Then there are those humorous things that happen. Cascante remembers picking up one Canadian tourist at 3 a.m. one morning. After driving her from San Pedro to the airport, she discovered that she had left her carrying case with her airline ticket and passport back in San Pedro.
So, Cascante returned her to the pick up point where she got the case. On arriving at the airport the second time, she discovered that while the ticket was in the case, her passport wasn’t.
Once again the duo returned to San Pedro. “When we got there, I told her to check everything to make sure that she had all that she needed,” he remembered.
But it is those times of beyond-the-call type of service that Cascante remembers best. “I had a regular customer who had heart trouble and underwent bypass surgery. Then he broke his leg,” he remembered. “I took him home from the hospital and for the next week I stayed with him and helped him get to the bathroom, I helped put him in bed and got him up so he could watch TV.”
“Driving a taxi is my job. If I can help people in other ways, I do,” he added.
According to Rieke, Cascante helps her in many other ways – from mail pick-up to pet care. “When our house was robbed, he came immediately to help with translation, clean up and to get temporary locks until repairs could be made,” Rieke said. He even helps to his own financial detriment, Rieke added. “When we decided to buy a car, he was there for us. He drove us all over the city looking for the right one,” she said. “Yet he never complains now that we have our own transportation.”
Cascante’s clients can’t say enough about his generous spirit. “It is very rare to find a person as special and trustworthy as Oscar,” Rieke said. “Oscar has the key to our car, home and our hearts!”
Cascante will drive people anywhere in the country on appointment and will run errands for individuals.
