It's this very element of danger and uncertainty that some of the old-timers say is part of the lure of the streets. Never seeing the world quite the same again. Cab drivers speak a language of their own and the cab is no place to bring your sensitivities. Nothing personal you understand. Their jargon is brutal, nothing is sacred.
Most drivers can swear fluently in three languages.
They have a slang term for everything, none of which will you ever hear in a Sunday school class. In the drama that is human life, cabbies, while always present are never essential to what is happening. They're like props on a stage, faceless and nameless, a shadow-like presence. This same anonymity can have a unique effect on people, particularly on those suffering some type of emotional stress. In one twenty-minute encounter a cabby may hear the most intimate revelations, things most people would not tell their priest, lawyer, spouse or therapist.