They Give Out Alcohol For Halloween????

 You have to be joking, tell me this isn't true. After I turned 60 I said that I should keep track of all the things I learn while I'm 60.  I find this impossible to believe, but I am told that it is not unusual for adults to give out alcohol to parents as their kids trick or treat.

Supposedly, one of our neighbors is going to give out wine or margaritas tomorrow night. Does this make any sense to you? A Milky Way or Musketeers bar isn't good enough? Get some Double Stuff Oreos or why not just make an ice cream bar and people can help themselves? Or, since it will be dinner time, how about appetizers.

Trick or treat or little hot dogs? Or, I could pick up some chicken wings at several houses, that would be fun. Maybe some swedish meatballs or just cut up a bunch of cheese.  I'm in for any of that, but alcohol on Halloween? You can have alcohol any day, but Halloween is really about chocolate, isn't it?

I've never had a margarita, maybe for Halloween I'll have one-don't count on it.

Facebook Political Post

 For those of you not on Facebook or who missed this, below is my first political post in almost four years.  I also predict what I think is going to happen in the election this year, although I could adjust some things in the final week.  I'm looking forward to watching what happens, since this will be unlike any election we have ever had or ever will have.

This is my first political post since January 20, 2016 when President Trump took office. As a political science major and a political junkie for a long time, I love talking and reading about politics. I don’t feel that posting political things on Facebook is worthwhile for me since few people are interested in having a reasonable discussion without being upset that you disagree with them.  With the election only a week away, I figured I’d make this post to cover the last four years.  I wanted to thank a number of you for your political posts over this time that have been entertaining, informative and at times infuriating.  As a former liberal Democrat(who voted for Ted Kennedy for President in the 1980 primary), I consider myself now a moderately, conservative Republican.  I enjoy reading both sides of the issues, which I do daily.  My thanks goes to Elaine, Frank, Jeff, Bill, Barry and Dan, who I’ve enjoyed reading and agreeing and disagreeing with. Over the last five years I’ve saved over 1,000 stories and some posts, I’ve written two hundred pages on President Trump’s first year in office and I continue to add to my political library of books.  My two favorite authors are Democrat James Carville and Republican Ann Coulter.

Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions that people have about “the other side.” (people they disagree with) Someone on the other side says, posts, or tweets or does something they shouldn’t have done and it’s easy to say, “see, that’s how they are.” The media plays up those comments which makes things worse. The truth is that people who disagree with you are not mostly on the far right or far left, the majority of them are much closer to the middle.  I enjoy reading things I disagree with for these reasons: 1. It can be very entertaining.  2.  I learn how and why they think that way.  3. Sometimes I find things I agree with on the other side. 4. It confirms my belief in what I believe by hearing the other side.

If you think you are objective and not a partisan of one side, try this: If you were very supportive of President Obama, how many positive things can you say about President Trump?  And, if you are a supporter of President Trump, how many positive things can you say about President Obama?

Election night 2016: I was convinced it was going to be a long night and that Donald Trump had a shot at winning. I predicted he would lose the popular vote, 48%-47% and the difference in the electoral college would be Florida and Hillary would win it and be elected. I only got close to being right, but two years ago I did pick Biden and Harris as the Democrats who President Trump would be running against.

2020: I’ll make three points:   1. President Trump has no chance of winning the popular vote and never did. President Obama won New York and California by 5 million votes in both his elections and Hillary Clinton won them by 6 million. (this means that President Trump won the rest of the country by more than 3 million votes)  I believe that Joe Biden will win New York and California by at least 7 million votes and President Trump cannot overcome those numbers.     2. In 2016, there were 138 million ballots turned in.  Two million people picked no one for President and 6 million picked a third party.  That will not happen this year. It is expected that there will be more votes this year, but let’s say it’s only 140 million. To win the popular vote, President Trump would need over 70 million votes or 7 million more than last time, that will not happen. I can see him getting a few more million, but not 7 million. If the numbers hit 150 million, he would need about 75 million to win or almost 20% more votes than last time, it’s not happening.  I think he’ll lose the popular vote by 8-10 million votes, most of them from New York and California and he will lose the rest of country by a couple million votes.

3. I think President Trump pulls out Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, but he falls short with a few of the states he won last time and Joe Biden is elected.  Some of these states will be close as there are always close races in some states.  With ballots being counted late and possibly as many as 1 million ballots disqualified because they came in late or were not filled out correctly, there will be controversy about the results in a few of these states.

Two years ago, as an Uber driver, I picked up a mayor of a small town in Pennsylvania. It was a lot of fun talking to a “politician” who was down to earth, very practical in his solutions to problems, and also funny.  I’d vote for him if he was in any party.  I had to ask him, “are you a Democrat or a Republican?” He said, “when people ask me that question, I tell them, I’m an American.”

Whatever happens with this election I think it’s important to remember that we are all Americans and we are all entitled to our opinions. No matter what you might think about “the other side”, the truth is that in many ways they are very much like you and me. They have different views based on their life experiences and what they’ve learned.  And, there really are good people on both sides of MOST issues. I would hope that over the next few weeks, months, or years, that more people spend time reading and talking to people they disagree with. I think it’s the American thing to do.

If anyone is interested in discussing anything in this post, send me a personal message. This post is long enough for the last four years, so I will reply privately.

 

The Frog

 Down here in the south you do hear a lot about alligators. There was a baby one in one of the ponds in our development, which is probably harmless.  I've seen a number of signs telling people not to feed the alligators.  Apparently, many people have the urge to give their food to an alligator and take a picture with it also. I don't give my food to anyone unless I have to and I'm not getting close enough to an alligator to take a picture either.  

I have seen one alligator down here, but our big problem now is that we're being stalked by a frog.  It was outside our garage just staring at the house, maybe wishing he was inside? Then he made his way into our garage, slowly of course.  We haven't seen him move, but he is showing up in different places.  The other night I took the garbage out and he was staring at the purple front door.  I think he like the color too.

Tonight, he was almost back in the garage and my wife had to gently push him towards the grass.  How do you get rid of a frog? When I go out in the morning at 4:30 am, I have to look for the frog, because I don't want to step on it. What does he want with us anyway? 

It's been a difficult year, but it's not any easier with a frog watching your every step. Do alligators eat frogs?

Cups Anyone?

 Some things you really can't call ridiculous, absurd is a better word.  I deliver a lot of different office supplies and some furniture, water and other things.  Many offices will purchase cups from Staples and I deliver them.  I deliver to two hospitals, one in Myrtle Beach and one in Little River, which is north of Myrtle Beach.

I've delivered to the hospital in Myrtle Beach for two years, but I've delivered 0 boxes of cups.  Some other company has the account and they take care of the delivery.  The hospital in Little River goes through thousands of cups a week in many different departments, although I don't deliver to the cafeteria.  Two floors in the hospital receive one to two thousand cups about every ten days.  The most cups I've ever delivered there in one day was 4,000.

The picture below is of 13 boxes with 500 cups in each box for a total of 6,500 cups.  I delivered those cups today.  They pretty much took over my entire van.  My supervisor and I think the employees are taking them home or they are selling them.  It doesn't make any sense that they could use all those cups.

So, if you've never seen 6,500 cups outside of a supermarket shelf, here it is.  How absurd is it that next week I'll probably deliver more cups to them?

Happy Sweetest Day??????

 The saying is that you "learn something new every day."  I'm not sure how accurate that is, but there are some days you do learn something new and today may be that day for you.  I know it was for me, because I learned about another holiday I had never heard of- "Sweetest Day."  I picked up a rider from the mid west and she was trying to make today a special day for her boyfriend, because "Sweetest Day" is like Valentine's Day for men!

You probably think I'm making this up, but you check it out. It is a holiday that is celebrated mainly in the mid-west and some parts of the northeast and northern Florida. It started in 1922, almost 100 years ago.  In Cleveland, Ohio a candy company employee, Herbert Birch Kingston, wanted to bring happiness to people in society who were forgotten, orphans and shut-ins. With the help of friends he gave out candy and some gifts.

How did it become mainly for men? I have no idea.  In some cities they sell more "sweetest" cards for the third Saturday in October than Valentine's Day.  How is that possible? I have no idea. The goal is to make the day special for the man in your life by giving something sweet or a gift or doing something kind.

Why can't it be "sweetest day" every day? I'm not asking that question, it must have been a rider today who asked it and I'm just passing it on to you.  Hope you males out there had a sweet day.

Is Pink My Color?

 Just in case you've never seen my wearing a pink shirt, here it is below.  I did try to open my eyes wider, but I looked scary instead of just tired.  Yes, that is our bathroom behind me.

I was going to put a shirt on and started looking through my shirts in the closet and saw this shirt.  I've never seen it before and it turns out my wife gave it to me recently.  She worked for a very short time as a bartender or server in Pawleys Island, not far from where we live.  It was a couple years ago and she got a shirt when she worked there and now it's mine!

I probably won't wear it much, but it's comfortable and it does fit.  I don't have many pink things as you would guess, maybe I'll start wearing pink a lot-not likely.

What's In My Car?

 Having spent a good part of my work life driving in a car or a van, I've always asked myself this question: what is in my car? I'm always taking things out and putting different things in, sometimes on a daily basis.  Over the years, I've also found a lot of unusual things in my car: several old pieces of Roy Rogers chicken in a box, 16 pens I took out(when the car finally died) that fell under my seat or between the spaces in the car, a $20 bill, my wedding ring which literally slipped off my finger and into the inside of the car and also an Uber's passenger's underwear which fell out of her laundry bag when I took her to the laundromat.

However, do you know everything that is in your car right now? I recently purchased a used van to make my courier deliveries and it really takes some time to adjust to how different it is than my other van which is now my Uber van.  The new van has the window controls in the middle of the two front seats instead of on the door and the back-up camera view is on the mirror in the middle of the car instead of on the dashboard like the other one.

Two features in my courier van are the window lip that allows you to keep your window open without rain coming in the car.  I had never heard of this before, maybe a lot of cars have it? The other thing which is pictured below is a slot on the front dashboard, that is made for a clipboard which is very handy.

I am not the most observant person so this should not come as a surprise.  Last week, I was showing an Uber rider some of the neat features in my Uber van. I hit a button by accident and a small mirror dropped down out on the ceiling which lets me see the people in the backseat! I could not believe that I've never seen it! I haven't used it yet, but it makes me wonder: what else is in my Uber Car(190,000 miles) that I haven't seen?

Anything unusual in your car?  

September Rider Quotes

As he got in the car he gave me a bottle of Corona and said, "this is for you.  You have to stay hydrated, but not while you're driving."

Bartender who was in foster care for ten years and graduated valedictorian of her high school: "I believe in being a victor not a victim."

"I was drinking Busch Lattees, that's how we say Busch Lite Beer in Ohio."

"My kids hate me because I'm so loud."

(6 am) Me: Are you heading into work? Male Rider: "I'm a better person than that." (?)

"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."

"I met the singer Mac Davis(who just passed away) and he told me his agent said he should write a "hook" song and he was playing around with his guitar and wrote, "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me."(#1 song in 1972)

New South Carolina resident from West Virginia: "Do you have any negative temperatures here? We're used to 12 degrees below zero."

"My wife and I owned several photo shops and we made ugly women beautiful."

Manager: "Everyone wants a job until you give them one."

"My Aunt is a lifelong Democrat, but she was so disgusted with the Democratic Convention that she removed her Biden sign and put a Trump sign on her lawn."

Me: "What do you do?" Male rider" "I do as little as I can."

"I have a pillow problem.  I have four on my bed and four more in my closet.  I had to donate some of them."

Me: "What's the secret of your sales success?"  Rider who has sold timeshare for 17 years: "Ask for the "friggin" money." "When someone says no, I take it as a challenge."

63 year-old male: "My mama told me that if you don't have anything nice to say, shut your mouth up."

"If they had to have a last meal, they would go to Red Lobster."

Female rider said to me, "You're my brother from another mother."

"I started a pageant website after I dated Ms. Georgia and it's now the largest in the world."

"As a bartender I frequently get proposals and death threats, sometimes by the same person depending on the day."

"This was the best Uber ride of all-time."(mine was his third Uber ride that day and the only three he's ever had)

"I care about what we serve, everything that goes out of our kitchen has my name on it. My food sales went up 300% in the first two months."

Front desk manager: "I was talking to this couple who just arrived and they said they almost didn't come because they read an online complaint there was a very mean manager at the hotel who locked people out of their rooms. I then told them I was the "mean" manager.  They said they would have to change it online since I was the sweetest person."

"My uncle was one of only five students who did not take the plane that killed 75 from Marshall University in 1970."

"I could never live back in Philly. The last time I was there I said hello to someone and they looked at me as if they were saying, "who the "F" do you think you're talking to."

"I was in Myrtle Beach a long time ago when the wind chill factor was 5 below zero."

"My Mom said if you ever want to be anything in life you have to go out and get it."

"Anyone who drives her should get double pay."

"My wife found me the 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 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."

"I sell masks and air ventilators."(He didn't have a mask to wear)

"We played five different golf courses in five days, but we don't know how to play."

"Grandchildren are much better to have than children."

Doctor: "I've been working a flexible schedule for two years and it gives me time to explore life.  I took a breathing course in Europe and it changed my life."

"The people down here smile, but then stab you in the back."(in customer service)

"Wear a mask, you don't have a right to kill someone."

Me to New York City Cop: "There's a lot of support for the police here." Cop: "Not so much in New York." 

"There are 1-2 million women in the country who are involved in pageants."

"Dogs give unconditional love. My 70 pound pit bull was a great partner during the virus."

"The toughest thing about being a manager is taking care of everyone's gripes."

"In Colorado this week one place had a high of 91 one day and a high of 36 the next day with snow."

"In Charleston it's like 5 to 1 women to men."

Businessman: "Not having to travel continuously has been a blessing during the pandemic."

"I've lived in 15 cities. My favorites are Charleston(has house on James Island), Denver, and Miami.

"When a mob approached Halls Chop House in Charleston, the owner came out with a gun and shot in the air which drove them away."

Male rider to me: "You're so nice and sweet." Me: "That's what my wife says sometimes."  Rider: "She should tell you that more often." Me: "I'll tell her you said that."  Rider: "Don't tell her my name."

Me: What is Dayton, Ohio like? Female rider: "It's sucky, humid, and no ocean."

After seeing my wife's picture the woman said, "she's beautiful, I love her smile." Me: "Me too." 

Me: How are things going with the virus in Carson City, Nevada?" Rider: "It's pretty smokey."(He thought I asked about the fires in the west)

Male nurse from North Carolina-"I was offered a 13 week job in a New York City hospital and I would have made about $98,000, but I turned it down because I didn't want to leave my wife with two small kids."

"My Mom's favorite song was "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder so she named me "Lovely."

"My nickname is La La and I named my daughter "Leyla" after the Bob Dylan song.

After giving him a mask the rider said, "you're the MVP of the day."

"I got the virus in early June and somehow did not give it to my wife.  She got it a few weeks later from her family."(Nevada rider)

"I'm producing a performance of "Godspell" in November outside in the parking lot at Broadway at the Beach."

"The only reason they love me at work is because I know everything and I do everyone's job."

"I don't always make the best decisions."

Male rider: "I go to my regular physician once a month to have my blood drawn and check on my overall health."