ANOTHER YOUNG DYNAMO: I have been fortunate to meet a number of very motivated and inspiring young people as I drive them to their destination. I picked up a 23 year- old woman who needed a ride because she had been in a bad car accident and totaled her car and lost two teeth. She had the teeth replaced immediately and didn't seem fazed by the bad experience. She has three bartending jobs and is a manager of a retail store. She grew up in foster care for ten years only a couple blocks away from where we live now. She was the valedictorian of her high school class and told me, "I believe in being a victor, not a victim." She believes she can learn anything she wants to learn and her goal in five years is to have her own funeral home. She was an intern for a funeral home for two years and told me she had "embalmed 1,500 people." She wants to have her own place and will probably move out west in the future. She told me that she's a "planner," and I'm pretty certain she's well on her way to being successful at anything she wants to do.
THE GIFT FROM THE BIRTHDAY BOY: I was down in the Charleston area and was leaving The Isles of Palms area when I had to turn around and pick-up two guys. They were celebrating the one guy's 21st birthday and they had been drinking. The birthday boy was living in the area, but how he got there was unusual to say the least. He said, ""I lived in Maryland and my girlfriend suggested we go on vacation in Charleston. I said no, because I didn't want to spend the money. Two weeks later I decided with a friend to move to the Charleston area without my girlfriend." We started talking about relationships and of course I gave him some advice which he really appreciated. It wasn't a very long ride, but we were laughing and having a good time. I pulled up in front of their destination and he said, "This was the best Uber ride of all-time."(mine was his third Uber ride that day, the only one's he's ever had) They got out of the car and walked away and I was fixing something on my phone. Suddenly, I realized he was walking back towards me and handed me a $20 bill and said, "thank you." I felt a little guilty and thanked him and made sure that he wanted to give me the generous tip. How often does someone on their birthday give a generous gift?
THE RETURN OF TRIPP: More than a year ago a young, black guy got in my car and we really got along well. He nicknamed himself Trrrip, because he said, "sometimes I'm a Trrrip." He told me some personal stories and he really was a "Trrrip." At the end of the ride he said I should have a nickname and he immediately named me Jeff-ro No-Fro. I thought it was hysterical and my very next rider was a few blocks away and I asked him if he thought it was funny. I found out he was good friends with Trrrip and he called him on the phone. This nickname has gotten dozens of laughs from riders and people have said to me, goodbye Jeff-fro No-Fro. One rider wrote on my app, "Jeff-Fro No Fro, you're my hero."
I've always wanted to pick Trrrip up again to thank him and tell him how many people enjoyed his line. This month I picked up a young guy near where Trrrip lived and I asked him if he knew Trrrip. "You picked me up before and you're taking me to his brother's house!" It was the same guy I picked up after Trrrip originally. He called Trrrip up and I was able to talk to him on the phone as I was driving. He said, "you made my day." I told him, "you made my day." It was so much fun talking with him again and being able to thank him for his funny comment.
(There are times I have someone with a lot of personality get in my car and it is impossible not to have a good time talking with them. It's also impossible to remember and write down everything they say. These are two people who would be a lot fun giving an hour ride to, if I'd be able to drive that far with them while I was laughing.)
PERSONALITY PLUS(FEMALE): The woman in the car was from Ohio and she was with her husband and a friend heading to the airport to go back home. She dominated the conversation and was a lot of fun to listen to. Some of her comments on the trip: "I was drinking Busch Lattees, that's how we say Busch Lite Beer in Ohio." "My kids hate me because I'm so loud." She said to me, "You're my brother from another mother." That wasn't an original line, but it was still funny. "The only reason they love me at work is because I know everything and I do everyone's job." Her husband seemed a bit embarrassed by her comments, but her friend said, "Anyone who drives her should get double pay." I should have asked her if she had ever done stand-up comedy, because she definitely could have. I'd love to have one rider every day just like her.
PERSONALITY PLUS(MALE): The 63-year old man got in my car and had the energy and enthusiasm of a 23 year-old man. He sold time share locations in Myrtle Beach and was number one in his office for ten of the last 17 years. He was very successful and had a lot of success in the past with his wife, who had passed away a few years ago. This is what he said about his past: "My wife and I owned several photo shops and we made ugly women beautiful." "My wife found me the timeshare job. She's a much better salesperson than I am, I was her flunky. She would just get you laughing and you'd hand over your credit card." I can't imagine how funny his wife was, because he was hilarious. I asked him, "What's the secret of your sales success?" He said, "Ask for the "friggin" money." "When someone says no, I take it as a challenge." He has a new wife and he told me, "When my wife doesn't like how something sounds that I say with my southern accent, I tell her I can say it any way I want because I make more money than she does." There's no way I could keep up with all his funny comments and he added one about his mom, " My mama told me that if you don't have anything nice to say, shut your mouth up." I was fortunate to have picked him up twice this month and it was exhausting trying to follow all his remarks, but it was well worth my effort. I hope I can pick him up again soon.
THE MISSIONAIRIES: My first passengers from North Dakota were also the first missionaries I've had in my car. The husband had been a pastor of a small church and he wanted to do more for farmers who are struggling in the country since he came from a farm background. They work as a family for a company and help spread the gospel for farmers who need help. They have three adorable kids, 2,4, and 6 who travel around the country with them in a camper.(they gave me their card with their family) We talked about how beautiful North Dakota is and they showed me some pictures of where they live. They were a very nice couple and I'm sure the work they do is appreciated.
YOU NEVER KNOW: When my passenger got in the car he told me he was from Boston and that got me talking about sports. I've had so many great sports conversations, especially with Red Sox and Patriot fans, this was easy. Although he wasn't a huge sports fan anymore, he has a lot of friends who are and I gave him some memorable stories. He told me that one of this friends was a physical therapist for the New England Patriots and one day Tom Brady needed someone to catch some balls. Brady told his friend to put his hands out and don't move them and he would hit his hands. He had gloves on, but the force of the ball was so much that it hit his chest after his hands and knocked the wind out of him. And then, Brady said he was going to throw some hard ones! After talking sports for 15 minutes I was surprised how interesting his job was. He runs the largest pageant website it the world. He started it a number of years back when he owned an arena football team and he wanted a pretty girl to toss the coin at the beginning of the game. Since the game was in Georgia he contacted Ms. Georgia and she agreed and also agreed to date him. She filled him in on the world of pageants and that's how he got the idea. He said, "there are 1-2 million women involved in pageants." When he would visit other countries he would get tours from women who had won beauty contests. I said, "that must be a difficult job." He admitted, "there are tougher jobs." He is married to Ms. Massachusetts now. What an interesting guy to talk with, I wish I had talked less sports with him!
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