23 OCT 08: WHEN SHOES WON'T DO

"This is my fifth day on this job," the taxi driver said as we left Columbus Airport Wednesday afternoon. Then it's a good thing I asked him to drive me downtown. Name any other neighborhood, and we might have wound up in Waverly Hall.

Without any prompting from me, the taxi driver I'm calling Jimbo proceeded to tell me more. "I worked for a jeweler, and then they laid off employees." People aren't buying gold these days - they're trading it in for grocery money.

Jimbo explained to me why he was terminated from a local jewelry store: "They fire you, then bring in somebody who can do your job for less money." Plenty of former reporters for the Ledger-Enquirer and WRBL could tell him all about that....

"And then I read this about Georgia," Jimbo said as he handed Wednesday's Ledger-Enquirer to me in the back seat of his cab. He then showed his lack of taxi experience - by rolling down his windows, and making the newspaper pages flap around.

A front-page headline noted Georgia ranked second among all states during September, in the number of jobs lost. The state had 22,000 fewer jobs - which is amazing, because I didn't think Bill Heard had that many people in his service departments.

Yet as Jimbo kept driving, he confused me a bit. "I opened a shoe store...."

"Just in the last few days?" I asked. Well, no. Jimbo actually was dismissed by the jewelry store six months ago. So his story was taking a long and winding road, even if his cab couldn't.

(At about this point, Jimbo turned his taxi from Airport Thruway onto Veterans Parkway - going two lanes wide to make the left turn. He's learned at least one trick of cab drivers....)

Jimbo dreamed of opening a shoe store in Peachtree Mall, but "they want a thousand dollars a month for rent." That was too high for his budget - and that's too bad, because a shoe store at the mall would be SUCH a unique idea.

Jimbo decided to open a shoe store in Columbus South, but he admits a tight economy has forced him to take a second job driving taxis. Yes, we can say it - a possible recession has shoes in a pinch.

Jimbo hasn't given up on his shoe store yet. His wife is running it, while he drives cabs. But he thinks the economy won't settle down until after Election Day. So if this is why some of you have voted early, I think you're a bit misguided....

I agreed with Jimbo's reasoning about the current economic turmoil. "I've never seen a more lame-duck President in my lifetime than President Bush," I told him. Some have compared his daily words of encouragement about the economy to Franklin Roosevelt's "fireside chats." But Mr. Bush is about to leave office, and it seems more like a fire sale.

(I don't want to overstate President Bush's status - but he's SO "lame-duck" that I keep waiting for Aflac to send its mascot, to waddle across the White House lawn.)

The economic pinch we discussed inside the taxi was evident at the end of the ride. A trip from the airport to the Government Center cost me 18 dollars, including the tip. Jimbo certainly could use that little extra. And come to think of it, I could use some new sneakers. But Jimbo only offered me a newspaper and magazine to read -- nothing to barter.

Yes, I took a taxi home after turning in my rental car. It was an interesting contrast to the Metra bus I rode at the start of the trip, 12 days before. The bus costs much less, but the cab is much faster. And with some cab drivers, it's a bit more adventurous -- the biggest thrill this side of a ride at the fair.

We'll share highlights from our vacation in the days to come, but now let's get caught up on some news items from Wednesday and the last week or so....

+ Our sympathies to the family of Colonel Robert Nett, the Medal of Honor winner whose funeral takes place today at Fort Benning. For people interested in military history, this truly is a Nett loss.

+ Phenix City Manager Bubba Roberts was informed his "contract" will not be renewed in November. Shouldn't we wait until the new city council takes office, for a formal vote on his dismissal? Or are huddles by Councilors-Elect exempt from the Open Meetings Law?

+ Richard Hyatt's web site quoted Columbus Council candidate Bert Coker as saying the city should spend more money on fishing. Excuse me, Mr. Coker -- but I think that's called the Riverwalk and Lake Oliver.

(Bert Coker reportedly showed up for one candidate forum wearing a suit and tie, with NO cowboy hat. Perhaps he's sharing a fashion advisor with Sarah Palin.)

+ Muscogee County Sheriff Ralph Johnson announced he'll hold a public forum on the Kenneth Walker case this Sunday - nine days before the election. The timing of this certainly raises questions. Is Johnson's campaign for re-election in trouble? Or is this his strange way of separating himself from that weird flier with Jerry Barnes?

+ WLTZ showed Rep. Lynn Westmoreland at a Georgia Southwestern State University political debate. He was outside his district in Americus, representing Senator Saxby Chambliss - which seems to show which man has the better chance of getting elected in two weeks.

+ Workers installed a new sign for the Columbus Civic Center along Fourth Street. The matrix board looks a little smaller, and no advertisements are on it yet - so for all we know, Sonic Drive-Ins could buy the space every afternoon and sell half-price sodas in the parking lot.

+ Columbus Technical College canceled evening classes and imposed a lockdown, after some kind of anonymous telephone threat. The college teaches all sorts of job skills, but I don't think construction of fireworks is among them.

+ Instant Message to Burger King on Airport Thruway: I saw your sign offering an "ALIAN CHICKEN SANDWICH." Uhhhhh - what planet does the chicken come from?

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