TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY

[Branca's Mom]

<span style='font-family: Verdana'><span style='font-size: 11pt'>Twenty years ago today a friend and I flew in to NYC from London. It was just a bit past my birthday and he wanted to take me shopping and visit some friends.

My friend had a hashish habit and was afraid to bring any in in his luggage. As soon as we landed at Kennedy we jumped into a gypsy cab and he asked the driver if he knew where he could get any? The driver laughed and said "of course, I have a friend in the Bronx." So off we sped towards the Bronx. Turns out that the friend's cousin worked for the family of my friend back in Yemen and we ended up spending a few hours sitting around their delapidated row house and the guys all were smoking their little rolled up hashish cigarettes. I sat watching TV but couldn't help inhaling a bit of their stuff and began to feel a little woozy. I can only imagine how they were feeling.....

They then decide that we should all go to Atlantic City to do a little gambling!!! So, we jump back into the cab and they are all laughing hysterically, they were high as kites and I had a good secondary buzz going on. The driver, who's name I can't remember of course, is flying at least 80 or 90 mph down Fordham Blvd then turns onto the thruway. It's packed, 6pm rush hour, getting dark. At that point, it gets really scary.... He is going about 50 - 70 mph I am guessing, weaving in and out, then he starts bumping the cars around him, the concrete wall to the left and everyone is laughing hysterically. Bump Bump Bump.... It's like bumper cars at the fair. I can only imagine what the cars around us think!! (remember this is before cell phones were the norm so not 100 people dialing 911)

I finally realize that this is seriously dangerous and beg them to pull over and stop. They do finally, at Riverside Park where we all pile out and walk over the a park bench and they start smoking again. I lay my head down and next thing I know someone is screaming at us. 4 or 5 young punks all around us, they have knives and are robbing us. It is the middle of the night. They take all the guys wallets. We find our way back to the cab where luckily everything is locked up tight, including our passports, luggage and my purse. Our Gypsy taxi driver and his friend drive us to our hotel and we go to sleep. Wake up the next morning and it seemed like a dream.

True Story? or Not?</span></span>

[Shandril2]

Sounds like you hung out w/ my ex.

[Zisso]

I am going to say it is a true story however I think it was someone else, not you

[Doggydog]

impossible to drive 50-70 mph during rush hour traffic. I'm going with fiction.
Also, the cabbie makes his living with the car, no matter how high, I can't see him damaging his car intentionally.
Nice story tho.

[allieg]

Makes me think of Jamaica not NYC..
FICTION

[oregongsdr111]

If it was rush hour & 6:00, and the person just put their head down, they must have napped.
The next statement says they are being robbed in the middle of the night??

I hope it was not true, as it seems they would all be lucky to be alive after all these events.

[jfisher]

I'm guessing true. If it's not, she's a fantastic story-teller!

-Jackie

[Branca's Mom]

I LOVE to make up a good story to see if people will bite...

but this time it is a completely true story, LOL

It is one of those really strange memories I have
and
<u>every single time I think about it it still laugh </u>

'specially....

the
Bump
Bump
Bumper Cars on the Freeway...






How in the world I am still here I will never know

[jfisher]

Quote:How in the world I am still here I will never know

Oh GOD!!! I'm only 25 and I think back to some of the straight up IDIOTIC things I did when I was 16-18 and I think the same thing! Things like drag racing friends in the lane with cars going the opposite direction, hanging out with COMPLETE random strangers, traveling states away for dog shows and camping in tents because we couldn't afford hotel rooms, chasing a then-famous band because we happened to know them...

I look back NOW and think those were some of the best years of my life but GEEZ we were dumb!!!!

-Jackie