Life is a trip
Some times it reminds me
of a harry Chapin song
I loved that guy
Reminds me of
The song
Harry Chapin - Taxi Lyrics
Album: Heads & Tales
Anyway
I was riding the bus to work
just the other day
The number one
The ferry st bus
I was going to the Hawkins st school
in no mans land
I love that school and love it out there
This is a part of Newark that I like because in so many ways
It’s so isolated and pure, neglected and full of potential
it was raining hard in 'Frisco,
I needed one more fare to make my night.
A lady up ahead waved to flag me down,
She got in at the light.
Oh, where you going to, my lady blue,
It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain.
She just looked out the window, and said
"Sixteen Parkside Lane".
Anyway I am on the bus,
the bus is crowded
I have taught so many students
And I play with so many of them
Calling them youngsters, chumps and the likes
The kids like this, they like it when you treat them like kids
But still remain an adult
I have developed a trick
I call myself old constantly, so much so that many believe
That I am
But this is not the case
Ok I am old but still kicking
Anyway it works because young people then see you as a grandfather
They see you as some one who used to be a powerful lion
But now is in decline
So in fact I negate much of the hostility that a lot of teachers will get
By being this crotchety old grandpa
It works and I have it down to a science
Anyway
I often warn the kids that I am like yoda
Don’t push so hard
I will start flipping around young boy
Anyway I get on the bus
And I hear the usual
Old man
Old man
What you doing on this bus
old man
Two twin boys Dominican
From the after school program last year
Old man
I yell back to them
Don’t make me take my belt off
The whole bus laughs
Something about her was familiar
I could swear I'd seen her face before,
But she said, "I'm sure you're mistaken"
And she didn't say anything more.
And I take my seat
Anyway this woman
Sitting next to me starts talking
About how hard times are
I barely look at her
But From the side I can tell that she is a drug addict
possibly in recovery
Ok enough information for now
We Continue talking and talking
She is smart and bright
insightful in fact
We are running our mouths
I am still a bit a ways from the school
I start wondering why I do like this person so
We just clicked
Something about her was familiar
I could swear I'd seen her face before,
But she said, "I'm sure you're mistaken"
And she didn't say anything more.
It took a while, but she looked in the mirror,
And she glanced at the license for my name.
A smile seemed to come to her slowly,
It was a sad smile, just the same.
And she said, "How are you Harry?"
I said, "How are you Sue?
Through the too many miles
and the too little smiles
I still remember you."
Anyway it got silent
And this woman looked hard at me
And said
Do you have a sister named
Donna
I said yea
Do you have a brother named Robbie?
Yes
Are you Kevin Sampson?
Yes
Oh shit
Who the hell are you?
I am Carla dent, remember me
I used to play with your brothers and sisters
You used to play with my brother derrick
I looked at this woman now
Hard,
She was obviously
A crack addict
In recovery
Maybe
Possibly
Please God let it be so……………
Baby's so high that she's skying,
Yes she's flying, afraid to fall.
I'll tell you why baby's crying,
Cause she's dying, aren't we all.
Missing all of her teeth, hair looking likes a brillo pad
Atop her head
But for a moment
I could see
Hidden in the dark
and mysteries folds Of her face
Which only partly masked
The enormous pain that these cuts and crinkelts
held
It was somewhere in a fairy tale,
I used to take her home in my car.
We learned about love in the back of the Dodge,
The lesson hadn't gone too far.
You see, she was gonna be an actress,
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
and I took off to find the sky.
Oh, I've got something inside me,
to drive a princess blind.
There's a wild man, wizard,
He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind.
Oh, I've got something inside me,
not what my life's about,
Because I've been letting my outside tide me,
Over 'till my time, runs out.
But for a moment
I could see the pretty little black girl
Carla
Carla Dent
That I once called a friend
She just grinned and so did I
We asked and caught up with our family
What are they doing
Her father died three years of a stroke
Anyway
But all of that wasn’t remembered
Just kids playing in the heat of summer
The time and the years melted away
Just for a moment
We were kids again
Playing in the backyards of my youth
Just for a moment
Then I got near my stop
And she stood
And I stood
And I kissed her on her cheek
And said so good to see ya around some time
And she said I know we will
But we won’t
But it was nice
It was fine
There was not much more for us to talk about,
whatever we had once was gone.
So I turned my cab into the driveway,
Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns.
And she said we must get together,
But I knew it'd never be arranged.
And she handed me twenty dollars,
for a two fifty fare, she said
"Harry, keep the change."
Well another man might have been angry,
And another man might have been hurt,
But another man never would have let her go...
I stashed the bill in my shirt.
And she walked away in silence,
It's strange, how you never know,
But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for,
Such a long, long time ago.
You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off for the sky.
And here, she's acting happy,
Inside her handsome home.
And me, I'm flying in my taxi,
Taking tips, and getting stoned,
I go flying so high, when I'm stoned.
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