yellow cab

Friday evening. I had just had a delicious Indian dinner at the Tamarind in TriBeCa. In the corner of Hudson and Franklin Street. Warm stuffy evening, promising a thunderstorm. I hailed a yellow cab, to go home. The cab that stopped for me was the cab of Mohamad Safa. Or, in his own words, Michael "The Egyptian". Michael couldn't contain his excitement and told me that two weeks ago, in that very same corner, someone tapped on his window asking if they could enter the cab. He realized it was Brooke Shields. She entered the cab and he had to double-check, just to be sure. Are you Brooke Shields? Yes, she was. In his excitement, he forgot to turn the meter on. She was very approachable, he told her his story, she said she was filming a new movie, or tv series, he couldn't precise because it's been two weeks since that amazing moment and because of her blue eyes. She looked a little bit tired but she is very beautiful, you know? He told her he liked her so much as an actress but now that he met her he loved her. She laughed, not arrogant at all, and thanked him for his kind words. It was a short ride, he left her in Canal St. He realized then that he had forgotten to turn the meter on. She wanted to pay. He adamantly refused. He loves her, it was a pleasure. I share his excitement and joy. And he keeps on talking about how he spent the next few days sharing his Brooke Shields story with all his cab driver colleagues. He's an interesting character, comes across as a good person. He has a degree in business management, you know? But he's been driving a cab for the past 4 months, because he lost his business and then lost several temporary jobs. The recession, he complains. His girlfriend doesn't like that he drives a cab, but he's not a man to stay home doing nothing, you know? He didn't forget to turn the meter on for my ride. I gave him a nice tip. I wished him luck and that he got more celebrities in his yellow cab. NY is the place where it happens. Michael, the Egyptian. If you ever get in his cab in NY, tell him that Sinapse told you all about his story with Brooke Shields.