LOOKING BACK AND FORWARD: Predicting The Future

Television, newspapers, and the internet are always telling us what might happen in the future and most of the time it's not good news.  I read an article recently that I saved from January 27, 1997 and it was published by Newsweek.  The article is entitled, "Cloudy Days In Tomorrowland."

Here are some of the quotes from people explaining what will happen in the future.  It's a good idea to keep a few of these in mind the next time someone tells you something awful will happen in the future. (It probably won't.)

1.  "Man will never reach the moon, regardless of all future scientific advances." Dr. Lee De Forest, inventor of the Audion tube and a father of radio, Feb. 25, 1967 

2. "Television won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months.  People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night." Darryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th Century-Fox, 1946 

3. "Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value."  Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French military commander and future World War 1 commander, 1911 

4. "We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out." Decca Records talking about The Beatles, 1962.

5. "Computers in the future may perhaps only weigh 1.5 tons." Popular Mechanics 1949

6.  "The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty-a fad." A President of Michigan Savings Bank advising Henry Ford's lawyer not to invest in Ford's company.  Horace Backham bought $5,000 shares of stock and sold it for $12.5 million.

7."There is no reason for anyone to have a computer in their home." Kenneth Olsen, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. 1977

8. "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." Irving Fisher, Yale University, Oct. 17, 1929

9.  "I have no political ambitions for myself or my children." Joseph P. Kennedy, 1936

10. "I continue to believe that Donald Trump will never be President." President Barack Obama, February 17, 2016 (This of course wasn't in the article)

Living in "The Life of Riley"

Way before I was born, in the 1940's, "The Life Riley" was a radio comedy show.  In 1949, NBC aired  two different television shows with different characters.  It was so popular that comedian Jackie Gleason played the starring role for a year(pictured below) and there was a film version in 1950 starring the original lead actor, William Bendix. In 1955, there was another TV show on "The Life of Riley." Basically, people could not get enough of  Riley.

I remembered this title recently since our grandchild's name is Riley and we are living in "The Life of Riley." I realize that every baby is adorable, (except for the one in the Seinfeld episode), but I figured I would share some of my favorite pictures of Riley since she just became five months old.  I might do this once a year, but not more than that-promise.

This is obviously Holiday Riley.  Her first Christmas/Hannukah and she was enjoying all the lights.

This is Smiley Riley enjoying time with her grandma and my wife.

This is Singing Riley as the two of us belt out our first song without words, but a lot of sounds.

Stroller Riley enjoying the ride in her stroller.

This is Snow Riley relaxing in the snow.

This is Hungry Riley and she is about to start eating her first pizza pie.  She may be able to review it in a couple years.

There is no doubt that 2025 will be the "Year of Riley," and we're just enjoying the journey with her.

Is It Wrong to Cut Cheese With a Paring Knife?

It seems my whole life I have heard about doing things "the right way." I have been more interested in doing something, rather than doing it "the right way." I understand that if you're jumping out of a plane there probably is a "right way" to jump out and pull the chord.  In my 800 blogs over the past seven years, I have most likely blogged about this topic, but I thought you would be amused with this.

One of the snacks I bring with me when I Uber is some cheese that I cut up.  It's not a lot, but it's a great quick snack to give me some energy.  Each week, I cut up some cheese for the weekend and I put some cheese in a sandwich bag to eat on the road.

A few years ago I believe, my wife suggested I use a different knife to cut the cheese.  Pictured below is I thought that knife and it's called a paring knife. (I've never heard the name before)  

If you look closely towards the top on the blade side, you should be a able to see the spec of cheese.  This was the knife that was used to commit the crime and I can testify that this is the knife I've been using for many years.

My wife explained to me that this is not for cheese, but I should use a butter knife to cut the cheese.  I decided to check Mrs. Google and ask, "What do you cut with a paring knife and the answer was, "Apples, potatoes, garlic, onions, and coring tomatoes." (I have to look up what a coring tomato is, but it sounds scary.)  My wife, as usual, was correct.

However, I asked Mr. Google, "Can you cut cheese with a paring knife?" His answer was, "If you don't have any cheese knives on hand, we'd recommend a small pairing knife for cutting firm to hard cheeses and a thin kitchen knife or butter knife for soft cheeses." It would appear that my wife is right again, but below is the picture of the block of cheese I am gnawing on.

I guess it really comes down to this: "Is this a hard cheese or a soft cheese?" I know it's not butter.  Next week I have a big decision to make: what will I use to cut the cheese?

MY MOST MEMORABLE RIDER COMMENTS IN DECEMBER

He: "My aunt left me a house in Mt. Pleasant.  She died at 115 years old and was a Cherokee with long hair down to the ground."

He: "I knew I couldn't live the rest of my life with an old girlfriend the one moment when she got mad at me. She stood on my sofa, pulled down her pants, and urinated on it."

She has two teenagers, one boy and one girl. "I could have five boys, but I'm done with girls. There's too much drama."

                                 

                   

                                                

She: "My husband only wanted to have girls because he gets along so well with women." I asked him, "How well did you get along with women?" He: "I lived with three of them before I met her." Me: "Together?" Him: "Separately."  Me: "I thought you were John Ritter in "Three's Company."

She: "Why do men fart louder than women? Because men have a microphone and two speakers."

Lawyer: "The only flaw in being a lawyer is having to work with other lawyers."

CPA: "I'm not a numbers guy.  I'm not the one who you give the check to split up."

Married 38 years, I asked her, "What's the secret of a successful marriage?" She: "Be kind and let them be who they want to be." He said, "Let them get the couch they want."

She's from here, but now lives in Portugal. "They make leisure time a priority, they enjoy life and they work to live, not live to work. The quality of life is better there."

Sitting next to her friend, she told me, "He's autistic, I mean artistic."

I spoke with an attorney who is a litigator, about the OJ Simpson Trial.  He said, "The police used to use the investigation as a study not to do too much in a case. They framed a guilty man and made it difficult for jurors to vote him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

She: "When I went to school at NYU there were so many Jewish holidays, sometimes the school was called NYJew."

Stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska, he told me that, "It has the widest recorded temperature range of any city- 98 degrees and minus 67 degrees. When it was 60 below zero I started thinking about getting out of the military."

He came from Gabon in Africa. After early retirement, the chemist is working in Charleston and he drove with Uber for six months and said, "Thanks to Uber I was able to speak English a lot better."

He: "When I met my wife she was like a breath of fresh air."

He: "Dan Marino has a home in Kiawah Island (in South Carolina) and in front of his house is a big statue of himself." (?)

She: "One day a few years ago, my liver suddenly collapsed without warning. I couldn't walk or talk for five months and was able to get a transplant at the last moment."

She: "I was in the airport and I gave my ID to the lady at the counter and she dropped it. It went inside  the counter and they couldn't get it out.  They let me on the plane without it and they mailed it to me."

After retiring from the military, he said, "It takes a little time to just be a dude again."

She: "I was moving out of my apartment in Washington D.C. and I didn't have a car.  I had some big bags with stuff in it and figured the taxi driver would give me a hand.  When he pulled up, I found out he had only one leg."

He: "I got sick of the Yankee fans bragging about winning, so I became a Red Sox fan and I was there in Fenway when they finally won the World Series."

He: "I went to a marriage counselor with an old girlfriend. The counselor asked me what I wanted in this relationship and I said, 'I want to get married, buy a house and have kids.' My girlfriend said that she wanted to, 'Dance and play tennis.' The counselor said we shouldn't get married."

She: "When our family gets together for the holidays we play "Fish-bowl." Everyone takes out a dollar bill and puts their name on it and the youngest child picks one bill and they win all the money. About six years ago I started writing my name as Liz and a couple years later when I counted up money left for me as a server, I found my name on a dollar bill-it came back to me.  I still have it."

MORE COMMENTS

He told me, "I've been "cheffing" for 17 years."

He; "I went to Vietnam and Thailand with my younger brother for several months to check out the food scene. I liked Vietnam better."

She: "I once got a small airplane to Wyoming that had only twenty seats. I was the only passenger, so the pilot asked me if I needed anything."

She: "We have two girls so my husband calls us his harem."

Me: "How has your first year of retiring been?" He: "Disturbing."

"Living in Jordan is indescribable. We have a lot of natural beauty."

The woman sadly said, "You can't really enjoy the holidays with all the bad things that happen outside, it's better to stay home."

She: "I'm going to a dog and human birthday. We're celebrating two dogs and my friend's 30th birthday together."

Me: "Have you ever gotten a gift from an Uber driver?" She: "Yes, kind of.  It was my 30th birthday and the driver tried to give me a $5 bill, but I didn't want to take it from him."

Coming back to Charleston after many years, she said, "Some of my old friends are in a time warp, they haven't matured at all and they're in their fifties."

Couple from Bangladesh: "We celebrate Christmas too, we're in harmony with everyone."

He: "People don't seem to have the motivation in the South."

Young woman: "I hate people from Ohio."

UNIQUE OCCUPATIONS

Professional Poker Player

Professor NYU Dental School

Genetic Counselor

Clinical Neuro Psychology Student getting his PHD

Stand-up Comic

Vice-President of Alaskan Company

COMMENTS ABOUT LILY, MY MANNEQUIN

"What's with the dummy?

She: "Did you behead the last rider?"

She: "A friend of mine made a short ten-minute sci-fi film with a mannequin talking to Alexa.

"I like your doll head."

COMMENTS ABOUT ME AND MY CAR

"You're an inspiring person."

"You're a good person with a great attitude, why wouldn't anyone want to ride with you?"

"It looks like you've made the most out of your Uber experience."

He: "I would ride to California with you."

"You're awesome to talk to."

My rider in November sent this message to me this after I blogged about her surviving breast cancer: "I enjoyed riding with you so much!  You made my day as much I made yours. You are just one of those people who has left a lasting impression on me. You are truly a rarity and I pray that God continues to bless you, watch over you as you drive another 10,000 more strangers, and he continues to let your light shine."

"Awesome, I've never seen anything like this."

"Your museum is amazing."

"It was a pleasure riding with you."

Giving her my list of favorite comments, she said, "Thank you, that's so thoughtful."

"I enjoyed your advice."

"I look forward to riding with you again."

"I loved riding with you."

"This was the best transportation we've had all day."

"I like your style."

MY FAVORITE RIDERS IN DECEMBER

STILL FIGHTING

Last month I drove a woman who overcame breast cancer and this month a woman told me a very difficult story about her battle with liver failure.  One day she was fine and the next day she was very sick.  It was not hereditary and it didn't have anything to do with alcohol, she had a very serious liver disease. She told me, "I couldn't walk or talk for five months." Eventually, she was able to get a liver transplant with very little time to spare.

From Buffalo, New York, she was on a trip to South Carolina, her first trip since her illness a few years ago.  She looked perfectly healthy and had a very big smile too.  She told me that she has to watch what she eats and is going to many weekly doctor appointments so they can monitor her progress.  She is planning on writing a book from a children's perspective on how they view a sick adult since her niece and nephew have had to see her difficult journey.  She was inspiring and I wished all the best with her book and her continued good health.

LIVING AND LOVING PORTUGAL

My Christmas morning started with a terrific early morning ride to the airport. The woman was heading out to another city to visit family and then coming back to the Charleston area to spend more time with her dad. She works in property management for a company in this country, but she lives in Portugal and she loves it there.  She explained to me that the people there, "Make leisure a priority, they work to live and not live to work. The quality of life is better there." When she lived in New York she considered herself, "An Honorary Jew." She had many Jewish friends and she had celebrated all of the Jewish holidays.  She got my morning off to a great start and she was fortunate I was there to get her to the airport after 5 a.m. for the rest of her journey.

BANGLADESH IS NUMBER 59!

A very nice couple from Bangladesh was visiting their daughter and gave me this incredible bill. They have been visiting Charleston for many years and could probably give tours.  They were so excited to get this bill to me-thanks again for your thoughtfulness and wishing you continued success and happiness in Bangladesh.

THE AMAZING TRAVELER

This is the time of year that everyone is traveling and I've heard some incredible travel stories.  However, my passenger had some of the most unusual travel stories I've heard and she probably has enough of them to write a book about them.  A few examples:

Moving out of her apartment in Washington DC, she didn't have a car so she put together a bunch of large bags for the move and ordered a taxi.  She expected the driver would help her, but when he pulled up he had only one leg.

She once gave her ID to a lady at the airline counter, but the woman dropped it and it fell into the counter.  They were unable to get it out without taking apart the entire counter, so they let her on the flight and mailed her ID to her.

She got on a small plane to go to Wyoming. There was only twenty seats and she turned out to be the only passenger.  Going through the security measures, the pilot asked her if there was anything she needed.

About to travel on a small airline she found out that the airline closed completely.  She took a taxi for a two-hour ride out of the state. Driving in the dark early in the morning, the driver told her that he had never been out of the state.

She had a great ride with me and there were no problems.

A STAND-UP COMIC

I had the pleasure of driving a stand-up comic from California, Courtney O'Donnell. She's and actress and writer also and is starring in a short film this coming year.  I didn't get a chance to talk with her that much about her career, but I did look her up. She has appeared at the New York Comedy Festival and has won several awards for turning out comedic content for others.  She's been a comic the past five years and I'm wishing her the very best in 2025.

POKER ANYONE?

He had sold a number of businesses and then sold a weight loss company with nineteen locations just before the pandemic hit.  During the last four years he's been a professional poker player in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.  He doesn't particularly like living out of a suitcase so he's only working 26 weeks a year and at the same time contemplating the next thing he's going to do in his life.

THE COUNTRY OF JORDAN IS MY 60TH BILL

The four guys from Jordan pictured below are on a five-year visa and they are cooking in a restaurant helping out one of their brothers.  They had big smiles when they got in my car and one of them ran inside to get me the bill pictured here since I did not have one from Jordan.  They tried to encourage me to come into the restaurant and try their food and I may just do that one day.  I did ask if they had chicken but I think beef kababs will probably do.  They also said I should come to Jordan one day because the beauty of the country is, "Indescribable." I'm putting their picture up in my car which will also advertise their restaurant.  Thanks guys for the Christmas present.

I Saw Some Things on Vacation You Normally Do Not See

If you look carefully on vacation you may see something amazing, unusual, funny or something you've never seen before.  We only spent a couple days in Disney World in Orlando and this is what I saw:

1. In The Magic Kingdom it is common to see tired people. These two people expressed the feeling of many when one laid down face first and the other is on their back.  I believe they were still breathing.

2. You can go to an aquarium and see a lot of fish, but this fish was hanging on a restaurant wall with a Christmas hat on.  I think his name was Nemo.

3. It is not unusual to see a woman breastfeeding.  However, in this case she was in a very nice restaurant and she was underneath the teepee.  Two seconds earlier was the better picture-completely under the teepee.

4. Did you ever wonder how an elevator works? I haven't either, but here is the side panel and what's inside and I have no clue what the circuits are.  This action took place at our hotel.

5. You can see thousands of hats and not see one like this.  In The Magic Kingdom, this man has about 50 Disney pins on the hat.  He told me he had 20 of these hats and he's working on another one.  Each hat had to cost at least a few hundred dollars and maybe close to $500 to make.

6. If you have never seen the "Country Bear Jamboree" in The Magic Kingdom, it consists of a bunch of bears playing music and singing.  This has to be the best bear singing group in the country.

7.  You have probably seen gingerbread cookies before, but a gingerbread giraffe? It is standing in the lobby of The Animal Kingdom Lodge.  If you ever wondered how long a giraffe's tongue is, the answer is eighteen inches long.

8.  My Uber car has a museum inside and these cars are transportation on Disney property driven by Disney employees.  I did not look inside, but you can get a ride in this through the Lyft app.

9. With all the decorations and Christmas trees it's only fair to show you a menorah.  We were standing in line on our first ride, which was called "The Jingle Cruise." I looked in the window and saw an office and there was a menorah a little covered up.

10. In the lobby of our hotel with the gingerbread giraffe, was this pretty amazing Christmas tree.

Where Did Rudolph Come From?

With Christmas only a couple days away, I thought it would be helpful to answer a question you've probably asked before: "Where did Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer come from?" I'm sure you don't know the answer, but you are about to find out-consider it my Christmas gift to you.

We can thank Montgomery Ward for giving birth sort of to this legendary animal.  The original Montgomery Ward was a mail-order business and later a store that existed between 1872-2001. Aaron Montgomery Ward started the business in Chicago. A few years after the original store and mail-order business closed, it re-started as a website and mail order and is just called Wards.

Rudolph was created as an ad campaign to get more people into the store and it was successful doing that in the 1930's.  Montgomery Ward asked copywriter Robert L. May to create a story for their holiday coloring books.  The new story was inspired by "The Ugly Duckling" story and the book sold millions of copies between 1939-1949.

May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote the song, "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" in 1949 and it became a number one song in the 1950's.  It was recorded by Gene Autry and in it's first year it sold 1.75 million copies.

In 1998, the movie came out and it was a big disappointment at the box office, though it seems to have done pretty well since then.  Some of the voices in the movie are from some famous people like: Whoopi Goldberg, John Goodman, Eric Idle, Debbie Reynolds, Richard Simmons, and Bob Newhart.

And you thought Rudolph only helped Santa out! It's a pretty amazing story that has existed for over eighty years.  Merry Christmas to all!