nasty people in public positions

I just got a ride with the meanest, nastiest cab driver that I have ever met.

To be fair, I should say that every cab driver (other than this particular prick) I have ever ridden with has been a friendly, kind individual.

Not this guy.

Before I even entered the cab, he asked if I had cash. When I held up my Gold Mastercard, he started to harangue me about how I "never have cash." This prick has given me exactly two rides in my entire life. So he calls in my card to his base office, to verify that the card is good for at least $30 (it's a $5.85 ride). The card is, of course, good, having roughly $1500 available.

Nevertheless he asks me after I entered the car if I could just go to an ATM and get cash before we take the ride. No, I said, I have had the card less than a month and I don't have a PIN number for it.

The whole ride home he bitched about how "the only people who insist on paying with a credit card are those people who have no money available on their cards."

I told him that he was a prick, or at least he came off that way. He assured me that no, he really was a prick. Then he gave me a sob story about a guy he had given a ride to earlier in the night, who told him that he was an asshole. Oh, that hurt his feelings! What do you expect? The guy IS an asshole.

As soon as I got into my house after riding with this prick (mind you, I'm a "happy-go-lucky guy" as the prick said), I called the cab company and stated that I never want to ride with him again. The operator at the cab company immediately knew who I was talking about, and said that she can't stand him either; she made a note on my account that the prick in question shall never be sent to pick me up again. I'd rather wait longer for my ride than have to deal with the likes of him.

I really like everybody. Well, almost everybody. There are exceptions: Chris Klahn of Port Gibson NY, who rivals the cab driver in question for the All-Time Biggest Prick award, Ronald Reagan, and G. W. "Dumbass" Bush. Other than them, I can usually find something good in a person, no matter how much they offend me or my sensibilities. But, some people just don't make the cut.

I should think that in 41 years on this earth, anybody else would have found a hell of a lot more people to despise. So, I figure I'm doing quite well.

If the Prick Cab Driver in question loses his job over the complaint I made (and I'm sure other people have done the same), I might feel a little bit bad on the human level. However, it is obvious that this guy is in the wrong trade. He's better suited for something like, oh, Republican Majority Leader. Some position where being an obnoxious ass really seems appropriate, but not the position of cab driver, where personal affability is not only a financial boon, but practically a requirement.