Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Drivers Wanted: Update 1 On The Road with Joshua Z Weinstein


Drivers Wanted Tour - Queens, NY

You know how hard it was for me to get down here after Hurricane Sandy? Ask Ibe my livery cab driver from Nigeria, he went to a gas station at 6 am, waited 3 hours, but the station ran out of gas. Then he went to another gas station, waited for 2 hours, was 10 cars away, and the cops told Ibe he was on the wrong line.  Then he waited 3 more hours and did not get gas. Finally at the 4th gas station, after a total of 11 hours, he got $30 of gas.

"We are used to this in Nigeria. But it is better in Nigeria because if you have money you can go always bribe your way to get gas faster." 11 years ago before he came to the US, Ibe watched the WWF. He loved watching strongmen. "In my country there was a lot of violence." WWF was an escape. "We had all the VHS tapes of wresting, and we would laugh until the end. It was a real life action movie." I could not believe it but Ibe thought the WWF was real. He claims "people in Africa thought it was very legitimate, like the Olympics." Now driving a taxi he needs to be a strong man too. "It's risky, I am always facing the front, and don't know what is happening in the back. Some wrestlers would pray to god, making a cross with their hands on their chest. When I drive, I do that too."



Watch a video of the Mighty Igor, Ibe's favorite wrestler.
"Once he hits you with his head, you are done."


Drivers Wanted Tour - Madison, Ga

3 years after Flying On One Engine played the South Tour, we are back. Not owning a car there is an enjoyment of pushing down the gas, and blowing by strip malls, road kill, and speed traps. My first stop was Suwanee, a town that did not want another big box store so bad that it raised its own taxes, allowing it to buy the property and turn it into a park. Bravo Suwanee! Next was the Historic Greek revivals of Madison, folklore claims it is the only town in Georgia that Sherman did not burn down. I got a behind the scenes tour of one of Georgia's oldest homes, where I learned about the whistling entrance. The whistling entrance was the door where the slaves entered and brought your dinner, and you knew your slave was not eating your food because no one can whistle and chew at the same time. Just writing that upsets me.

Drivers Wanted Tour - Madison, Ga


Now I am back again staying with Jim at the Lattice and trying to track down cab drivers. Will update you about my findings on my next post. Hope to see you in Montgomery at the Capri tomorrow!

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