Start the Meter

 

"Start the Meter"

by Dick Mauer

Here's another bus station event that happened to my good buddy Ted Golda working uniform in Buffalo one day. Ted had his eye on a perceived alien and was approaching him when the guy rabbited out the door, jumped in a car at curbside and was pulling away. Ted ran out and was making for his vehicle, parked on other side of building. A cab driver, who we all knew, was parked behind the fleeing vehicle and called for Ted to jump in his cab to pursue.

At this point the story needs a little color. The cab driver was a bus station regular named Vinny Cala. Vinny Cala was a former welterweight boxer who reached prominence in the 60s fighting in Madison Square Garden and all over the world, He never won a championship but fought in championship bouts and was a tough SOB. Vinny never hesitated to jump into the fray when an Agent needed help in the Bus station. He was a flamboyant character who was known to carry at all times.

Back to the story. Ted jumps in the front seat of Cala's cab and away they go. The car heads for the Interstate, presumably trying to get back to the bridge for Canada. Vinny pulls along side of the car who is in the lane for the bridge and will not stop to Ted's orders. Meanwhile Vinny is yelling for Ted to shoot the tires which Ted wisely ignored. If Vinny could have gotten inside the fleeing vehicle I know what would have been the outcome. That alien lived to fight another day.