Checking In

Now that I’ve received some good news from the taxi industry and my financial future is clearer and more promising, I plan to cut back on driving taxi so I can engage in taxi-reform organizing and write more. With Wade’s Weekly, once a week I plan take at least one hour to compose a stream-of-consciousness report like this. I'll set the timer at 45 minutes and write the first draft, after which I will re-set the timer at 15 minutes and rewrite. And some weeks, I’ll probably post essays on specific topics.

Keeping in touch with you, my subscribers, is important to me. My interactions with passengers reduces my isolation and they are often very rewarding, in one way or another. And I have some good friends, and often talk on the phone with Mary, my sister. But otherwise, my life is rather solitary, which is fine, for I enjoy solitude. But over the years my exchanges with you have been very meaningful and I want to revive them.

Writers need readers. So it helps to know if you read what I write. Even a short one or two word comment is appreciated. In the past, I’ve tried to copy, paste, and post readers’ comments. But I may no longer do that. So if you want your comment to be viewable to the general public, please post it to the Web version at http://wadeleehudson.blogspot.com/. Regardless, I’ll try to reply to all comments individually (and catch up on old ones that are still in my Inbox.)

One instance of being gratified by having readers was last week when,at the Yellow Cab lounge, I circulated my Taxi Reform Survey Report to drivers who were waiting to get a taxi to drive. That one-sheet, two-column piece reported on responses to a two-question survey (about Uber and the need for transparency in the sale of taxi medallions) that I had circulated previously. It was very rewarding to see almost everyone immediately read the Report intently. I also received positive feedback to the digital version that I circulated.

That response encourages me to produce a newsletter, titled Taxi Talk, that drivers could distribute to their passengers. As I see it, that newsletter could contribute to the development of an alliance of passengers, drivers, owners, community organizations, businesses, and others to promote and improve the taxi industry.

Possible methods include a Passenger Appreciation Day at which drivers who are musicians could perform and writers could read their work. Prominent performers like Michael Franti and Will Durst might participate as well. Another project might be promoting a public debate on current issues, such as whether the government should limit the number of cars-for-hire. (I’ve asked the Taxi Workers Alliance to organize that debate.)

On the personal front, I plan to invite some old friends to small dinner parties to catch up and socialize. In the past, I’ve tended toward larger affairs, but this time I envision parties of four. That way everyone can sit at the table in my small apartment.

So welcome back to Wade’s Weekly and thanks for reading. I hope we stay in touch during this fascinating moment in human history. Though postmodern nihilism is alive and well, as reflected in films like Black Mass and Sicario, many other phenomena, like Pope Francis and the Sanders campaign, are encouraging. Like Bob says, “We’ll just have to see how it goes.”