White girl hailin' a taxi

Sure, I've hailed a taxi before. [That's how you say it, right? Hail?] Ahem. Obviously, I'm still getting the lingo down. There's an art to it, you know, hailing a taxi. Or so I was told by Jamal, at the 2007 PRSSA National Conference in Salt Lake City.

I was conducting an agency tour for a group of public relations students from Brown University. I met my group of students in the lobby of our hotel - I wasn't sure what to expect, but when I found my group, I knew it was going to be an awesome day. I was the only white girl, and this group was not going to let me forget it. [In a good way.]

I introduced myself and threw out some self-deprecating joke to lighten the mood. They laughed. [Chalk one up for AE Jones and subtle humor.] We walked outside and I told them we were going to have to grab three taxis to get to our agency tour. I looked at them and asked, "Anyone know how to get a taxi for us?" All eyes were on the white girl.

"Say what? You don't know how to get a cab?"

Um. No.

Jamal, in all of his gentlemanly coolness, said we weren't going to the agency unless I got us those cabs. [My thought: "Oh crap. Dat's coo. I gots dis."]

Jamal showed me how to throw my arm up and wave down a taxi. [I had to wait a few minutes for a taxi to drive by... we don't have too many of those here in SLC... not like NY.]

I spotted a cab and the butters started to fly in my stomach.

I raised my hand like a timid little school girl in 3rd grade.

"Girl, get yo hand up!" [Eeeek!]

I threw my arm out there and waved it like a blubbering idiot. But boy, did it get that cab driver's attention. [I ended up looking like this chic in the picture the rest of the day... I flung my arm around so hard I threw my back out.]

But as soon as I got those three cabs idling there, Jamal put his hand to his mouth, leaned back like Usher and said, "Ooooooooooh," [and it was one of those "ooohs" as if someone just got smoked by a sarcastic joke] "our white girl just hailed a taxi!" A few of them did a little "white girl dance" to celebrate. I smiled, blushed, shook my head and crawled into the cab.

Talent # 22: I can hail a taxi. Brown University style.

Note: Please see an Apology post that was written in response to this post.