivers. It has been brought to my attention a couple of our drivers
will call you out on not tipping. LOL! Go Breezy and let’s make 2019
a year to remember!