We once actually left our seven-year-old nephew in a taxi. It was around Christmas, and we’d been doing some last-minute shopping on Fifth Avenue and he was complaining about sore feet after an ice-skating session at Rockefeller Center. He ended up going home with the cabbie, all the way to Jackson Heights, but we get a postcard once a year, around Divali. Ok, just kidding, the cabbie screeched to a halt about three seconds after I slammed the door. But it coulda’  happened!
    
Khawaja
Where I hailed him:            Union Square
Where he hails from:        Pakistan
Years as a cabbie:            8
Previous profession:        Construction

Yeah, people leave telephones, umbrellas, gloves — a phone they can always get back. They just call and tell me where it is and I will take it to them. I start the meter and charge the fare it takes me to drive there. Never have I had someone refuse to pay that fare. I have delivered four or five phones over the years. New York City cab drivers are the best in the world — most are very honest people.
    
Naeem
Where I hailed him:            Lower East Side
Where he hails from:        Pakistan
Years as a cabbie:            4
Previous profession:        Limo driver

Haha — one person, they left an, uh, artificial dick. It was huge, a huge one man. I was putting gas in the car at the end of the night and I see that someone had left a case in the back. I said, what is this. I opened it up and that was inside.
    
Chowdhury
Where I hailed him:            Gramercy
Where he hails from:        Bangladesh
Years as a cabbie:            4
Previous profession:        Waiter

If I find something, I take it back to my garage and they know what to do with it, ok? Why do you want to know about this? Oh… Alright. Well one afternoon a couple months ago, I was pumping gas, and I noticed that a gentleman had left his phone in the back seat. Well, I kept it on and he called it. I was able to drive it back to him. He told me to run the meter on the drive. It worked out very well for both of us. Good day sir!
    
Napoleon
Where I hailed him:            Chelsea
Where he hails from:        El Salvador
Years as a cabbie:            5
Previous profession:        Always a driver

Oh, my. I could sit all day with you and tell you stories about what people left in the cab. A lot of people leave their frustration. A lot of people leave their bad manners. So much abuse… You know — basically New Yorkers are good people. They treat you like a human being. The tourists, they don’t realize it’s a human being driving. I’ll tell you this: if you’ve treated me badly and left something in my back seat… Well, you can kiss it goodbye. I don’t care if it’s a diamond ring or a book or a stick of gum. It’s gone. Gone!
    
George
Where I hailed him:            Midtown West
Where he hails from:        Sierra Leone
Years as a cabbie:            15
Previous profession:        Manufacturing

This one guy leaves his wallet, right? He’s got 60 bucks in there. Drivers license, credit card… And in the plastic picture holders three pictures of this really beautiful girl. A cheerleader type: blonde hair, big tits. Great smile. And in the last picture sleeve or whatever, he has a condom all ready to go. Lucky guy. Or maybe he was a stalker. Who knows, right? I don’t know if he got the wallet back either. I took it into the garage and that was the last I heard of it. But those pictures! Very nice. Very nice…
    
Amrik
Where I hailed him:            East Village
Where he hails from:        India
Years as a cabbie:            16
Previous profession:        Delivery truck driver

Mostly, you know, people leave cell phones. Sometimes they will call and we pick up the phone and they tell us where they are so we can bring them the phone. We start the meter and drive to them and they will give us money for the fare. Sometimes they will give like an extra $20 tip. If no one called then we just turn it in to the TLC.