Put-in-Bay Taxi Tales - 1st edition

I have been driving taxi on Put-in-Bay for the past 4 years. This has been by far one of the most exciting and unpredictable jobs I have ever had. It is so enjoyable to get to know many of the great people that visit PIB, and to be their chauffer for the weekend. The following is a story from one of these memorable moments... stay tuned for new stories...

I was driving on a Saturday night, and the atmosphere felt festive, yet many people seemed to be affected by the full moon. There were three near-fights in my van, and I was beginning to wonder why everyone was so testy. Around 11:30 I picked up 4 guys in front of the Roundhouse Bar. I talked with them and found out they were employees over at Kelleys Island, and decided to come to Put-in-Bay to party for the weekend. As I turned the corner on Delaware Ave. I saw a few PIB Police officers ahead at the Put-in-Bay Brewing Co. As I got closer, the two officers flagged me down, and requested I pick up two more passengers. It appeared they were having difficulty with them, and wanted me to take them from the downtown area. Great!?! They got on my taxi and began to incoherently talk to each other. These guys were white, as were the 4 from Kelleys Island, but the two from the Brewery seemed pretty influenced by the rap music culture. These two guys used a particular racial slur with each other a few times along the way. Then one of the guys from the other group asked, "Why do keep saying n*****?" The next sound I heard was "THUD!." The inquisitive guy was sucker punched right in the face after his remark. Soon there was an all out battle royal in the taxi. I calmly opened the outside door to the taxi, got out, lit a cigarette and watched the melee. I was very content with them just beating the crap out of each other, but another taxi driver pulled up and called the Police. As the PIB Police came speeding up the street, the two thugs darted into the woods. The cops entered the woods, guns drawn. Quickly they apprehended one of the suspects, but the other hid in the dense foliage. He ended up sleeping in the woods, and emerging in the morning. Another taxi driver had noted giving a ride to a dirty man with a similar description. Later that day I was driving past the scene of the incident and sure enough that same guy was there. Looking for his hat! I called the PIB Police and said,"We got a sitting duck out here." They picked him up too!

This doesn't happen often, but certainly makes for an interesting day at work. I look forward to hauling more friends at Put-in-Bay, and hope that they can at least not beat each other up. Drunkeness is A-OK!