i beli* honesty is one of the greatest gifts there is. i know they call it a lot of fancy names these days, like integrity and forthrightness1. but it doesn't make any difference what they call it; it's still what makes a man a good citizen. this is my code, and i try to live by.
i've been in the taxicab business for thirty-five years, and i know there is a lot about it that is not so good. taxicab drivers have to be rough and tumble（乱作一团） fellows to be able to take it in new york. you've got to be tough to fight the new york traffic eight hours a day, these days. because taxi drivers are tough, people get the wrong impression that they are bad. taxi drivers are just like other people. most of them will shake down as honest fellows. you read in the *s almost *ry week where a taxi driver turns in money or jewels or bonds, stuff like that, people leave in their cabs. if they weren't honest, you wouldn't be reading those stories in the *s.
one time in brooklyn, i found an emerald ring in my cab. i remembered *ing2 a lady with a lot of bundles that day, so i went back to where i had *ped her off. it took me almost two days to trace her down in order to return her ring to her. i didn't get as much as "thank you." still, i felt good because i had done what was right. i think i felt better than she did.
i was born and raised in ireland and lived there until i was nine* years old. i came to this country in 1913 where i held s*ral jobs to earn a few dollars before enlisting3 in world war number i. after being discharged, i bought my own cab and have owned one *r since. it hasn't been too easy at times, but my wife takes care of our money and we have a good *t put away for a rainy day.
when i first started driving a cab, park avenue was mostly a bunch of coal yards. hoofer's brewery4 was right next to where the waldorf-astoria is now. i did pretty well, *n in those days.
in all my years of driving a taxicab, i have n*r had any trouble with the public, not *n with drunks. *n if they get a little headstrong（任性的，顽固的） once in a while, i just agree with them and then they behave themselves.
people ask me about tips. as far as i know, practically *ryone will give you something. come to think of it, most americans are pretty generous. i always try to be nice to *ryone, whether they tip or not. i beli* in god and try to be a good member of my parish. i try to act toward others like i think god wants me to act. i have been trying this for a long time, and the longer i try, the easier it gets.
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