The one thing you can't do, if you're a journalist, is talk about a conversation with a cabbie. It is the worst cliché in the book. But I am going to do it—because this cabbie was unusually interesting.
He was a Nigerian. And he was obviously an entrepreneurial standout. He has taken to America like a duck to water. America was practically created for him. Give him a little opportunity, and he'll run with it, a long way. He is a cab-driving businessman, in the Fayetteville, N.C., area. He said, "In America, you can be what you want to be, within the confines of the law. And I am very grateful." (That is an exact quote, incidentally.) I said, "How's business?" He answered, "Beautiful."
I'll take the cliche one step further and bet he was an Ibo. Born businessmen. |
