THE DISC GOLFER: If you've never heard of Disc Golf you are not alone. It is a growing sport that is played around the world and has around 10,000 courses. It began in the early 1900's and is an individual sport that you throw a disc at a target using golf rules to get through the course with the least amount of throws. There was a tournament in Myrtle Beach this month and I drove the wife of one of the top players in the country. She was a photographer for one of the disc companies and her husband does this full-time, about 47 weekends a year around the country. The grand prize in Myrtle Beach was $2,000 and her husband was winning on the final day. She gave me quite an education on our ride. Since my son plays disc golf I asked for her husband's card, but instead she gave me a very nice pin with her husband's name on it. It was a very unique ride and a lot of fun talking with her.
THE YANKEE STORY: I picked up an older man who was in town to visit a friend. He's been a big Yankee fan his whole life so we had something in common. I have some great Yankee stories, but I never had a chance to tell him. He had to tell me his story, but it took him awhile to get to it. Several times he started by saying, "It all started in New Deli," which cracked me up and intrigued me. He lived in New Dehli for a few years when he was a child. His parents were best friends with George Weiss and his wife who were neighbors. George Weiss was the General Manager of the New York Yankees for 29 years and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. Weiss introduced my rider to all of the Yankee stars in the 50's, Berra, Mantle, Rizutto, and DiMaggio too. He had quite a story to tell, but time ran out and I only heard a summary of it, but, it started in New Dehli!
THE TWO THIRD MATES: The couple met going to school in New York where they earned the title of third mate and they are licensed to drive ships. They were very outgoing and easy to talk to and the guy said, "we're just regular human beings, we're not big deals." She worked on the Mississippi River and he was waiting for his ship to be repaired in the Charleston dock.
THE KICKBALL TOURNAMENT: Yes, this does say kickball. Like most people, I haven't heard of kickball since I played it in grammar school. Would you believe there is an adult traveling tournament in the country that pays $125,000 to the winning team at the end of the year? I had two players in my car who were on the coed team from Wisconsin. They play on a baseball field with baseball rules. Most of the players are in their twenties, but my riders were in their 30's. They were in Myrtle Beach for our tournament which paid out $3,000 to the winning team. Each player pays $60 for the tournament. There were about twenty teams playing from different states. It sounded like it was good exercise and a lot of fun.
THE FIRST DATE: When I think of a couple going on a first date I usually think of a young couple, but that's not always the case. I'm guessing that my two riders were around 40 years old, but they were wearing masks, so I'm not sure. They had an odd story. They had met five years earlier at a wedding. She is from Indiana and he is from Philadelphia and they were in Myrtle Beach sort of on a first date. When they met five years ago she was married and he was with someone as a last minute substitute for a person who could not go to the wedding. He really hit it off with this woman and her husband, but they are no longer married. The woman looked him up through someone else and they decided to meet in Myrtle Beach. I was only with them a short time, but the guy was very funny. He said, "we met on n Sugar Daddy.com."( a site where younger women are paid by wealthy guys for dates and more) He said, "She stalked me on Facebook after not seeing me in five years and "Bambi is her "striptease-ego" name." I don't know how this relationship turns out, but the woman will certainly spend a lot of time laughing.
THE SINGLE MOM: When she got in the car I thought she was in her mid twenties, until I found out she had six children. The most striking thing about her was easily her bright pink hair, which reminded me of Julia Roberts wig in the movie, "Pretty Woman." She was putting on her make-up and she explained to me that she was raising her kids all by herself and she was actually 36 years old. She was only getting some support, but was making money by selling creative things on her Facebook site and through a local store. She was overcoming a couple disabilities that she has and had some big plans for her business. She was determined to do "whatever it takes to keep her family together." I thanked her for her inspiring story and told her that her ride was a great way for me to end my day driving.
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