My coworker Will is an affable Brit living in Manhattan with his wife. He has been here for about 10 months, and had his own Moment last month.
My coworker Will is an affable Brit living in Manhattan with his wife. He has been here for about 10 months, and had his own Moment last month.
Will was traveling up Central Park West in the back seat of a taxicab when his cab driver inadvertently cut off a large Mercedes. The driver of the Benz, mad at the cabbie, sped up, raced past the cab on the right-hand side, then turned 45 degrees to the left and stopped short, blocking both northbound lanes of the street.
The driver of the Mercedes jumped out of his car and, with his children watching from the back seat, stormed over to the cab to discuss the cabbie’s driving skills. The two were jawing as Will sat in the cab, watching the argument and his meter keep rising.
After a moment Will got fed up and rolled down his window. “Excuse me!” he called out to the Mercedes driver standing in the street.
“What do you want?” the man lashed out.
“Are you going to pay my fare?” Will asked angrily. “I have a meter running here!”
“Butt out,” said the driver.
Will didn’t. “Listen, you are either going to get back in your car and get out of my way, or you’re going to pay my fare while I sit and wait for you to finish your argument. Now get out of my way.”
The angry Benz driver stared at Will for a moment, and then, grumbling, went back to his car and took off.
Mild-mannered Will spent the rest of his cab ride marveling at his newfound New York attitude.