JULY'S MOST MEMORABLE COMMENTS

FOR SOME REASON, COMMENTS AND TOPICS THIS MONTH WERE MORE EXPLICIT THAN NORMAL.

 She: "My friend flies to Africa to get her hair braided, because it costs only $5 there. It's a few hundred dollars here, but her flight cost $1,600."

Him: "I'm a Defense Contractor and I'm looking for ISIS and al-Qaeda in Africa now."

The young woman who I drove two months ago who said she was a part-time traveler and a future chef, told me on this trip, "My cook book should be coming out next year and it's called, "One Hundred Ways to Make Your Mouth Climax."

Just arriving from Ohio, he asked, "Do you have a funny bone here?" (Asking about comedy places)

Married for 54 years, I asked the couple from Long Island, New York, "What is the secret to a successful marriage?" I watched the wife who was grinning, she said because she was afraid of what her husband would say. He said, "Fight every day, because it doesn't matter anymore."

Me to the woman: "You have a great laugh." Her: "I do?" Me: "Don't tell me no one has told you that before." Her: "They usually tell me to shut the fuck up."

Woman from the South, "When I come into work I say, "Good morning" to everyone.  If they don't say anything to me, I say, "Is your mouth broken?"

Celebrating 21 years of marriage I asked them how they met. She: "He was my Chemistry tutor in college." He: "I got her grade up from an F to an A and then we went out to celebrate it and then I scored." She: "We did not do that!" (He misspoke)

The husband asked, "Why are there so many trucks that are raised up driving around?" His wife, a middle school teacher answered immediately, "Small penis syndrome."

Talking about the picture of the Super Bowl ring hanging in my car, he said, "Athletes don't know how to manage their money, some of those rings probably wind up in a porn shop." His wife corrected him, "He means pawn shop." He said, For some athletes it could be the same."

Him: "Did you know in Japan they have Kit Kats that are seaweed flavored and salt flavored?"

Couple from Las Vegas: "We loved the thunder and heavy rain here. We only get 2-3 inches of rain each year."

I started telling a story: "I had three women from Iowa yesterday," and the guy interrupted and said, "You lucky dog." Me: "There is more to that sentence."

Explaining to the Michigan couple that Derek Jeter mostly grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the woman said, "I met Derek Jeter. He has long hair and plays for Boston, right?" (no)

The woman whose husband is an introvert said after the hour ride, "You've said more words on this trip than my husband has in 17 years."

The guy said, "I'm a scare actor and I work in The Zombie House. I love scaring the crap out of people."

Young woman: "I know it sounds bad and I hate to say this, but I really appreciate COVID, it helped me work remotely and travel more."

The male Dentist: "It was a pleasure driving with you, you should charge extra for psychological counseling."

He: "When I was in Zimbabwe they were switching over to our currency and you could buy their old money. I paid $25 for a ten trillion dollar bill."

Woman: "We don't have a Super Bowl ring to show you, but my lack of knowledge is probably enough."

I told her that I work a 12 hour day driving and she said, "When do you take a nap?"

Woman: "I was toilet trained when I was 1 by my older brother. Now I have to toilet train my child." Me: "Have your brother come over and do it."

Him: "I was on "The Voice" eight years ago and sang "Yesterday" and got to go to California."

She explained she wasn't good in math, "I don't math well, that's why I went to law school."

He explained why he went to law school one year after she did, "We like to make bad choices together."

She: "My real name is Beatrice, but when I was one I decided I would only answer to "Tata" and my family still calls me that name today." (in her 40's?)

Picking the couple up from an amazing house, he said, "We don't use Uber much when we go out for dinner, but we're trying not to be assholes."

The female teacher explained that one day a six year old boy approached her with a closed hand and she thought he said, "I have a small penis for you. I asked him to repeat it and he opened his hand and he had peanuts for me."

Robotics consultant: "The most important thing today is to be passionate about what you do and have people be able to see it."

She: "After being a dental hygienist for 30 years, I went to flight attendant school and was one of only 19 out of 40 who graduated."

Bragging about his wife's success he said, "She's a three-time Emmy award wining TV producer. Her biggest one was for "The Doctors," but she's produced for Dr. Phil, Montel Williams, and other talk shows."

Young man: "Three different times I've seen vehicles explode.  A couple during Sandy and also a garbage truck." Me: "I'm going to feel safer after I drop you off."

Talking about all the yes sirs and mams in the south, the guy from New Jersey said, "The only time we hear sir in Jersey is when the cop says, "License and registration sir."

She: "You've never seen a dolphin and you've been here four years?."

I asked the couple, "When did you get married?" The guy answered, "Nine months ago, it's been the best nine months of my life."

I told him that one middle aged man said that he likes going to Wal-Mart to pick-up women, the middle aged man said, "It's better in the frozen food section at Publix."

She: "I'm a Zoo Supervisor with a Masters in Psychology and I'm doing some work with National Geographic."

"If you're drinking and riding a bicycle in The Isle of Palms you can be pulled over for a DUI, I know people who were."

The couple had just come out of the two hour time-share seminar and said, "They were good at their job. They even said that we needed to buy the time share so we could get away and help our marriage so we wouldn't wind up divorced."

He was from New York: "I was genuinely struck with how friendly people were in the South my first day.  I left my wallet on the counter of a store and a guy came running out after me.  In New York, that would have been gone."

"I'm an Aluminum Excruder, at times the temperature is 1,000 degrees."

He used to be chef and now he works on the road as a truck driver.  I asked, "Do you like being on the road? He replied, "Hell no."

GMC truck salesman: "I have several sold cars thirteen minutes from out dealership, but we can't get them because they are short truck drivers and we have to wait to have it delivered."

He works for Caterpillar Inc. and told me, "We have 200 engines that cost $250 million each, just sitting around the factory waiting for parts."

As the CEO of a large health care system, he said we had 200 out of 7,000 employees about the vaccine mandate. I told everyone we can't have patients getting sick from us.  About 90% of the 200 were people who were always complaining about something."

I asked the couple how their experiences were with Uber drivers on this trip and he said, "Is this Undercover Boss?"

She: "I've been in a lot of Ubers, three times I was in a minor accident and twice a driver was pulled over." Me: "I need to get you to your destination quickly."

"We sat at Wal-Mart for two hours last night and could not get a ride." (Saturday 8 pm in Charleston area)

She said, "In Miami, Uber drivers never help with your luggage."

I asked the woman who has been married for 45 years, "What is the secret to a successful marriage?" She: "Hard work and patience."

She: "In Wisconsin, the drivers don't talk to you."

Woman: "When I heard his nickname was "Carlos Danger," I was intrigued "I walked into a party of mutual friends and walked up to him and said, "You must be Carlos Danger." (His real name is not Carlos but they've been dating 2 1/2 years.)

Him: "We fell in love during a billion dollar wedding we were working at. I was playing guitar and she was playing the violin and we were smiling at each other while we were playing. The wedding was for a well-known Chinese guy and it was in the Indian Ocean."

The two guys had a lot of luggage. One said, "Take us to a hotel at Broadway at the Beach, we need to check our luggage for a couple hours. Me: "Sure, I don't know if they'll take it." Him: "We're good negotiators, we're in town to negotiate the price for a plane." (He did it)

Telling the young couple about the guy from Minnesota who wasn't big on mini-golf, but "thought his whole life about stripper mini-golf," they got into it.  The guy said that you could, "have a stripper driving around to each hole on a golf cart." His girlfriend added, "there should be a stripper for every hole."

The woman in her late 20's(?) told me, "I don't have a family or kids and when I'm on vacation I like to wear a bikini, but I felt a little uncomfortable around a bunch of kids, do you know what I mean?" Me: "I've never had that exact experience, but I understand." She: "I like to curse too and I had to tone it down."

The young, professional couple told me, "We had two bad experiences with Uber, in Miami and here. Both times we went out together and the next day Uber notified us that we were charged extra money because we overloaded the vehicle and it was just us." (not large people)

She lives a short distance down on a gravel road. "I had two bad experiences with Uber Eats. The first one was the driver stopped down the block when the road was gravel and called me to come and get it.  I was just out of the shower and it was cold out and I didn't go and he just left." The second one was I saw the guy pull up in my driveway from my second floor window.  I walked down, open the door and he was driving away. He took a picture of my pizza, wings and soda on the porch and he left with them. He booked out of there."

As the couple got in my car I realized they were going to see the minor league baseball game. I said, "I have a rule in my car that if you're going to a baseball game and I'm driving, you have to sing, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." Immediately, the female pharmacist broke into the first line of the song, "Take Me Out To the Ballgame," which started the ride with a lot of laughter."

The big Boston Red Sox fan from Boston had just moved here. When she saw my New York Yankee hat in the car, she said, "I'm going to have to get the fuck out of this car!" Later, when we arrived at her house I pulled into the wrong driveway and she said, "Just drive right over the grass."

She said, "He was known for dressing fashionably." He added, "How the mighty have fallen."

She asked an unusual question, "How come there are no high signs in Myrtle Beach?"

Him: "The first time I came to Myrtle Beach I was ten in 1954."

"To have a friend, you have to be a friend."

She: "I'm a house manager, I manage a couple's estate which has three properties in three different states."

He's from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Derek Jeter grew up and he has met him several times. "I also played football in high school with Greg Jennings." (Played with the Packers)

Visiting the south she said, "I just want to get a no-salt salad."

Her name was Miluzka which comes from Peru and means, "The light of my eye."

Healthy woman in her late 20's: "When I had COVID recently I was so sick I could not walk into the next room for three days to test myself again."

Him: "My single is coming out next week, "Broken Heart" (Last name is Rouseau)

Young woman living here from Philly, "I still force myself sometimes to say hello to people."

Me: "What kind of work did you do used to do?" Him: "I was an X-ray Physicist."

Picking up the young realtor he said, "I'm embarrassed that I'm still out at 5:30 am."

"We have a landscaping problem at Chipotle and we have to close the store sometimes when it rains, because the water comes in the store."

Two young woman who were on the beach all night, "We can't wait to get into our bed."

I asked the two young woman with four large suitcases, "How long is the trip to Thailand?" She: "It's 26 hours."

He said, "I'm 31, but I'm really an old soul."

As a Domestic Abuser Counselor for eight years, she said, "I was working with the abusers, it wore me out."

My Dad was in the military and we lived in Japan for a few years. The day we arrived, I was completely out of it after the plane ride and the jet lag.  He was showing us around and I said, "Where are we?" It was complete culture shock. I tried to learn Japanese, but I couldn't do it."

I told him that he has an advantage working in the South since he's from the North.  He said, "I know, I walk faster."

She: "We live in paradise, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Anywhere there's family is paradise."

The 25 year owner of a limo business looked around my car and said, "I like how you service your customers."

When I asked the guy with the nickname "Unbreakable," how he got his name, he said, "It's not a very good story." (Only the second rider who did not want to discuss their name)

When I told him that I was 61, he said, "I thought you were 41." When I told this to two women, one said, "I thought you were in your early 50's."

She: "I'm going to give you 10 stars." (there are only 5 to give)

"I've had good Uber drivers, but you're the best."

The woman who said she was a Diamond Uber Rider told me, "You're my best Uber rider ever."

She: "Thank you, you really changed my day."

As I pulled up to their destination, the young woman in the back yelled, "We don't want to get out."

"Your voice sounds like you've been a radio broadcaster."

After entertaining her with Red Sox stories on a very short ride, the woman said, "That was the best Uber ride I've ever had."

My Favorite Riders in July

WHO IS CARLOS DANGER?: I have spoken with hundreds of people about their unique or unusual name or nickname, but this is the first time I've heard that a name made a big difference in someone's life.  The couple in my car had a rough day.  The airline lost a piece of luggage and the rental car place closed before they could get there.  Almost an hour and a half from visiting his parents, they decided to take an Uber. I told them I would make them forget their day and we were going to enjoy the ride and we definitely did.  Dating for two years they had an interesting story on how they met.  His college friend gave him the nickname "Carlos Danger" for some reason. His name wasn't Carlos and he did not seem dangerous at all. However, his girlfriend for the past two years said, "When I heard his name was Carlos Danger I was intrigued. I went to a party of mutual friends and walked up to him and said, "You must be Carlos Danger." He explained that they talked very easily with each other and became friends. Several months later she told him that she could not be friends with him since he was already in a relationship. It wasn't until months later when he was out of that relationship, they became friends and more than friends. They were fun to talk with and we did laugh a lot.  She told a story about visiting Myrtle Beach as a child and playing putt putt golf which turned into an awful day when her Dad shattered his ankle trying to avoid a ball she hit on the very first hole.  She has never played since.  I told "Carlos Danger" that a great way to make this day a lot better would be if he was going to propose this weekend, he could do it right here in the car.  She seemed pretty enthusiastic about that, so I have a good feeling that many years from now they'll talk about that terrible day in Charleston-until they got into an Uber.(All the best to you both)

THE BACHELORETTE PARTY: I was not at one, but I had four delightful young woman riding with me from Wisconsin and one of them was getting married in a couple weeks.  It was late afternoon and they were going back to their rental place to go out that night.  They were not used to Uber drivers talking, so they enjoyed the stories I told them.  When I asked the bride-to-be a question, she said, "I do." I replied, "You can't say I do to me, you're getting married soon." It was an easy laugh I got, but I know they had fun at the end of the ride. One of the yelled, "We don't want to get out." I said, "I have to go home to my wife and have dinner with her, I can't bring four young women with me." Another one said, "Our last driver was good, but you're the best." They couldn't wait to read my gift-the list of my favorite comments from last year. I gave the bride to be the list and since I am almost married 39 years, I wished her and her husband 39 years of happiness and after that it was up to them.  They were the ride of the day.

THE DENTIST WHO CAN REALLY PAINT

He has had a 25 year career as a dentist, having his own practice and he is working for someone else now. The most interesting part of his career may have have been before he became a dentist at the age of 40. He had started college many years ago, but did not finish it.  He worked on several different kinds of jobs, from being a tour guide to a painter and many others.  He took out his phone and showed me three paintings that really looked like pictures-they were extraordinary.  He said, "I sold the last one to my sister for $2,200. Just trying to find his way, he finally decided to go back to school and graduated with a 3.7 average.  A professor told him that he could do anything he wanted and suggested he go to dental school which would fit in with his artistic nature. He said it was very hard especially with only one other student around his age.  He's been happy with his career and he was fascinating to talk to.  When he got out he said to me, "It was a pleasure driving with you, you should charge extra for psychological counseling." I certainly didn't do any counseling, but his life experiences I can share with other people. He'll be the one doing the counseling, just through my mouth. And, he's already had 25 years experience of doing great work in other people's mouth.

THE CEO

Just before the pandemic hit, I had the pleasure of speaking to the President of the American Medical Association.(AMA) I've always regretted that it wasn't a couple months later when I could have asked her about the pandemic at the very beginning.  This month I feel I made up for that, because I was able to speak with the CEO of a large, non-profit health organization in Virginia which has been around for 120 years.  He's responsible for 7,000 employees and we discussed the challenges he and his staff had the past two years. He was very appreciative of his staff.  He insisted that everyone needed to be vaccinated, telling them, "We can't have our patients getting sick from us." He did not lay anyone off during the pandemic and did not fire anyone who refused to get vaccinated. He said, "We lost 200 people who left willingly, but about 90% of them were people who frequently complained about other things." He was very frank saying that they "probably messed up on some things, but overall we did very well." Listening to his perspective was very different than other conversations I've had in my car.

THE FLYING DENTAL HYGENIEST: It was very early and she was very much awake when I drove her to the airport.  She's a substitute flight attendant just for the past few months and she's been a dental hygienist for 30 years.  She is very outgoing and is a natural dealing with people. She said, "I graduated with 18 others out of a class of 40.  It's tough, they are very safety and health conscious which helped me with my background." Her enthusiasm for her new career is very obvious and she's trying to get a permanent position in the near future.  She told me that being a flight attendant is her, "final destination." I have no doubt that she's going to be very successful in her new career.

131 MINUTES OF LAUGHTER: I have had a lot of laughs driving complete strangers and I've had a couple rides that I had to wipe tears from eyes from laughing.  This is the first time I can say that my stomach hurt from laughing when I was done, unless it was that I was really, really hungry. The couple was going from Myrtle Beach to the Charleston Airport and they were a delight. Dating only four months they seemed like they had been together for years. The ride was over two hours long and we hit it off immediately. It was obvious I was the right person to drive them and I am certain that I set the bar really high for any Uber driver in the future to give them a better ride.

He was from Long Island, NY and with me being from New Jersey, we had our first connection.  His family was meeting his girlfriend for the first time and it was no surprise that it went very well. They both live in Colorado where two of our kids live and we're visiting for the first time this summer. He works answering 911 calls and has helped people in the past to re-direct their life which interested me a lot. He also has experience as a chef and baker too and worked in a bed and breakfast.  She works in marketing for USA Volleyball, a non-profit organization which was founded in 1928 in New York. The night before they just so happened to eat at The Claw House, our favorite restaurant. I told them that with their background they should open a bed and breakfast in the future and I said it a split second before he was going to say they had already discussed that idea.  Then, we really had fun when I suggested they have volleyball rooms or suites with an actual net in the room, maybe over the bed. His girlfriend said, "There would be no spiking." There could be a big mural inside the place showing all the different USA volleyball teams across the country that she has visited and they suggested that the dentist who paints (see story above) could do the painting. He could have a room there and also do check-ups in the bed and breakfast.

I went from one entertaining story to another and we all laughed together. I told them about the guy from Minnesota who wasn't a big on mini-golf, but said, "I've thought my whole life about "stripper mini-golf." Hearing that, the boyfriend suggested that, "The stripper would drive around from hole to hole", but his girlfriend added, "There should be a stripper for each hole." There's no doubt in my mind that this couple has a great future ahead of them and I already told them my wife and I would come out to stay at their bed and breakfast in the future, when they make their dream a reality.

My YouTube Debut

Last night I appeared on a YouTube show called, "Show Me The Money." It was put together by a couple drivers and featured six Uber/Lyft drivers from smaller markets.  The other markets represented were: Portland, Oregon, Syracuse, New York, Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, San Diego, California, and Denver, Colorado.

The challenge of course was technical on my end.  My wife was helping me and then rescued me when her laptop indicated she didn't have a camera, (Which it did) and so I used my phone.  As the show began I went to mute my phone and disconnected myself. Immediately I ran outside the door to see if my wife was still here, but she had just left.  Miraculously, I was somehow able to get back on the show just in time to introduce myself. In the two hours we talked about many topics related to driving with Uber and Lyft. Below is bad picture of me opening my mouth and fortunately there was no food inside it. It's blurry, but it's an action shot.

I'm not sure if you ever held your phone with one hand and talked into your phone while you were looking at yourself and other people on your phone. I'm sure other people have done it, but it was a little uncomfortable.  I probably should let it stand up against the laptop, (As my wife suggested), so I didn't look so close to it. Here's a picture of me on the show and I'm pretty sure my face looks fatter than usual.  I don't think it was the turkey drumstick I ate before the show. (Yes I did)

I'm not that great at taking pictures, but trying to take a good picture of yourself on a replay of  a YouTube show, well, it's not going to be very good.  Below is the mugshot with my name right there. It kind of looks like one of my Dad's smiles, but these are the most interesting pictures.

One of the drivers on the show from Syracuse, New York, contacted me the next day and asked if I'd be interested in being a guest on his show, so we'll see how that works out.  I may have another chance of getting a better picture!

If you'd like to watch a couple minutes of the show the link is: https://youtu.be/xXlG9hJ0XcI

DON'T EAT THESE FOODS ON A LONG ROAD TRIP?

I love to drive, but driving on a long road trip is different than doing normal driving. You make a lot of plans for your trip, you pack snacks, you look up places to stop and eat, unless of course you just like to "wing it."

This morning I came across an article by Hannah Doolin which was written six years and I was amused by the comments she made in this article entitled, "8 Things You Should Never Eat On A Long Car Ride."

1.  Let's start with the first one- "Greasy fast food- burgers, fries, and breakfast sandwiches can make you sluggish." They also can keep you from starving and enjoying a break on the road.  Does this look good or what? It has pickles which I would get rid of and it looks like a beer to the right, but no burgers and fries, really?

2. No soft drinks and seltzer? I'm fine with the seltzer, do people really drink that? She said you could get "bloating, gas, indigestion, nausea, and general abdominal pain." I know soda is not good for you, however, this seems a bit extreme to me. If she said it caused your face to break out with pimples, okay, I'm staying away.

3. Tomatoes? Okay, I can stay away from tomatoes and pizza and salsa, but pasta sauce and ketchup? What am I going to put on the burger or the chicken parmesan? According to her this could, "irritate your bladder?" We might have "frantic searches for a rest stop?"  If you're driving with my wife and my puppy, there will always be frantic searches for some bathroom or some patch of grass. (For our dog)

4. Citrus foods like grapefruits, oranges, lemons and limes will make you go to the bathroom? Would you be peeling an orange in a car on a long drive? No way, but grapes and peaches sound like a good and healthy choice.

5. Milkshakes may cause an upset stomach? I can go without a milkshake, but driving 70 mph on a highway can cause an upset stomach too. She also includes ice cream as bad for you. You know that burger and milkshake, not a bad combo in my book. But, a long trip without ice cream? I wouldn't count on that happening.

6. Can you really go on a long trip without chips or pretzels? It's possible, but why not make a mess in the car? It's a lot more fun holding the steering wheel with dirty hands, my wife loves that when I do it. Driving while eating ribs and chicken, that's the best-trust me. According to the writer, this may cause you to "retain water." Do we want to hold the water or stop frequently to get rid of it? I'm confused about this one. I'm voting for retaining the water for many hours, at least 8 or 9.

7. You should not drink excessive amounts of coffee and tea. Wouldn't it be better if you don't drink and just fast the whole trip? If everyone did that, wouldn't that mean that bathrooms along the way would be empty? I'd like to see that, wouldn't you?

8. We can't have candy either? No hard candy? Does that include chocolate? They "Might give you a burst of energy, but you could pay in discomfort later." When she indicates that they may cause discomfort, in my view if you avoid all these things, you will have discomfort for sure.

I'm not sure where she lives, but I would love to pick her up and go on a three-day, 27 hour road trip and watch very closely to see what she eats and drinks. Unfortunately, I can not find out where she lives, so my wife and puppy and I will have to make the journey ourselves out to the mid-west.

Coming in August: more travel adventures for Odin.

Hey Eileen, Your Speed Is Obscene

A few weeks ago I was driving south on a highway in Delaware and I saw an electronic sign with the message, "Hey Eileen, Your Speed Is Obscene."  I don't know who Eileen is, or why she's driving so fast, but I did laugh.  If you've been driving over the past few years, you have probably read a sign like this before.  It gets your attention, it might make you laugh, but does it slow you down?

Many states use these kinds of signs because they do believe it has a positive impact on how we drive. We pay a little more attention to how we put the foot on the pedal and we talk about the signs too. This week I saw these signs, "Camp in the Mountains Not In The Left Lane, " and "You're Not A Firecracker, Don't Drive Lit." Below is a bug warning and this one should scare you and make you laugh.  Considering the size of the bug, it's probably from South Carolina where the insects are large.

While driving it's important to pay attention, but don't laugh too much because that could be dangerous too. Below are two more since you're not driving and if you enjoy some dark humor you should enjoy these:

                                            

Five Tacos In A Month?

If you told me a few months ago that I would eat five tacos in one month I would have told you that you were crazy. I'm not sure I have ever eaten a taco before this month, but it's possible I've had one, maybe.  When we were up in New Jersey visiting our daughter a few weeks ago, I went through "Taco Training." Yes, I just made that up.  They brought out the below "Taco Holder" and then had to explain to me that the Taco sits in the holder until you're ready to pick it up.  I thought you eat it out of the holder, but it's already difficult enough to eat a taco.  When I eat food I go right at it, but turning your head and hoping the insides don't fall out all over the place? This is some messy eating for sure.

I ate three tacos that night, but I have no idea what was in them. It was pretty good, although I kept thinking it was a deformed Matzah. Did you know there is a "right" time to eat tacos? Yes, it is lunchtime, because the word taco means "light lunch." I thought it might mean, "You're going to be hungry later." The biggest taco was made in Queretaro, Mexico on November 20, 2011.  The taco was 335 feet long and it was made with carnitas as the filling.  I don't know what carnitas is, but it doesn't sound good at all.  About 15,000 people ate this taco, so I guess it was really big deal.

The other night we went out with friends and we ate at Taco Mundo and I was faced with the choice of getting tacos or tacos.  I chose wisely and I went for the healthy tacos, one was meat and the other was brisket.  They were both pretty good. Here's a picture to make you hungry, now or later.

Americans eat 4.5 billion tacos each year. Supposedly, half of the country visits a Taco Bell every 11 days.  I think I was at one once when my wife had a craving when she was expecting, which was about 26 years ago.  I know I'm overdue for a visit, but National Taco Day is October 4th. Do people celebrate National Taco Day? 

Am I Ted Lasso?

If you don't know, Ted Lasso is the main character in a sports/comedy/drama, TV show. The show is called "Ted Lasso" and it came out in 2020.  It is on Apple TV and it has won a number of awards in it's first two years. It is about an American college soccer coach who is hired to coach an English soccer team which he is really not qualified for and has little chance to succeed at.  However, his sometimes folksy and almost always optimistic style, wins over his team and the British media.

Our oldest daughter suggested that my wife and I watch it a long time ago. When we have been in New Jersey the past few months, we have watched a number of episodes and it is very good.  Optimism comes through very clearly in this show and I could not help recognize it in myself and what many of my riders experience when they get in my car.  This is how writer, Martha Sorren explained the show, "And while it's ok to feel down at times, this character is a great example of the power of optimism.  That personality trait just makes the show that much more uplifting to watch.  Sometimes the best start is just believing that things will be OK and moving forward to try to make that belief a reality."

d

With all the difficult things happening in the world today, this is a show that celebrates positivity and kindness. These are the kinds of things that people need today.  Throw some fun into your life, make someone laugh and feel better and make each day better for you and the people around you. Hanging from the inside of my car just over my head is a sign that says, "If you can't find the sunshine, be the sunshine." I've gotten plenty of compliments about it, but the riders who read it and say nothing still get the message.

On the Uber app, a rider gets to see a couple things about me.  One thing is this message: "I can't change your life, but I can change your day." I'm pretty sure that Ted Lasso would like both of those comments.  Maybe the better question is, "Is Ted Lasso really Jeff Hoenig?"

Happy 4th July-How Many Hot Dogs Are You Eating Today?

Since it's a big holiday today, Independence Day, it's a good time to look at something very important in our society-eating hot dogs.  According to The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans eat about 20 billion hot dogs a year and in 2020 about 261 million Americans ate hot dogs. About 150 million hot dogs are eaten on July 4th and 19 million hot dogs were eaten during the 2020 baseball season. (2021 stats are not out, they may be still counting) 

I am sure that the council is not biased at all with their estimates, but they also say that the average American eats 70 hot dogs a year. I don't consider myself average, but 70 hot dogs a year? I'm not eating that many, so who is eating my share of the 70?  I don't eat 70 rotisserie chickens a year, so why would I eat 70 hot dogs? 

Joey Chestnut is the champion hot dog eater.  He is listed as a competitive eater and has won the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest fourteen times.  Last year, he ate 76 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes.  He finished off in ten minutes the amount of hot dogs that the average American eats in a year.  Maybe he's eating my hot dog amount? Here he is in action.  I think watching me eat a chicken may be more appealing.

Illinois is know as "The Hot Dog Capital of The World" and apparently Chicago is know for it's hot dogs due to Jewish immigrants who became vendors to make a living there. There is even a Hot Dog University in Illinois that teaches you everything you need to know about hot dogs.

All I know is that I am not eating a hot dog today, but you go right ahead and eat a couple for me. I'm going to stay home and see if we have any more chicken in the house.