Happy 100th Birthday Dick Van Dyke

On December 13th Dick Van Dyke will turn 100 years old.  For over sixty years he has been an American icon, and has starred on Broadway, television, and in the movies.  On December 24th, his new book, "100 Rules for Living to 100" will be released.

His career began in the 1950's and his first big success was in 1961 when he won a Tony award for the Broadway show, "Bye Bye Birdie." He then had a television show, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" for five years with Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam, and Carl Reiner.  He was also in "The Carol Burnett Show in 1967-1968. In 1993 he had a television show, "Diagnosis for Murder" for eight seasons.

In the movies, his biggest performance was in "Mary Poppins" in 1964 and "Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang" in 1968 and appeared in several other movies including "Night at the Museum" in 2006.

I was curious if he had written any books or if this was the first one.  Here are the books he has written:

"My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business"

"Keep Moving and Other Tips and Truths About Aging"

"Faith, Hope, and Hilarity: The Child's Eye View of Religion"

"Those Funny Kids!"

"Altar Egos"

"Mr. Finnegan's Giving Chest"

He is known for his positive attitude and zest for life.  For decades he has promoted the philosophy of "keep moving" as a way of staying young.  He recently said that for as long as children will be singing the songs from his movies, "the most important part of me will always be alive."

When I think of Dick Van Dyke I'll always think of him in "Mary Poppins" dancing on the rooftop or with penguins or singing "I Love to Laugh" in "Mary Poppins."

GANDHI HELPED ME..AGAIN!

A few years ago a woman was getting into my car when she looked up at the Indian bill with Gandhi on it and she shrieked, "Gandhi, I love Gandhi. Would you trade him for Italy and Argentina? I started laughing and after talking with her, I traded Gandhi for two bills. Later that day I told the story to a couple and the man said seriously, "My mother never would have traded Gandhi." I've told people that I may have the only funny story about Gandhi there is.

The bill I no longer have is on the upper left.

I now have a second funny Gandhi story. We had a fly that was terrorizing us for more than a week.  It apparently really liked the kitchen and was always flying very quickly.  I had a good couple shots at killing it, but it was really fast.

Finally, I had enough about a week later.  I needed something solid and I found my weapon, the paperback book I was reading on Gandhi.  I know this bad, but I did use the back cover since he is on the front.  The man who is known for peaceful resistance was going to be part of my violent attack on a harmless fly.  He would have hated this.

I had a few more whacks at it and it would not slow down.  Finally I saw it on our backdoor screen. I quickly shut the inside door and I knew I had it. It was not moving, I may have finally wore it out. 

Holding onto Gandhi, my partner, I gave the fly one last chance.  I reached inside the door and opened the screen, but it would not get out of our house.  With deep regret I swung the book one more time with Gandhi facing me and killed the fly and below is the evidence.

I wiped off the book, but was that really the same fly that was setting records flying in our kitchen? We waited several days and the fly was gone.  I have to say this, because it's true.  Many people will say that Gandhi was so peaceful that he never would have killed a fly.  I was there and I saw him do it.

Sing A Song For Your Health

I have always enjoyed singing.  I have done a lot of singing over the years in the shower, in my car, and other times when I'm alone.  My wife has told me that when it starts to get sunny out that I always sing, "Here Comes The Sun." Always is too strong of a word, but I have done that from to time.  

I have also written a few hundred songs/parodies and I have sung some of them many, many times. I know that I do not sing well, but the most important thing is not how well you sing, but that you sing.  Recent studies have shown that singing is very good for you. They say, "Physiology singing regulates the nervous system through rhythmic breathing and vibration."  Not only does singing feel good it also reduces stress and "strengthens the body and the brain."

So you should up your singing, because it's good for you and you can do it almost anywhere. I am singing right now.

If you happen to be someone who enjoys doing karaoke with friends down the Jersey shore, this is a list of the top ten most popular karaoke songs:

10. "The Boy is Mine" Brandy and Monica  (never heard of it)

9. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Bonnie Tyler (I like this one a lot)

8. "Friends in Low Places" Garth Brooks  (never heard of it)

7. "Super Bass" Nikki Minaj (never heard of it)

6. "You Oughta Know" Alanis Morissette  (I definitely do not know)

5. "Shallow" Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper (Very nice song)

4. "Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen (Love it, one of the classics)

3. "I Will Survive" Gloria Gaynor (Like it, very popular)

2. "I Want it That Way" The Backstreet Boys  (I do know it, but don't like it)

1. "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" Shania Twain ( I know it, but never would have guessed it's number 1)

MY MOST MEMORABLE RIDER COMMENTS IN NOVEMBER

On the way to New Zealand, he said, "I can't wait for the food we're about to have. But, my wife is gonna struggle. You're going to have to open up your palate."  She: "Good thing I brought my anti-diarrhea pills."

I asked the couple how they met and he said, "We met on e-Harmony. One of her pictures was in a Hazmat suit and I said, 'This is interesting.'"

She told me, "Grandpa's Burgers" are the best.  They've been around 50 years and the burgers are as big as my face."

                                                              

As he got in my car he handed me a $3 tip. After thanking him I told him that he was only the fourth rider out of 16,000 to give me a tip before the ride started.  He said, "I try to be a good person. I'm not very good at doing bad things."

She said, "Driving for an hour on the left side of the road (New Zealand) was the most terrifying experience of my life." Her husband added, "Mine too."

He told me, "I have multiple streams of income, managing a liquor store, rental properties and working in finance." I asked him how he manages that and he replied, "I get up and go and keeping going until the Lord tells me to stop."

The engaged couple had very different personalities.  The outgoing woman said, "We bring people out of their shell, or we put them back in it because that's were it belongs."

I asked the guy who has been married thirty-two years what's the secret to his successful marriage and he said, "We've had our ups and downs, but you have to solve the problems.  You have to forgive. My wife is a great woman."

She: "We've always joked about phrases that could be a hit single such as, "You have a half of a cat on your lap."

He: "For the last five years I've had a special holiday party.  I go all out. The first one was a cooking extravaganza. I invite all kinds of people I've met and some people fly in from other countries.  My only request is that you bring something from your culture to share with others."

She was very upset because she just left her assisted living job in tears. She: "They were abusing people. There was a woman lying on the floor covered in her own urine.  I took a picture, look at this." I said, "I'm driving right now."

Me: "This is the kind of ride that I don't want to end." Husband: "You want to drive us to New Zealand? You know it's on an island?" 

She: "When I started working at Amazon, "My hair to my pinky toe hurt."

For twenty years he built and repaired wind turbines and said, "I think I've climbed up 200 miles over the years and climbed down 200 miles. They are incredible machines."

My daughter said, "Compared to Uber drivers, you're funny. But most Uber drivers don't talk."

The creative guy said, "The end goal is not to be better than others, but to be better than you used to be."

He: "I was 46 years old and had no hope. I was a drug addict and I had spent twenty years in jail for three bank robberies." He was inspired at a meeting to change his life. He met his wife at a recovery meeting and at 60 years old he has two young boys.  "I was hired by a company for $12 an hour, was trained, and later became their operations manager supervising fifty people.  I helped two companies become million dollar businesses."

He told me this incredible story: "I should have died when I was 16. I was in a gang shooting and a bullet hit my heart. My doctor said he couldn't believe I was saved and it was a miracle. When I woke up I spoke to a nurse who told me, 'God put his hand over your heart to protect you because you have more to do on this earth.' A couple days later I was looking for that black nurse but I was told that they didn't have any black nurses in the emergency room.  I never saw her again."

MORE COMMENTS

My daughter and son-in-law gave me a rotisserie chicken for their ride to the airport. "We bought it four days ago, it's not going to last long."  I was going to stop over to see more family before eating it at home and she said, "Tell everyone we bought it a week ago, then none of them will eat it."

I told the bartender from Minnesota that he had the best laugh out of any of my riders from Minnesota. He laughed and said, "I'll take it. They can hear my laugh all the way across the casino.  I want people to have a good time."

The couple told me, "Our son plays football for the Colorado School of Mimes." I was confused, maybe they said, "Minds?"  It turns out that it was "The Colorado School of Mines," an elite engineering school.

She: "My friend had just moved to Richmond, Virginia and didn't know anyone. She was jogging and a guy almost ran her over with his bike.  She called him an, "Asshole," and he stopped to talk to her and they've been together ever since."

She: "When women gossip it just shows how miserable they are."

She: "You can tell a Coloridian(really Coloradan) by how accepting they are.  Some people also say by how eccentric they are."

She: "I've been a driver my whole life, with buses and now trucks. I traced my family back to Europe and they were all drivers, transportation-it's in my blood."

I asked what he did for work and he said, "I'm a tattooer.  I'm an unusual person. While I work I can talk about anything I want, I have no HR to stop me."

She: "After college I want to be a Marine corps guard and then a foreign affairs analyst."

She: "Generations ago when my family came here from Europe, they disguised women and girls as men to get them here."

She explained, "I had my real estate license thirty years ago, but it wasn't right for me then so I let the license expire. Earlier this year I studied for twenty days and passed the test and got my license back and I enjoy it."

She: "I love healthcare, it's the best."

He: "I want to be a traveling carpenter and artist."

They taught me this: "In Burmese you say hello by saying "Mingaloba."

He: "I wanted to be a great father, but I turned out to be a great provider."

"If you tell yourself you're going to have a great day, you will."

He is a fanatical reader as I am and he said, "I'll always be reading." I told him it would make a great phrase for a tombstone and we laughed as he got out of my car.

Starting a new career doing taxes, she said, "I'm doing something for myself."

I told the liquor store manager that I don't put my mannequin head up in the car until 9 am, because I found out that if someone was drinking the night before, alcohol and mannequins do not mix well.  He said, "A lot of things don't mix well with alcohol."

He: "My handwriting makes it look like I have Parkinson's."

She: "I wish I had started counting how many times you said chicken when we gave it to you. We need a chicken counter."  She later said, "You've said it so many times that it would take an act of god to take you away from that chicken? I think we're at 72 for the chicken count."

"Despite how funny you two are, it was the chicken that got you to make my blog. She: "That's called bribery."

She: "My mom decided to change her life and personality. She started her own business cleaning houses and is about to become a life coach."

MY 71ST COUNTRY REPRESENTED IN MY CAR: NEPAL

NEW BILLS FROM NEW ZEALAND

On their return trip from their honeymoon, my daughter and son-in-law gave me these two bills.  The back of both bills are spectacular and are displayed in my car.

                           

UNIQUE OCCUPATIONS

She makes twenty wedding veils a day

Builder and climber of wind turbines

She was a former Black Hawk Army pilot

Chemist

Phlebotomist 

Builder earth rover( A luxury expedition vehicle for overlanders)

Business owner of swim instructing

Engineer building solar farms

I DROVE PEOPLE FROM THESE COUNTRIES:

Switzerland, Myanmar, Columbia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Denmark, Honduras.

WHAT MY RIDERS SAID ABOUT ME AND MY CAR

The yoga teacher said, "Thanks for spreading positivity in the world."

"I'll never forget you."

"You're my favorite Uber driver of all time."

After getting a concussion in another Uber that day, he said, "If I tell anyone what I saw here they are going to say, 'Yeah, but you had a concussion.'"

She: "I could sit here all day and look at this."

She: "You've got it all tripped out in here."

"I've got to tell my friends about this."

"I try to be a nice guy, but you may have me beat."

"You made my day."

"This was a great experience."

Giving career advice to a young guy he said, "I appreciate your wisdom."

"You just brightened my day."

Finishing their vacation in my car museum, she said, "Thanks for fulfilling my wish of going to a museum."

"Keep doing what you're doing."

"That's dope."

"You don't meet many interesting Uber drivers."

"You find the good in people."

"Fabulous, this is amazing."

"This is the most unique Uber I've ever seen."

"You made it fun."

"I love it."

"I appreciate you."

"Your car is great."

"This is the coolest Uber I've ever been in."

"We loved talking with you."

"This is dynamic!"

"Amazing, I like it."

MY FAVORITE RIDERS IN NOVEMBER

THE THIRD JOSE WAS THE CHARM

What are the odds that THREE of the first six rides Sunday morning were all named Jose? Not very good, but this Jose was unlike any other.  As he got in the car he immediately gave me a $3 TIP which is something only three other riders out of 16,000 have done. He explained, "I try to be a good person.  I'm not very good at doing bad things." I knew this was going to be a great ride, but I wasn't ready for what he gave me.

Married almost 33 years, I asked him what the secret of a successful marriage was.  "We've had our ups and downs, but you have to solve problems.  You have to forgive. My wife is a great woman."  Then, he told me one of the best stories I've heard in seven years.

"I should have died when I was 16. I was in a gang shooting and a bullet hit my heart.  My doctor said he couldn't believe I was saved and it was a miracle. When I woke up I spoke to a nurse who told me, 'God put his hand over your heart to protect you because you have more to on this earth.' A couple days later I was looking for the black nurse who told me that, but I was told that they didn't have any black nurses in the emergency room. I never saw her again."

At the end of the ride he tipped me another $3.  He also had three stops instead of the normal one. I didn't get a chance to ask him what his lucky number was, but on this day, my lucky number was three.

HE CHANGED HIS LIFE

The Florida man shared his amazing story with me. He said, "I was 46 years old and had no hope. I was collecting money from the government for a mental disability. I was a drug addict and had spent 20 years in jail for three different bank robberies." (One he escaped from)  You never know the impact you can have on someone. At a meeting he was inspired to change his life.

He met his wife at a recovery meeting and they have two young boys. He got a job with a tech company to earn $12 an hour.  They trained him and he wound up being their operations manager managing fifty people.  He helped two businesses become million-dollar operations.

At sixty years old he's a very different man than he was.  He was in town to give a motivational speech in a church about his life and at the same time he inspired me.  The below picture is his favorite hat that his kids gave him. He insisted I take it and I'll be telling his story to other riders for years to come.  

DOCTOR POSITIVE

I spent over ninety minutes with her and she inspired me.  I told her a bunch of stories that she enjoyed, but she is quite a success story herself.  She overcame a very negative family situation between her parents and was mainly raised by her grandparents.  She explained, "My grandmother inspired me because she puts everyone first. I had to separate myself from all the negativity."  She was working in healthcare and decided to be a doctor. "Healthcare, it's the best, but as a doctor I can help more people." By the end of this year she will be a doctor and on her way to succeed and be a role model for many people.  

I think "Dr. Positive" is the perfect nickname for her.  Does she connect well with others? She told me, "Everyone has a beautiful story," and I know when I hear one and she's it.

HE WAS THERE WHEN UBER BEGAN

He was one of the most interesting and successful riders I've ever had.  In the beginning of the ride I knew he was an entrepreneur and involved in many businesses including being a successful trader which gave him a lot of flexibility.  He spends his time between Colorado and Florida and owns several houses in Palm Beach, Florida.  His big break came when he had his own mobile automotive business and he outbid many known companies to get the first Uber hub in Colorado over ten years ago.

He told me that his income went from $60,000 a year to $60,000 a month.  He was responsible for getting all the new drivers signed up and most importantly their car inspections done.  He said that Uber really was a technology company and had no idea how to handle the many people who were signing up from other countries and also the people who had criminal records and were handicapped.  For over three years he was getting thousands of drivers started each month in the state of Colorado.  I could have talked with him for hours.  We did sit in the car for an extra 15-20 minutes after his ride was over-he was very generous with his time and I'm sure he will enjoy reading my book.

THE "SAGE" IN MY CAR

He had me laughing immediately. When I asked what kind of work he did, he said, "I'm a tattooer." It really is a word, but he added, "I have no HR department, I can say anything I want to my customers." He admitted, "I'm an unusual person," and he really was.  Although he went to school for art, he did very well in English classes.  I knew that because he kept using words that I don't here very often.  I knew he was a big reader and we had fun talking about books. He said, "I'll always be reading," and I said it would make a great line for a tombstone and we both laughed.  Married almost ten years I am certain he keeps his wife laughing and guessing what he's going to say next.  We could have talked for hours.

MY FAMILY CHICKEN RIDE

I have had a number of funny "chicken" rides over the years and usually I am attempting to get the rider to give me some chicken. This is the first ride and probably the last, that I actually had a chicken in the car that the riders gave me.  I was driving my youngest daughter and her husband to the airport for their honeymoon trip to New Zealand.  As a I pulled out of their development, they remembered the chicken they were going to give me.  Since chicken is my favorite food, I turned around to get it.

The "chicken talk" began when my son-in-law said, "I can't wait for the food we're about to have, but my wife is going to struggle. You're going to have to open up your palate." My daughter replied, "It's a good thing I brought my anti-diarrhea pills." It was just afterwards he told me, "We bought the chicken four days ago, it's not going to last long." I was going to visit the rest of our family in Colorado after dropping them off and she added, "Tell everyone we bought it a week ago, no one will eat it."

It did not end there. Here are the rest of some of the other comments: 

She: "I wish I had started counting how many times you said chicken when we gave it to you. We need a chicken counter." Me: "Despite how funny you two are, it was the chicken that is getting you on my blog." She: "That's called bribery. Compared to Uber drivers you're funny, but most Uber drivers don't talk." Me: "Do you know why I made that turn quickly? The chicken is running out of time."

She: "You've said chicken so many times that it would take an act of god to take you away from it. I think we're at 72 for the chicken count." Me: "This is the kind of ride that I never want to end." Son-in-law: "You want to drive us to New Zealand?  You know it's on an island?" My daughter laughed and snorted and I said, "I'm going be too busy eating chicken."

Pictured below is you know who arriving at my son's house.  Two hours later I was devouring that chicken and it was real and it was spectacular. I left a couple small pieces for a salad the next day and that is the longest chicken ride I've ever had and the most delicious one too.

A Year to be Thankful For

I wasn't going to do a Thanksgiving blog, but I was thinking about turkey and cranberry bread and more turkey and thought this would be a good time to be thankful for 2025.  Included in this blog are various Thanksgiving food from 2021 so you can enjoy them before you eat turkey in 2025. I am thankful for:

In the first few months of 2025 we were able to sell our home and pack up everything for our big move.

In April and May I had two of the best months driving Uber and my passengers were very generous. I could not have asked for a better ending to driving in South Carolina.

In the first week of May I drove 27 hours to Colorado twice in five days getting both are cars to our new state.

We lived for a few weeks or so with our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter and it was challenging and fun.

We found and bought a house and moved in by the end of May which was quite an experience and it was a good choice.

We were able to celebrate our youngest daughter's wedding with our family and Memorial Day Weekend was a perfect time for the celebration.  

We had a very small window for the ceremony on a rainy, sleety day in the mountains and the sun even came out for us during the dry outdoor ceremony.

The past six months we are very thankful for our health which has been good and improved from 2024.

We have spent a bunch of fun family dinners this year and although we've been here for Thanksgiving before, we'll be here for Thanksgiving and the holiday season next month.

We've had some terrific work done outside our house getting our backyard where we want it to be.

We have enjoyed babysitting our granddaughter for many, many hours and it's been so much fun helping out and playing with her.

Our oldest daughter published her first book, "The Great Tree of Iris," and we were able to enjoy her success by flying to New Jersey for her book party.

Our niece Marci was engaged and we are looking forward to her wedding to Alex next summer.

We have enjoyed the amazing and breathtaking scenery in Colorado and living among farms has been a terrific experience.

Lastly, I've been able to continue Ubering and although it's not the same as in South Carolina, it's been pretty good.

GIFTS FROM STRANGERS

October was easily the most unusual month I've had when it came to my passengers giving me gifts for my car museum. For the last few years I've regularly had riders give me things other than foreign money and I thought I would attempt to put them all together for one blog and try to explain them.

The main thing is that people wanted to be part of my museum, they wanted to give me something to be part of this spectacle that I have in my car and I didn't discourage them.  Unfortunately, there are a few things that have fallen through the cracks or are hidden in my car, but almost all of them are here.

1. The three hats from riders: The Green Bay Packer Fan, the guy who help start Hoop Tea with his friend and it's now owned by Anheuser Busch and the boat equipment hat that the young woman gave me who also gave me a beautiful bill from Australia.

2. The mannequin, "Lily", given to me by JenKelly from Kansas four years ago has provided more laughs and pictures and stories that I ever would of have thought possible.  There is a green necklace given to me for St. Patrick's Day  for Lily and there were green ears I had too which is MIA. The red hat was given to me for Lily, but it just wasn't a good look for her.

3. The sergeant's patch from Maryland I believe, the silver ball bearing, the rubber duckie from a plumber who worked for that company, a tiny Christmas tree leaning on the duck, a wooden chess piece from a guy whose dad was a rock n' roll singer, the Berlin zoo coin, and the handmade chain which you can see better in the next picture.  Also, a "Winner's Circle" card from a casino in Colorado and three US bills. 

The $2 bill from an 18-year old I told my dad worked for the Federal Reserve Bank and gave out $2 bills, a $1 bill from a big Yankee fan who said that 2024 was their year.  Lastly the $1 bill from two college students who were upset they had nothing to give and wrote on the bill, "Thank you so much George,' which would have been great if my name was George.  I asked her if she mixed me up with George Washington since we look so much alike. Her name is on it and she lives off exit 109 of The Garden State Parkway.

 The green key chain is made out of something, maybe green beans? The blue thing holds a work badge on it.  The jar is the guava jam from Hawaii from a cancer researcher when he was on his honeymoon. It did taste good and it's a very unusual item.  The rock on top of it is a beautiful rock  My wife loves rocks of all kinds and she would probably want it, but it's staying with my collection.

On my last day of driving in South Carolina, a young woman told me that she wears funny socks to make people laugh. Then she said, "I have an extra pair of Elvis socks I want you to have." I hung one on each side of the inside of my car and it looks great with my orange car.  My very last ride in South Carolina, (around midnight the morning we left for Colorado), was  a woman I have driven many times.  She was returning from Italy and she bought me a very nice pin which I pinned on the Elvis sock.

 Lastly this is a better picture of a handmade key chain I received recently.

The smaller things I have now put in a plastic bag so people can see them, because there's no way to display them without losing them.  Many thanks to all those and others for the gifts they've given me.  Who knows, maybe one day they will be in a real museum?