A community website manager

It was MLK Day and thus very very slow because most of the city had the day off. On a day like this, all I can really do is drive up and down the streets that have a lot of foot traffic in hopes that some people need some rides.

At 11:55 am I found myself driving up Haight Street. Oasis was playing on the radio, and in the corner of my right eye I thought I might have seen a hand go up. I looked to the right and saw a guy standing between two parked cars. He was looking at me but his hand wasn't up. I didn't know if he needed a cab or to cross the street. It's a very tricky situation when you are not sure if someone's hand has just been up or not. I slowed down my speed and was about to drive past him when his hand went up again. Thank god! Now I knew he needed a cab!

I turned on my signals and stopped. The guy was wearing glasses and a hat and climbed into the cab.

"Thanks!"

"No problem."

"I need to go to Woodland and Willard."

"Okay..."

"You just take Frederick and then make a left on Willard."

"Okay. Thanks." I turned left on Clayton to get off of Haight and towards Frederick.

"Yeah..." He sighed.

"What's going on?"

"Well, I run a community website, and today is a holiday, so hopefully there won't be too much traffic. I just took a couple of hours off, and now I'm headed back to work."

"What kind of a community?"

"To help people find housing and jobs and things like that."

"Oh. That's nice. Are you having a lot of success with actually helping people find housing and jobs?"

"Yeah. It's mostly classifieds, but there are also discussion forums."

"What is the name of the website?"

"Craigslist."

"Craigslist?"

"Yes."

"You run Craigslist? You are so modest! 'I run a community website'!"

"Well, these days Jim runs it mostly."

"Did you start Craigslist?"

"Yes."

"Wow. I am so going to write about you today."

"Do you blog?"

"Yes."

"What's your blog?"

"Well, I have several. But one of them is actually a taxi blog. And that's where I am going to write about you."

"There used to be a Night Cabbie in the Chronicle."

"Yeah, and I am the Day Cabbie, and I want to be in the Guardian. That's what I'm counting on."

We were now at Woodland Avenue. It was a quiet street with a little bit of a view and a path going off of it into the woods. I had never been there before. I said

"Wow, it's cool up here. I have never been here before. Thanks for taking me here."

"Thank you. Good luck with your column."

"Thanks, Craig. You don't mind that I'm going to write about you, do you?"

"No. It has happened before."

"Cool."

When I left, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were playing on the radio, and I turned up the volume, smiling.