October Rider Stories

 THE MOTIVATOR: I have given a lot of good rides, but this ride is definitely a Top 25 ride which will be impossible to forget.  My passenger was an executive with Wyndham Hotels, which I believe he said is the largest hotel chain in the world.(they own many other hotels) It was an 11 mile ride that turned out to be a 45 minute trip due to construction. He's in charge of training sales reps and other employees and has spent most of his life in the Las Vegas area and is moving to Myrtle Beach soon.  He told me he's given five outside speeches to groups and charged $10,000 for a 45 minute speech. I said to him, "I'm feeling a little guilty I haven't paid anything for your seminar today."  Having read a number of success oriented books over the years, he was amused that I actually finished a couple of his sentences.  His story is a great story on how he found his career. 

"When I was 23 and about to graduate college I was selling cars and sold a $14,000 car to a 20 year old kid. He told me he was going to pay cash, but my boss didn't believe him and told me to go to the bank with him.  I asked him how he could afford to pay cash and he told me that he sold time shares(in the 80's) and he made $23,000 in two months.  I decided right then that when I graduated I would drive four hours away to California and get a job with that company.  I did and I've been with them 35 years." Since he came from a working class background, his Dad cried when he saw his son first make $100,000 in a year in his 20's. He talked about how important passion and commitment are and that you become what you think about. I asked him if he ever thought about how different his life would have been if he hadn't asked that 20 year old what he did or if hadn't sold him the car.  He said, "I believe that somehow I would have found the right track because it was my destiny."  He gave me a $20 tip for my extra time and I went to pick up my next rider.  Her name was-Destiny and I was pretty fired up to talk with her.

THE SAILORS: When the woman said that her and her husband were sailors, it caught me by surprise.  It's not a typical occupation, but her story was even more unusual. They had both worked in management for Trader Joes and decided to give up their jobs to spend more time with their family. "We sold our house in Florida this summer and bought a sailboat.  We are going to home school are three kids, 4,3, and 1 on the boat as we make memories for them as we make a life sailing." She was very excited about spending time with her family this way and had already sailed up the coast to South Carolina and was on the way back to Florida before heading out for some longer trips.  She told me that her two favorite quotes were: "Time is a commodity you can only spend once." "Die with a memory, not a dream."  Those quotes could be her motto since she is living what she believes in.

THE INDIVIDUAL: If I had to describe the 21 year old college student in two words I would say he is  unique and brilliant.  He has overcome a number of health issues and seems to be far more mature than his age. He seems very comfortable in his own skin. I told him some of my experiences being different than other people during my life and he said that me, "embracing being an individual helps me feel better about it." He used to ask people this question, "what makes you most happy?" I told him, "my wife does." I asked him my standard question for male students at the College of Charleston, "how are you managing with the 70-30% ratio of girls to guys?" His answer surprised me, "I haven't had sex in a year and a half and I'm fine with it.  I found that it wasn't important to have sex with random girls several times a week." I told him that I often say that I talk to riders about just about every topic, but that's one I haven't really discussed.  He wanted to make sure I wasn't uncomfortable and I told him I wasn't.  He said he found that a lot of women who come here try to fit in by dressing and being like people from the south, instead of being themselves.  "I'm the kind of person who craves chaos," which is why he enjoys being a chef.  He's interested in psychology and the sciences and I have no doubt he will be very successful. When I asked him about other Uber drivers he explained that, "they all have different personalities.  Sometimes a driver says almost nothing, but he's a good driver and gets me where I'm going and that's a good ride. Other times, I have someone that we talk so much that we hug at the end of the ride." We didn't hug, but we both enjoyed the conversation very much and I hope to see him again.

THE COMPLIANCE OFFICER:  The young man from New York was taking an EMT class when someone suggested a different kind of job, doing COVID testing for actors and actresses working for  production companies. "When someone suggested I be a compliance officer, I said, "okay I'll give it a shot." But when I found out that the pay for two days was equal to a week's pay, I said, "THIS IS A GREAT JOB!" The most famous person he's tested is actor Bradley Cooper. He wants to help people and is saving money now to go back to school to be a paramedic. His two brothers are both in jobs that serve the public and I have no doubt he will have a successful career.

THE POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR: It is rare for me to talk to be able to talk politics and I got lucky to have a long ride with someone who has spent some time in politics. He's not actively involved in politics now, but he shared some of his stories and thoughts on politics today. "When I was an intern working near the White House, President George W. Bush knew me by name and remembered what classes I was taking in school. He came across a lot differently in person than in his speeches."  He also worked with Congressman Jack Kemp who was Bob Dole's Vice President choice many years.  He said that Kemp was a very serious guy and was not into small talk. He wrote many articles for Congressman Kemp.  I asked him if he thought if President Trump knew that the election wasn't stolen from him and he said, "he's just playing a game."  We both agreed that we didn't think he would run again.  It was a very enjoyable ride and I would have loved to talk with him longer.

THE TALKER: A few years ago I picked up a woman in her 50's and for twenty minutes she told me her life story.  She was lonely, but she was hilarious and it's one of my favorite rides. It's the only time a rider has ever completely dominated the conversation, until the other day.  I picked up a woman, also in her 50's, and in the same town of Summerville, South Carolina.  She did not take a breath.  Fortunately, it was only a ten minute ride, but she covered so many different topics, it was amazing.  She talked about having three kids, two who pretend she doesn't exist.  I heard about the little lizard she was given and how much she hated going to court, which was where I was taken her.  Her daughter set up the ride and all she had to do was tip the driver, which she did not do.  When she told me she had three kids, I jumped into the monologue and said, "I do too." I really wonder if every Uber ride she takes is exactly the same.

BOND, JAMES BOND

 Is there a bigger fictional character than British secret agent James Bond? How big is he? Take a look at this picture below.  Either he is very big, or I am an old, shrinking man? (don't answer that question) This picture was taken last week when my wife and I went to the movies for the first time in about two years.  The latest Bond film, "No Time To Die," was close to three hours long and for eleven dollars in change for two people, it was great entertainment.  I'm the one with the popcorn below and he's holding a gun.

Novelist, Ian Fleming wrote the Bond stories beginning in 1953, which makes James Bond older than me and Haagen-Dazs ice cream.(both 61)  The first Bond movie, "Dr. No," came out in 1962. The latest movie is the 27th film, although only 25 are owned by the same company, with two others owned by another company.  Three times a Bond movie has featured a hit song that was nominated for an Academy Award, "Live and Let Die," "Nobody Does It Better," and "For Your Eyes Only."  Many of the movie titles are about living, dying or killing, which does make sense for movies about secret agents.

The actors who played James Bond are mostly well known, beginning with Sean Connery and Roger Moore and also Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig, who is in his final performance currently.  Two other lesser known Bonds are George Lazenby and David Niven who both only appeared one time.  David Niven starred in "Casino Royale" which came out in 1967, was a spy parody of James Bond and I believe it's the only Bond movie I have never seen. Some of the well known actors and actresses in that movie were Ursula Andrews, Woody Allen, Orson Welles, Peter O'Toole, Angelica Huston, William Holden and Deborah Kerr.  One oddity was the first appearance of someone named Perter Prowse, who later became the physical appearance of Darth Vader! How would James Bond defeat Darth Vader? I think I'm going to look that movie up and see a different James Bond.

For almost 60 years, James Bond has entertained the world and you can be sure that in a few years there will be one more Bond movie to see and his legend will be bigger than ever. (and I'll probably be a little smaller too)

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Eating 9 Meals A Day

 Don't be alarmed, I am not doing it.  It does sound like fun, doesn't it? I have often heard that it's healthy to eat five small meals a day.  I probably haven't done that exactly, but I've eaten five or six times in a day.  A few snacks in between meals is pretty normal for me and some of them are actually healthy! I usually have at least one big meal a day and I usually eat too much.

Would you believe there is someone eating 9 meals a day and he's healthy? NFL quarterback, Russell Wilson eats about 5,000 calories a day so he can lose weight! This sounds like a great plan to lose weight, until you read what he's eating. You also have to have 3-4 hours of intensive workouts.  He eats almonds three times a day which automatically disqualifies me, I can't stand the smell of nuts.  However, he does eat chicken three times a day(5 chicken breasts) and that would be great for me. He eats fruits and vegetables and steak or fish in addition to 6 whole eggs in the morning.  

I'm hungry just writing this down.  If I was eating nine meals a day, what would I eat?  Here's a sample menu:

5 am: Start the day off with one of my favorites-cranberry bread.  Below is a sample of my first meal and I would not eat the whole thing, just a healthy slice.

7 am: Get some dairy and chocolate with my favorite cereal-Cocoa Krispies and some orange juice.(in a glass not in the cereal of course)

9 am: A peach or apple, something healthy.

11 am: A big salad with chicken thrown on top.  And, one more piece of cranberry bread.

1 pm: A couple chicken drumsticks to start the afternoon off.

3 pm: One small pint of Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream since I've been eating healthy all day.

5 pm:  One whole chicken with some corn and mashed potatoes.

7 pm:  Two fudgesicles or ice pops to start to wind down the day.

9 pm:  One more piece of cranberry bread to end the day.

That doesn't seem too crazy does it? It's 8 am, time for my second meal.  I think I'll have some cranberry bread, mmmm.

 

Update on My Orange Car

 Decisions, decisions, decisions, we all have them.  Some of them are easy and some of them are not. Six months ago, I went to the Ford dealership in town to buy a 2021 Ford Transit Passenger van.  My 2018 Transit van had over 200,000 miles as an Uber vehicle and two years as a courier vehicle. I figured at best I had a couple months left, but I knew it was time for a new one.

The plan was to get the 2021 van pictured below.  I had to order a car for the first time in my life and I wanted it to be orange.  Having lost my Dad a month earlier, I wanted the car to be a tribute to him.  His favorite color was orange and although he never would have bought an orange car, I knew he would have loved it.  In addition to that, my business name is The Sunshine Man and an orange car was a perfect fit.  My riders love the grey Transit I have now and I knew an orange car would be even better.

When I went to place the order, it would not go through.  I was told they were not accepting 2021 orders anymore in April and it would have to be a 2022.  The earliest I could expect the car would be August/September.  I would be notified they were making it when the time came.  Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, that moment has not come yet.  Although they have made other Transits, mine is not scheduled to be built yet.

I made two columns examining the choices I had.  I could get a grey 2022 Transit similar in color to the one I have now. I could put two, thin orange stripes on both sides of the car and it would look nice.  The second option is to wait for the orange car which will be at least 3 or 4 months longer or maybe 6 months. It came down to what I would drive when my current Transit could not be driven anymore.  I decided that I would rather drive my wife's older Mazda for a couple months and wait for the orange Transit.  The Mazda won't be as comfortable, but I think every time I get in this orange Transit I'm going to be grinning from ear to ear and I know my riders will enjoy it too.

I'm hoping for March, but we'll have to see when I can get it.

Weekend in Washington (Part 2)

 You don't have to comment too much when you have a great picture, but sometimes a picture does not say much of anything. Continuing my last blog about my adventures this past weekend in Washington D.C. visiting my brother:

A BOTTLE OF WATER: Below is a rare and unmemorable picture of me with a bottle of water that I bought near the Lincoln Memorial.  I've always had a problem with buying water and I bought this bottle of water since I was buying one for my brother.  I can remember buying water twice in my life for me to drink, but let's say I've done this less than five times in my life.  The water was just okay. I probably will never do this again. The open mouth I am showing is something my youngest daughter would do. (she is laughing right now)

A PIZZA FIRST!: Maybe this is the new me?  I have pizza only once or twice a year due to my kids eating all kinds of pizza as they grew up and they ruined it for me. (yes, I'm blaming them) My brother took me to a more upscale pizza place and I resisted ordering plain or pepperoni and ordered a pizza with sausage and bacon.  It was not the healthiest of choices, but it was good and it was something I've never done before and may never do again.  We ate outside and it was an experience. Yes, I ate it all.

A BASEBALL FIRST: My brother and I took a tour of The Washington Nationals baseball stadium.  The highlight had to be going into the bullpen and getting to throw a few pitches.  The picture below is just before I threw the first pitch.  Fortunately only the video of me tossing it was taken, the pitch did not end well.  I should have had my brother with a glove on the other end and maybe I would have come close to reaching him.  I threw a couple pitches and none of them were good.  I needed more time warming up I think.

PRESIDENTIAL WORDS: The inside of the stadium was filled with history. I enjoyed seeing the pictures of US Presidents throwing out the first pitch on opening day and there was a wall with some interesting quotes from Presidents.  I rushed the picture, but the two from Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon are worth reading.

WASHINGTON BENCHES: This could have been art on the streets of the city, but I think they were really benches-you decide:

THE PET AREA: On the way home I saw something unusual.  Before I had a dog I never really noticed signs for dogs.  At a rest stop I saw the below sign-PET EXERCISE AREA  AHEAD.  I had to check it out to see if their really was exercise equipment. (The large fingers in the left hand corner are not from some "Giant" about to pick the sign up, they are mine) I could not find any exercise equipment, but there were a couple of nice picnic tables for pets to have lunch. I really would like to talk to the person who made that sign.  I'm guessing that they have a pet.

It was a lot of fun visiting my brother for a few days and of course many times I said, "I feel a blog post coming," and now you have them.

Weekend in Washington (Part1)

I began the seven hour trip north to Washington D.C. to visit my brother early Friday morning and returned home to Myrtle Beach late Monday afternoon.  Over four days there were some interesting and unusual things to blog about and so I begin....

SPENDING CASH: I've blogged recently that I have a difficult time spending cash and it sometimes borders on the ridiculous.  I brought about $100 and although I spent almost all of it, it was not easy. On the way Friday I stopped at a 7-11 for gas and could not resist getting a soda.  I've been avoiding soda except on vacations, so getting a soda was a big deal.  I took out my two dollars and the cashier told me that they had no change so the drink was on her.  Since I had no change, I offered a dollar bill which would have paid for a good part of it, but she declined my offer. I walked out of the store with the drink and my cash rejected again.

THE APPLE STORE: Walking to dinner, my brother showed me the Apple store below which they had refurbished with a lot of money.  Going into an Apple store is a pretty common thing for people to do, but not for me.  However, this was Washington. D.C., and they do things a little different here as you can see by the picture below. It really is an Apple store!

WHERE ARE ALL THE PEOPLE? On a Friday and Saturday night the residential area my brother lives in, did not look anything like a Friday or Saturday night in a busy place.  I'm used to seeing a lot of people and cars in Myrtle Beach or Charleston, but in Washington, D.C., not so much and it's probably due to the virus.

THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL: One of the less traveled memorials, it is a magnificent structure with Jefferson standing in the middle inside.  This picture however, is me, a random woman, and just the legs of Jefferson.  This is the kind of picture you never see, you have to see the rest in person.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT: She does not get enough credit, but at the Roosevelt Memorial she does:

MARTIN LUTHER KING'S statue is tremendous in size and this picture shows the Washington Monument peaking out of the trees. On the stone it says, "out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope."

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: My favorite memorial by far.  From the back of it looking across the water to the Capital.  And, above Lincoln, a bunch of windows(?) that no one ever takes a picture of this scene.

Looking From A Different Perspective

 I enjoy reading things I don't agree with and I like talking to people who have different views.  I know that's pretty unusual, but I think it's important to look at things a different way.  But how often do you  do it?  Fortunately for me as an Uber driver, I have 60-70 strangers in my car each week and we get to talk about almost every possible topic.

At the end of August, I found myself on vacation in a hotel room in New Jersey. It was early in the morning and my wife and dog were both sleeping.  I was done sleeping and needed a place to read without waking them. On the other side of a wall was the bathroom and I turned the light on and got on my stomach and started to read.  Taking a break, I turned over on my back and saw the room in a different way.

The first picture says, "Europe."  Was it really made there or is the name of the company that installed the ceiling called Europe? I have no clue.  I wonder how many customers have ever seen "Europe" on this ceiling over the sink? The second picture shows the light coming out of the bathroom and also the hall closet. I think there were 15 of those pieces of the closet that you can see.

It was not very exciting taking in these sights around 6 am in the morning, but it was different.  What things are you not seeing in your house or on the way to work or at work? Frequently, we take things for granted, maybe there's a "Europe" in your life and you just haven't seen it yet?

The Kellogg's Plants Are Closed!

 It seems like a cruel joke, but Kelloggs, the cereal company that makes my favorite cereal, Cocoa Krispies, is closed.  About 1,400 employees are on strike about a number of pay and benefit issues. Their plants are in Omaha, Nebraska, Battle Creek, Michigan, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Memphis, Tennessee.

I have taken inventory and I have five full boxes of Cocoa Krispies left.  I don't think I can make it to Thanksgiving.  Does this mean there will be less than zero boxes in stores? Are there still shipments coming in? This can't even be blamed on the virus.  I'm waiting five and a half months for Ford to make my car, what if I can't get Cocoa Krispies for five months?

Here's some things you don't need to know about Cocoa Krispies: It appeared in the United States in 1958, which makes it 63 years old. It is two years older than I am and also Haagen-Dazs Coffee ice cream.  It is called Coco Pops in Europe. In our country, it was originally represented by a monkey named Jose and then Coco the Elephant and Snagglepuss (the cartoon character) and then Ogg the Caveman.

Some of the slogans used in the past were: "Keep your eyes open on the monkey you see, I'd always like a bowl of Cocoa Krispies," "With every bite so chocolatey, oh, everybody wants my Cocoa Krispies," and "Coco Pops is so chocolatey, it even makes the milk turn brown." (and if you use orange juice.....)

Did you know that Cocoa Krispies contains a good source of 8 vitamins and mineral and are low in fat? I didn't know that, maybe I should eat more of them when it's better times. I looked up a list of the top 100 cereals and Cocoa Krispies was only ranked 47.  In the top ten were Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, Corn Flakes, and Cap'n Crunch. Some of the cereals ranked in front of Cocoa Krispies were: Puffa Puffa Rice Cereal, Hidden Treasures Cereal, Waffelos Cereal, C-3PO's Cereal, and Nerds Cereal.  I did not make these names up.

So, if you're looking for Cocoa Krispies, I may have the largest collection and they are not for sale.  I guess I'll have to wait before I send them a letter asking for more to be delivered to the area.  I'm going to limit myself to only one bowl until the strike is settled.  Maybe I should check the store closest to me and grab whatever is left?