35 years as a taxi driver
Andrew McGill's father drove a New York City taxi for approximately 35 years after failing as a musician in Berlin and unable to find work as a tailor in the US.
Where this was said
Andrew McGill: Taxi Cab Gifts
At 11:18 · chapter starts 7:11
Andrew McGill grew up in Brooklyn with a mother who did everything and a father who was 'the rest of the Cavaliers team' — mostly absent, but always arriving with a gift when he did show up. Those gifts came in through the taxi cab window: shoes that didn't fit, a fedora, a Star of David necklace, and most memorably, a PS2 with Batman: Vengeance. Andrew defended his dad fiercely at school, until a friend pointed out the obvious: he was never actually there. [1] — Andrew McGill "Andrew McGill's father, a NYC taxi driver, never came to PTA meetings or birthday parties. But he always showed up with a gift. The twist: …" 04:31 The confrontation Andrew never had crystallized when his father handed him a brown wallet containing someone else's money, ID, and credit card — items left by a passenger. [2] — Andrew McGill "After opening the wallet with someone else's ID and cash, Andrew McGill went home and surveyed every gift his father had ever given him. Th…" 08:50 Surveying his room afterward, Andrew realized his father had been making him an accessory to petty crime for years. He mailed back the wallet contents, ditched most gifts, and kept the PS2 (he felt bad every time he turned it on). Later, reluctantly taking his father's cab to the airport, Andrew sat in the back seat for the first time and asked one question: did you always want to be a taxi driver? What followed was the most honest conversation they'd ever had — a story of failed music in Berlin, tailoring, immigration, and 35 years of cab driving. For the first time, Andrew saw his father not as an absent figure or a criminal enabler, but as a person. [3] — Andrew McGill "Sitting in the back seat of his father's taxi for the first time — not the front — Andrew McGill finally asked: did you always want to be a…" 10:05 The left-behind gifts, he realized, were probably his father's only language of 'I love you.'
Made an Accessory to All of His Crimes
After opening the wallet with someone else's ID and cash, Andrew McGill went home and surveyed every gift his father had ever given him. The realization hit: his dad had made him an accessory to dozens of crimes. He disposed of everything — except the PS2.
Seeing My Father as a Person
Sitting in the back seat of his father's taxi for the first time — not the front — Andrew McGill finally asked: did you always want to be a taxi driver? The answer unlocked a full biography: Berlin, failed music, tailoring, immigration, 35 years of driving. For the first time, Andrew saw his dad not as a mystery or a deadbeat, but as a person.
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