So I discovered Monday night quite by accident. I was having a chat with the cab driver who drove me home. He was saying how he wishes that all the other passengers were like me-it's a true story, I am a very good, not to say, extravagant, tipper, partly due to my time as a delivery driver for 5 years back in Massachusetts.
He then talked about how all these people in Nassau are bad tippers-they order cab rides all over the place-often very far-and then they don't tip or give a very small one. I know a lot of people have the attitude 'they already get paid' which I often heard in the pizza days; yes, that's technically true but while you get paid, it's not very much.
He then told a story about Nicki Minaj's family. Turns out they live very close to me in Baldwin Harbor-they live near Bertha Drive in fact-he told me the actual street, I think it was Middle Bay though I'm not certain. They called a cab-him. They bought lots of groceries over at the Waldbaum's on Atlantic Ave. On a $7.75 fare they demanded back their $.25 cents. As a former driver, I know that this is very uncommon. Even people who don't tip normally don't demand odd change back, that is to say, even by cheapskate standards, that's cheap.
I got further corroboration this morning. I spoke to a friend on my bus and she said her friend knows exactly where Nicki's family live and that they have a really nice car. So it's not because Nicki doesn't give them any money.
He then said 'I guess it's a good thing I'm not a blogger.' To which I, of course, replied that, yes, but I am. So I guess I have a post. We talked about a few other things. How my childhood hometown of Baldwin, Long Island, is just not what it used to be. There was a robbery of the 7-Eleven just 2 minutes driving, from my house-technically my parents house; as I said, I should be getting out of here soon, though I digress. I mentioned the young Haitian kid who got shot last year right on Grand Ave-even closer to my house than 7-Eleven.
Turns out the kid's father was a doctor. He had gotten into some bad stuff-drugs, etc. He had ratted out someone though in a plea bargain or something and he was the victim of payback. I forgot to ask the cabbie if they found the killer yet-last I heard they hadn't come close-of course not, everyones' scared.
What's sad is this. I should qualify this first by pointing out that I'm a mulatto-that is mixed Black and White ethnicity. However, I know what my Mother would say: it's very sad that all these Black kids come to good White areas and get into this kind of trouble. Yes, it's true that there are White kids who act badly too. However, this just looks particularly bad, and when you consider how much their parents worked to provide a better life for their kids it's sad to see.
No doubt, you have a lot of White kids in Baldwin and similar suburban towns acting really stupid these days too. What I think the big story is, from a social perspective, is that you have kids who get into the stereotypical ghetto lifestyle for no reason but because they think it's glamorous. Black suburban kids try to act like Black ghetto kids and White kids do the same.
You have people engaging in crime and drugs not because they need the money but just for kicks. This is a new social phenomenon.
He then talked about how all these people in Nassau are bad tippers-they order cab rides all over the place-often very far-and then they don't tip or give a very small one. I know a lot of people have the attitude 'they already get paid' which I often heard in the pizza days; yes, that's technically true but while you get paid, it's not very much.
He then told a story about Nicki Minaj's family. Turns out they live very close to me in Baldwin Harbor-they live near Bertha Drive in fact-he told me the actual street, I think it was Middle Bay though I'm not certain. They called a cab-him. They bought lots of groceries over at the Waldbaum's on Atlantic Ave. On a $7.75 fare they demanded back their $.25 cents. As a former driver, I know that this is very uncommon. Even people who don't tip normally don't demand odd change back, that is to say, even by cheapskate standards, that's cheap.
I got further corroboration this morning. I spoke to a friend on my bus and she said her friend knows exactly where Nicki's family live and that they have a really nice car. So it's not because Nicki doesn't give them any money.
He then said 'I guess it's a good thing I'm not a blogger.' To which I, of course, replied that, yes, but I am. So I guess I have a post. We talked about a few other things. How my childhood hometown of Baldwin, Long Island, is just not what it used to be. There was a robbery of the 7-Eleven just 2 minutes driving, from my house-technically my parents house; as I said, I should be getting out of here soon, though I digress. I mentioned the young Haitian kid who got shot last year right on Grand Ave-even closer to my house than 7-Eleven.
Turns out the kid's father was a doctor. He had gotten into some bad stuff-drugs, etc. He had ratted out someone though in a plea bargain or something and he was the victim of payback. I forgot to ask the cabbie if they found the killer yet-last I heard they hadn't come close-of course not, everyones' scared.
What's sad is this. I should qualify this first by pointing out that I'm a mulatto-that is mixed Black and White ethnicity. However, I know what my Mother would say: it's very sad that all these Black kids come to good White areas and get into this kind of trouble. Yes, it's true that there are White kids who act badly too. However, this just looks particularly bad, and when you consider how much their parents worked to provide a better life for their kids it's sad to see.
No doubt, you have a lot of White kids in Baldwin and similar suburban towns acting really stupid these days too. What I think the big story is, from a social perspective, is that you have kids who get into the stereotypical ghetto lifestyle for no reason but because they think it's glamorous. Black suburban kids try to act like Black ghetto kids and White kids do the same.
You have people engaging in crime and drugs not because they need the money but just for kicks. This is a new social phenomenon.
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