It is late September, but the air feels like an August evening, sticky and moist with humidity. The streetlights are wrapped in the drizzle of the rain, casting a glow and air of enchantment. I step out onto Newbury Street, deciding it’s late, and that I am buzzed after a few glasses, oh who am I kidding, a bottle of Chardonnay. I just want to get home and in that cozy bed of mine.
I extend my arm to hail an approaching cab. The cab passes me, passenger inside and the light on the roof is ON. There is something about this light being on that darkens my mood. It has long irritated me that a simple, and what I thought was a universal, symbol for saying “I am not available” is so absolutely lost on Boston cab drivers. I mean what the fuck?! It is pretty simple when your light is ON you are available, when it is OFF you have a passenger; no one else can hop in for a ride.
This whole simple signaling system seems lost on the cabs AND men of this city. In Boston, both cabs and men roam the streets freely, giving us mixed messages about their availability. Their light can be on and in fact you find out someone else is already riding them, or they are on their way to another destination – maybe a lengthy blonde 5 years your junior, you get my point! It is just false advertising!
The always-smart writers of Sex and City introduced this clever concept “men are like cabs.” Equating love and commitment to timing, saying a man can be dating for years, going from relationship to relationship, but never really available, when their light goes on they are ready to commit. Of course there are many factors that go into falling in love and making a commitment to someone, but timing is certainly an important one.
It is not always transparent if a man is truly available to make a commitment. Who out there has never been fooled by the guy who says and does all the right things at the start of a relationship, but when the time comes to actually move the relationship forward he can’t close the deal? All the while you’ve had a video loop in your head of your future together; the proposal, grand wedding celebrations, how he’ll get misty eyed when he sees you walking down the aisle. Oh the daydreaming you’ve done only to realize it is just that, dreaming. It’s not right, there should have been some type of warning like “object may be appear more available then it really is,” something to keep us from investing more of our heart than he is worth.
Men and cabs in this city share a nasty habit of driving around miss-representing their status. Frankly, it pisses this single girl off. After years in a relationship with a flickering light, I will be sure the next time around to check his light bulb before I jump on in for the long ride.
Loves, V
P.S. In case you want to see the clip from Sex & the City that inspired this post!
You are sooooo right &awesome! Your the next Carrie Bradshaw! Write on!