The problem with cabs I went to New York on Thursday for some meetings. East Coast meetings are brutal. With the time difference, you have to leave the house by 6:30 to make it to a 12:30 meeting, and God help you if you actually have a morning meeting.

Despite my general manager's cheapness, I was allowed to take a cab to Midway. Naturally, I get some guy who's 10 minutes early. I call the dispatcher, yell about how I'm not coming out there till the appointed time, think I've made myself clear, only to have the phone ring 5 minutes later. More phone calls, more yelling, I miss the cab twice, they call him back twice. By now Colliculus and Darling Angel are both wide awake in the dark, full of alarm that I'm going to miss my flight, but I'm so full of righteous anger I'm ready to stomp out and catch the train.

But the driver eventually came back. You'd think he'd be thoroughly sick of me by now, but noooo, he's chipper as can be. I guess there's only one way to be at that time of day, which is completely saturated with caffeine. So he tries to talk to me. A sampling of conversational openers:
-Reasons why people miss cabs
-Where I'm going
-What I'm doing there
-The pros and cons of ATA
-Ditto for other airlines
-United's pension plan
-Which airlines go to Las Vegas
-Why it is that some airlines have a longer flight time than others, when going to Las Vegas
-Reasonableness of fares to Las Vegas
-The Sox won the World Series last night

This actually woke me up, since I hadn't been paying any attention. "I don't follow sports," I said. Long silence. Hooray! But it turned out the silence was merely stunned.
"You don't follow ANY sports?"
"Nope," I said triumphantly.
More silence. Then:
"So, the clocks are going back this weekend."

And that was when it officially became the longest trip to Midway, ever. 

¶ 10:10 PM