Chapter 48 Taxi Driver

The flight landed at JFK Kennedy Airport, and Ronald was a little confused. It was his first time on a plane, and now he didn't know how to get home from the airport. He couldn't find the airport express to Manhattan.

He asked the airport information desk and found out that if he wanted to go to Manhattan, there were only two options: taxi and car rental. New Yorkers have been calling for an airport express like the one in Los Angeles for a long time, but because the city government is financially tight, it has not been built yet.

Most passengers are picked up by someone.

After taking his first plane, it seems that he will have to take his first taxi. He will go to Manhattan and take the ferry home.

He found a pay phone and called Aunt Karen to inform her that he was back from the plane. Aunt Karen was surprised but smiled and said that she would make him his favorite for dinner in the evening.

There was no one to maintain order at the taxi stop at the airport exit. As soon as an empty car came, all the people waiting for the car rushed forward. Some people were waving money in their hands.

Ronald saw this situation for the first time and didn't know how to fight for a taxi. He looked around and found that there was a taxi parked in front of him, and no one was bothering him.

He hurried forward: "Excuse me, sir?"

The driver was a middle-aged man with a big forehead and neatly combed hair. He was reading a newspaper, a daily variety that few people in New York read.

Perhaps his train of thought about reading gossip was interrupted, and he pointed upward impatiently.

Ronald followed his gesture, and on the yellow taxi, two words were lit on both sides of the roof light, "OFF" and "DUTY".

Off Duty, does it mean it's out of service? Ronald was a little embarrassed and didn't know what to say. No wonder this taxi was parked here and no one came to disturb it.

"Sorry, sir."

The big-headed driver put down the daily variety and glanced at Ronald, he looked like he was only a high school graduate.

"Where are your parents? Why didn't they come to the airport to pick you up?"

"Sir, are you talking to me? My parents can't come to pick me up. They unfortunately passed away a few years ago." Ronald replied.

"Oh, sorry." The driver felt a little sympathetic. "I would have taken you home on normal days, kid, but not today. I'm here to pick up my daughter, who just came back from London."

"It's nothing. Thank you for your kindness." Ronald said, "It's just my first time taking a taxi, and I don't know how to get one. Should I call the taxi company to make an appointment?"

"There's no need. Three flights have just arrived, and many people want a taxi now. If you're not in a hurry, wait for more than 10 minutes and there will be an empty taxi. Otherwise, you can take out 10 dollars and signal the driver that you will pay more, and they will park next to you."

"Then I'd better wait a while." Although he wanted to go home early, 10 dollars was still 10 dollars, so Ronald shook his head.

"Kid, what are you doing in New York?" The driver with a big forehead read the newspaper over and over again, but couldn't find any new news, so he talked to Ronald and tried to chat.

"To put it simply, I was admitted to New York University and came here to study."

"There are still several months before the fall semester begins, right? Why are you here so early?"

"My aunt's house is on Staten Island, and I went to Los Angeles to earn some money for college."

The driver became interested and continued to ask:

"Earning money in Los Angeles? What kind of job did you do? How much could you earn for a year of private university?"

"I'm a portrait photographer, working in a small production crew in Hollywood, and then taking some audition photos for new actors."

"Wow, it's rare to see such a young photographer. Which crew did you work for?"

"It's a small production, Roger Corman's 'Rock n Roll High School'"

"Aha, I know, I know. Roger Corman, 'The Intruder' which he made more than ten years ago, was great, and we all like that movie in the New York film industry." The driver said.

"So he's a movie fan?" Ronald thought to himself.

"Hey, don't think of me just as a taxi driver; I'm also a Hollywood insider." Seeing that Ronald was a little unconvinced, the driver simply turned around and took out a bag, which contained his business card and some group photos.

"I'm an acting coach. I opened an actor training class with John Cassavetes back then, specializing in teaching method acting."

"This is a group photo of me and my students in the training class. Look, how many of them can you recognize? They later became famous actors."

"Uh, I don't know any of them..." Ronald was a little embarrassed.

Fortunately, the driver didn't dwell on this point. "If you want to be famous in this industry, you must study acting. To study acting, you have to watch more classic movies. Have you watched any movies recently?"

"I watched 'A Little Romance' yesterday."

"Oh, then what did you see? How about the heroine's acting?" The driver immediately asked wanting to test him.

"Very good. Sir Laurence Olivier even praised her as the new Grace Kelly."

The big forehead smiled happily, "No, I'm asking you what you think; of course, I know what Laurence said."

"I think she acted very naturally; a teenage girl should be like that." Ronald was thinking of his cousin, Donna, the heroine in the movie who played the character just like Donna.

"Forget it, I don't think you have acting talent either." Seeing that Ronald couldn't analyze her acting skills, he was a little disappointed and stopped communicating with him about film art.

Ronald thanked the driver, then walked to the taxi stand with his bag. The flow of people had gradually decreased, and he could call a taxi.

"If you can take audition photos, you can try the casting studio on East 31st Street. They have a large number of actor files, which need to be updated every year. Maybe they can give you a job."

The driver shouted to him from behind.

"Casting studio on East 31st Street." Ronald turned around and took out his notebook to write it down. "May I ask what the name of this casting studio is?"

"Are there any other casting studios in New York?" He waved his hand, somewhat disdainful of Ronald's lack of knowledge of the industry.

"Thank you, sir."

Ronald still thanked him, then waved and called a yellow taxi.

Maybe he should try this casting studio. If he had a long-term partner, he would have a fixed income.

"Go to the Whitehall Ferry Station at the southern end of Manhattan," Ronald said to the driver.

He pressed the meter, the yellow taxi drove forward.

When passing the previous driver, he saw a long-haired girl, shouting "Dad, Dad..." and throwing herself into his arms.

Ronald smiled, and he was about to go home and see his family.

At Whitehall Pier, the southernmost point of Manhattan Island, Ronald dropped a 25-cent coin into the ticket box and boarded the large yellow ferry.

Many female secretaries who were working on Wall Street took the ferry, and most of them were heavy smokers, and they began to smoke on the ferry. They couldn't afford to rent a house in Manhattan, so they had to settle down on Staten Island and take the ferry to and from work every day. When they arrived at Staten Island, he went to the railway at St. George Pier and took the train to the southernmost terminal, Tottenville. It was already dark.

Ronald carried his luggage and walked back to his community. From a distance, he saw only a dim light on, which was his own alleyway.

Ronald stood on the steps and smelled the familiar smell of wooden railings and acrylic mats again. He raised his hand and knocked on the door three times.

The door opened immediately, and a 13-year-old girl rushed to him with a smile and hooked his neck: "Ronnie, Ronnie, you're back! I knew it was you when I heard the knock on the door."

It was his cousin, Donna. Ronald happily hugged Donna and twirled around twice. After putting her down, he looked at the woman behind him. She was wearing a hand-knitted sweater, jeans, and short hair, and she was smiling happily. It was Aunt Karen.

"Come here, Ronnie, give your aunt a hug." Aunt Karen hugged him warmly. After not seeing each other for more than half a year, Aunt Karen looked a little tired, but fortunately, she was in good spirits.

Aunt Karen prepared black pepper cheese macaroni, fried pork chops, and scrambled eggs. After Ronald had a feast, his aunt asked Donna to bring some coffee and talked with Ronald about his experiences in the past six months.

After a long time of separation, Aunt Karen and Donna were amazed when they talked heard about his experiences in Los Angeles. Hearing that Ronald had joined a film crew, Donna even said she wanted to go see the movie he made.

An hour later, Donna went to the back bedroom to sleep, and Ronald continued to chat with his aunt in the front living room.

"This is what I earned from taking audition photos in Los Angeles." Ronald took out a two thousand dollar bill and handed it to Aunt Karen. "The current loan interest rate is high, so pay more for the mortgage."

Aunt Karen stared at the two thousand dollars for a while and looked at Ronald with some disbelief.

"Including the last time I sent you, I only gave you one-fifth because I need to rent an apartment for school, which has some expenses. I plan to continue my portrait photography business in New York. If the business is good, I can pay off the mortgage loan in about two years."

This house was bought by Aunt Karen using the pension benefits of Uncle Steve. The Veterans Department has a whole set of plans to help veterans' widows buy their own houses and pay for their children's education.

However, since the former President abandoned the dollar's peg to gold in 1971, inflation has begun to erode the assets of the middle class and the poor in America. The original loose payment plan has become increasingly tight, and the increase in tips received by Aunt Karen in the restaurant has always lagged behind the increase in inflation.

Coupled with Ronald's arrival, Aunt Karen's financial situation is tight. She has applied for two mortgage loan deferred payments.

Ronald's $2,000 can alleviate these difficulties.

Aunt Karen hugged Ronald again and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she asked about the sudden change of plans and flying home. Aunt Karen listened for a while and urged Ronald to take a shower and go to bed.

This house is an old building called a shotgun house, so named because the whole house is a long strip, like a shotgun.

The front door opens to the living room and bathroom. The living room is connected to two bedrooms, one small and one large, and the kitchen is at the back. To enter the back room, you must pass through the front room.

Ronald occupies the first smaller bedroom, and the large bedroom at the back belongs to Aunt Karen and Donna.

Some people also say that it is called a shotgun house because if you fire a shot at the front door, the bullet can go through all the doors and come out of the kitchen door. Ronald thinks this statement is more interesting and more true. After taking a shower and changing clothes, Ronald entered the small bedroom. He saw the large bedroom at the back, and there was light coming from under the door.

It was Aunt Karen, mending the hole in the luggage bag.