| GangaaKarki |
Posted
on 12-May-04 10:26 PM
Cabbie's $3,000 tale of 2 Milwaukees stretches 2,300 miles
Associated Press
Published May 12, 2004
EVERETT, Wash. -- What started out as just another early morning call for taxi driver Mark Forbes turned into a fare stretching about 2,300 miles from here to Milwaukee.
It would have been a mere 1,900 miles but for a detour through Milwaukie, Ore., a Portland suburb.
"When I look back at it, it was one of those cab rides that you think about, but you never realize it's going to come true," Forbes told The Herald newspaper of Everett. "I think every cab driver has a once-in-a-lifetime trip."
The 62-year-old military veteran and former Colorado police officer was nearing the end of a 12-hour shift when he picked up two men at an Everett motel about 5:30 a.m. April 10. Neither had any luggage.
The taller one asked to go to a Sikh temple near Seattle, about 25 miles to the south. He said both were from the Punjab region of India, that his friend spoke little English.
After they had gotten a few miles south, the passenger said they wanted to visit his brother in Milwaukee. The Oregon town with the sound-alike name was about 200 miles south.
Hearing Forbes trying to pronounce their names, the tall man suggested he be called "Tony Blair" and the other man "Joe."
Once the 1991 Chevrolet Caprice Classic got to Portland, the passengers used Forbes' cellular telephone to call the brother for directions.
"Are there two Milwaukees?" the one called Blair asked.
"Yes," Forbes said. "There's another Milwaukee. In Wisconsin."
"How much for you to take us there?"
Forbes said flying would be cheaper and called Amtrak, but the passengers insisted they didn't want a plane or train.
Figuring it had to be close to 2,000 miles to Milwaukee, the driver asked for $3,000, a discount from his normal rate of $1.60 a mile. The two agreed, saying they would pay in cash.
Forbes then called his dispatcher and told her his new destination.
"Have fun," she said, then hung up and called the FBI.
With a $500 down payment, Forbes filled his tank and bought a road atlas, some food and bottled water at The Dalles, Ore., 85 miles east of Portland.
Making one overnight stop, they arrived in Milwaukee the evening of April 12.
In a second-floor apartment, half a dozen friends and relatives greeted the men and profusely thanked the driver. Blair's brother paid the rest of the fare in $50 and $100 bills.
Back in the cab, Forbes answered his ringing cell phone. It was his boss, relieved to learn that he was OK--and that he had been paid.
FBI Agent Ray Lauer in Seattle said there was no indication the two passengers were being sought for any crimes.
"For $3,000, I'd take them to Wisconsin," Lauer joked.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
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