LSD (Lake Shore Drive to non-Chicagoans)

[Guth_imp]

I've had so many great visits to Chicago over the years, it is one of my all time favorite places to visit.

True story (speaking of Chicago, LSD and motorcycles):

I have a friend who lived in Chicago for quite a few years and I visited him there a number of times. One night we needed to make our way north through town to get to a music club so my buddy hailed a cab. I was still pretty young then, and had never ridden in a taxi cab before. I was almost excited, thinking it would be "just like in the movies". (I was picturing the cabbie being an older guy wearing a worn wool cap with a toothpick in his mouth and a talking with a heavy Chicago accent while joking around with us as we all shared a good laugh.)

In no time at all, a taxi appeared right at our feet, ready to haul us off to our destination. When we got in the cab, the driver (a younger guy) was wearing a Yamaha motocross jersey. At first glance I thought that was sort of odd, but kind of cool. As he asked us "Where do you want to go?", he was pulling on a pair of leather motocross gloves (the old school tan leather kind with the skeletal black foam strips running up each finger. My buddy tells him the address and after repeating the address back, the taxi driver dumped the car into drive and floored it. But only for a few car lengths before jamming on the brakes and riding the tail end of the car in front of him while laying on the horn and shouting out the window. For the next few minutes, I was definitely terrified but also somewhat entertained as this guy proceeded to drive partially on sidewalks, run red lights, and pull off four wheel drifts through the Lincoln Park area. I thought for sure that we were going to die, yet my buddy and I couldn't stop laughing every time we looked at each other (this more than likely had something to do with alcohol consumption). It was totally insane.

When we got to our destination, the driver just muttered the address and the fare amount and that was it. He hadn't spoken to us since asking us where we wanted to go. I figured that the guy must have been totally high on one thing or another. I doubt that I'll ever have another experience like that one (I certainly hope not).

However, the next time I do encounter someone that is just a bit out there in the presence of a friend, I'll be sure to say "What do you make of Lake Shore Drive?"