When we decided to get into the taxi business the decision to go
with a gas powered cart over electric was a no brainer. Electric is
nice, however it is extremely stressful trying to decide if there is
enough of a charge to make one more trip. Not to mention it takes a
full eight hours to charge the batteries. With gas, all you have to do
is fill it up and go. Our first cart did not have a gas gauge, you had
to visually inspect the tank. I would start my day at middle Chu’s,
grab a cup of coffee, smokes and gas.
When we first started Breezy, Joey would drive all day and night
and I would do the next day. Honestly, in the summer, a day would
be from 9am to 5am, every other day. I would always fill it up
before middle Chu’s would close for the night. In my thirty five
years of driving, I have never run out of gas. I wish I could say the
same for everyone else.
I was enjoying my night off and getting ready for bed when I got
a call from Joey that he had run out of gas. Great! So I made the
decision to go to Circle K, buy a gas can and gas. Unfortunately,
one gallon was the biggest can they carried, and a gallon of gas
does not go very far. He ran out of gas again before the night was
over.
When we added the second cart it did have a gas gauge. Gas gauge
or not, people were still running out of gas. I would give you one
strike on the gas deal. Second time would cost you your job. So
now, with the fleet of Crown Vics, the problem is people not putting
in their fair share of money for gas. This has been a problem from
30 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | FEB 2019
By Ron Goralczyk
day shift to night shift the whole time. It is going on right now
as I write this tale. The drivers have gotten better about fighting
amongst themselves and leaving me out of it. But there comes a
time for me to get involved. I get so upset, I worry about stroking
out.
If you asked me what surprises me the most, it’s about tires. From
golf carts to cars to the party bus. Tires have been a huge expense.
When the DOT was paving Butler Avenue the cross walks were
higher than the pavement and a real hazard to the alignment on the
front end suspension. The year before that was Hurricane Matthew
and the roofing nails all over the island. I had plugged every tire
on every car. I know one car had eight plugs in one tire. When we
purchased the bus, my neighbor told me I had better put new tires
on it. He said they were all dry rotted. He was right. I was driving
a group of eight one evening and the tread on the driver’s front
broke loose and started slapping the fender wall. I jumped on the
brakes and the thing started sliding off the road. Skid marks on the
freshly paved asphalt (and my undies). I got four new tires on it the
following Monday.
A couple months after that I noticed the passenger side tire was
flat. I charged up my air compressor and tried to fill the tire with
air. Keep in mind the tires hold like 70 psi. I moved the bus to the
driveway and I heard what sounded like air rushing out of the tire.
It was the front passenger tire. I inspected the tire and, lo and
behold, someone had sliced my tires. I called the TIPD and asked
if they could send an officer to write a report. Dispatch said they
would send an officer over in a few minutes. She also replied, “Do
you know who did it?” I said, “I know and you know, but we can’t
prove anything.” The officer that showed up was younger and said
he had never seen a sliced tire, but he thought that is what it would
look like. I took the tires off and dropped them off at Firestone and
he said, “That is definitely a slice from a blade.” Fortunately, I had
the bus back in operation the next day.
Joey was off island one night and stopped at Circle K, and a crazy
looking woman asked him, “How much to Thunderbolt?” He said,
“$15.” She said, “That is highway robbery.” He said, “Whatever.
I’m headed back to Tybee.” He went in the store and when he
came out, he had a flat. That crazy woman had slashed his tire
and disappeared into the night. I told him better your tire than your
throat.
Worst Tale Ever