Strangest Argument You've Overheard?
by Marian Lorraine
We once overheard the prime minister of Guinea-Bissau trying to convince the Archduke of Etobicoke that Milli Vanilli had, in fact, lip-synched their biggest hits. That argument is still going to this day.
CHRIS
Where I hailed him: East Village
Where he hails from: Upstate
Years as a cabbie: 2
Previous profession: Student
I was driving these two actors once, and they were rehearsing a
scene that was an argument. They'd be fighting and every so often one
would say, "No, the line is, 'Fuck you, you piece of shit,' and really
scream out 'fuck.'" They kept going back and forth like that. It was
great. Hey, sorry for cussing. Do you swear? [Reporter: Sure]
Yeah? Let me hear you say "fuck that shit." [Fuck that shit.]
There you go! These days, you've got to make sure first.
MOHAMMED
Where I hailed him: LES
Where he hails from: Bangladesh
Years as a cabbie: 7
Previous profession: Deli guy
I don't like fighting at all. I try not to listen. No one can make a
good argument, everyone just yells. These two people were fighting in
my cab about a cat, the guy wanted to put the cat to sleep and the girl
wanted to pay to fix it. It was very sad.
OSMAN
Where I hailed him: Port Authority
Where he hails from: Sudan
Years as a cabbie: 10
Previous profession: Computer programmer
I don't know. The only thing I remember is one time two people were
arguing about their shower. One person said that if you only have the
hot water faucet on, and then you turn it higher, it makes the water
hotter. The other person said that it just makes the spray stronger. He
was like, "hot is hot." The only reason I remember it is because they
got me involved and asked me to settle it. I said I didn't know. In my
bathroom there's just one knob and you point it to the temperature you
want.
HARRY
Where I hailed him: Union Square
Where he hails from: Detroit
Years as a cabbie: 7
Previous profession: Gym teacher
Just the other day, a man and a woman got in, and they were fighting
because she found a bra in his apartment. He was like, "I have no idea
whose that is," and she says, "It was in your closet!" He then says
something like, "Whenever women leave anything at my place I just throw
it all in a bag because I don't want them thinking they can just come
back. So if you were looking for your panties there and found someone
else's bra, that just means they never came back for it. It's probably
been there for years." That just makes her madder and she starts
threatening to jump out of the cab. I'm like, "Let me know before you
do that so I can pull over."
