Traveling is fun!
Thank goodness for taxis, because sometimes you just don't know where you are going. On my recent excursion to the ATL, one of said cabs was forced to drop me off a little further from my requested destination than I was comfortable with. "The streets are closed", said Nihailashi Mikhailashimitoso (barely an exaggeration). He pointed me in what I assumed was the correct direction and I walked.
Furious that the streets were closed when I needed to be somewhere, I stopped and viewed the commotion with the other townspeople. They were all looking up so I did the same. I noticed a gentleman on top of a very tall building just walking around. Apparently he was threatening to jump. We will revisit this later.
I began looking for my destination through strange underground passages and alleys and managed to find it. After a sweaty night that involved blood and a runny nose (AND a crystal clear view of "the jumper" on the next building over) it was time to go back to the hotel.
A lovely gentleman came to pick me up for the next leg of my journey. He was smoking a cigarette and bestowing his infinite wisdom upon me. He had lived in Atlanta for 48 years - he moved from a remote location in the Bible Belt at the age of 2. He informed me that where he was from, it is impossible to find a strip joint, OR get a prostitute!! After pondering what kind of drab and boring location he moved away from, he continued to tell me where I could find these women of the night (Birmingham Alabama or somewhere in Mississippi if you are interested).
He didn't just talk about himself though (he was a TRUE gentleman)! He asked me about myself and where I came from. After sharing that I was from beautiful, bright and sunny CT, he gave me even MORE of his incredible advice. "Connecticut is pretty cold you know" (I didn't know that) "You need a fat girl to keep you warm!". When I expounded upon the coldness and icy roads, he trumped me again with his vast intelligence and let me know, "You need two fat girls to keep you warm then".
Satiated with information, I finally exited the taxi (we had been at the destination for awhile now, though he felt the need to inform me about all the dangerous parts of Atlanta and how many weapons he carries on his person, one of which being a knife that is "this big"). After a Nyquil induced slumber, I awoke and left for the airport, only to see that the suicidal jumper from earlier in my excursion, was talked off the roof by the one and only T.I. (whom I had mentioned to my sister-in-law earlier on Facebook - I let her know I secured a spot for him in his next music video).
What a trip!
