Family & Friends
A few days ago I put a little green shamrock sticker on the brim of my Boston Red Sox hat. I do not think anyone here knows what it symbolizes, I have told a few people about St Patrick and they politely nodded. That fact along with another Moroccan taxi story follows.
Everyone remembers the Moroccan taxi story; they are the taxis with at least seven people jammed into a five passenger car. Well yesterday provided another good story. On our weekly trip to Essaouira to the check mail and pick up some supplies not available in the countryside, we entered a taxi with seven people already passengers. So the taxi had a grand total of nine people four in the front and five in the back. Two people in the driver’s seat one person was steering the other person was shifting the gears, apparently they were friends or they certainly became friends soon.
We arrived in Essaouira without incident and without circulation in some extremities, but we were able to collect some mail and needed goods. Around 4:00 PM we entered the taxi area with its usual chaos, waited for a taxi and after twenty minutes the taxi was filled with the minimum seven passengers. By chance everyone in the taxi was from our village Ait Diba, we all piled in and off we went.
Just a word about the taxi, all the taxis in Morocco are Mercedes 240D, they are called a million mile car because some actually travel one million miles before they are retired. Most of these cars in Morocco should be retired.
About ten miles outside of Essoauira the taxi’s right rear wheel detached itself from the car. At the time we were probably going about 60 miles an hour. I am not too sure how long we skidded first to the left and then to the right, but I know that I saw the divided highway barrier in front of for some time and then the opposite side of the road guard rails slid by. The taxi finally came to rest and everyone got out and congratulated each other for surviving. Several cars and a large truck stopped to check on the scene and to make sure everyone was OK.
I checked where the wheel was and observed that two lug bolts had sheared off and that three lug bolts were missing. Apparently the million mile car’s reputation is still intact only the taxi’s maintenance is in question.
So maybe it was just luck and maybe my shamrock was placed on my hat just in time.
Gerry Murphy
