Dr. Dre raps with vigorous rhythm; the chandeliers teeter above the expensive champagne and indifferent chatter. It’s 2am and I’m nodding blindly to a handsome bloke in the lower east side. Brooks Brothers button down with silk tie, topped with Northface fleece, he reeks of a background with athletic lacrosse peppered with staunch politics, a valuable pedigree no doubt. A handsome ventriloquist, I assume he practices pick-up lines in his bathroom mirror, a day trader at Goldman Sachs I feel a bit sad he’ll go home alone tonight.
Denver is a decent dating city – but it can’t hold a lighter against New York. Lawyers, photographers, doctors, artists… if you’re on the market than there is no more an appropriate place to barter your soul. Trading securities for one-night stands, sacrificing fertility for money, it’s a hub of eccentric, ambitious, and if you put in enough time passionate success stories. There is a resurgence of available bankers (not brokerage), so if that’s the fancy you’re golden.
With energy he explains equities and derivatives, assuming I’m devouring his mouth-watering financial terms. Not an obtuse, gold-digging, blowjob giving robot incapable of comprehending simple elementary concepts, I throw him a bone. Rummaging for some Kantianism theory and stats from last week’s Economist, it’s just a ploy. A wicked way I entertain myself… I pretend to be smart. Don’t misunderstand– while not a mensa, I’m not stupid, I’m hungry for knowledge. But I can fake brilliant when I’m too sick of egos to give them that syrupy grin again and again, they’ve come to expect from women. The male brain might be bigger – one must not underestimate the size of a woman’s intuition. Swallowing the bitter taste of the gin & tonic, the smile of one particular person haunts me, and it isn’t the man standing less than a foot from my face, exhaling whisky breath, savoring the sound of his own Harvard certified verbiage.
The probability that I’m searching for viable material to exploit and analyze is guaranteed, but I’m now at a disadvantage. Now smitten, no conversation can be objective, every man is flawed, and while the world appears rosier – the control I once had over my schedule and bedtime has momentarily fled. And so there are multiple subjects I’m writing about that don’t directly relate, they are braided together by recent experiences that cannot be separated.
Are you in control of your life? Have you ever fallen in love with someone you're not sure if you should be in love with? Did you run away abandoning part of your heart; or rather did you give in, hoping chemistry will combust in due time? But I can’t imagine anything worse than involuntarily wasting time. It can’t be renewed, or reissued, purchased at a premium or a discount… It’s all risk and no return. Why the hell would we waste the one real resource we’re born with… handing someone undeserving a chunk of our precious life?
Hauling my red valise through the chilly air I climb inside a taxi off of 17th and Irving Street. The hint of red zinfandel lingers on my tongue and rather than nibbling on feta with friends I’m hauling my tired ass on an airplane.
“So you want to give me some advice?” I sigh.
“I charge extra.” He laughed. Mid-fifties with a authentic Brooklyn accent, I relaxed myself into the back of his cab ready to enjoy a conversation with someone I assumed I’d never see again. It was liberating to talk about myself without having to worry about the repercussions of secret-spilling, or making sure coffee dates are equally divided between all parties’ problems.
And while the love advice he gave me was sound.... I’ll get to the meaty part of our conversation…
“What are you doing in the city.” He asked.
“ Some meetings here, some meetings there. I write.” I responded.
“Articles and stuff?”
“Yes.” I shrugged; much too tired to explain the concept and the twenty-minute elevator pitch that came along with my answer.
“I write a blog.”
My ears perked, “Oh is that so?”
“It’s called “Cabs are For Kissing”… www.cabsareforkissing.com
Brilliant! And suddenly serendipity hit me hard and I had to run to make my flight....
