SYNOPSIS
Ray Kottner thinks he’s the run-of-the-mill 80 year old. We disagree.  He’s been driving a taxi in New York City for 60 years, and he's no ordinary hack.

He fought in the Battle of the Bulge when he was 19 (“All I did was be there.”), studied Veterinary medicine at Columbia University, and at one time was the world’s largest breeder of Weimeraners.  He’s an environmental activist pressing for the entire country to run our motor vehicles on hydrogen. Immediately.

If you’re lucky enough to see him driving along in his old Checker cab, he’ll give you a ride – but there is no meter in his taxi. The ride is free. So, also, are the fascinating New York stories he’ll regale you with on the way, peppered with obscure facts you’ll find yourself telling your friends. (“That’s a male Ginko tree…That used to be a slaughterhouse…The East River isn’t a river, it’s a tidal strait.”)

Ride wityh Ray during the summer of 2005 and see a New York you’ve never seen before. Meet his passengers, friends, and random passers-by. And best of all, get to know Ray: his dry humor, his concerns, his world.

A ride with Ray in his Checker is truly a life event. Ray, alas, is probably the last of his breed.