AUGUST'S MOST MEMORABLE RIDERS

 BEACH WEEK-OHIO STYLE

The outgoing couple from Ohio have been married 39 years and they told me two incredible stories.  The first week in August is a special week for their family, because they come to North Myrtle Beach.  The family tradition started 73 years ago.  Three brothers who were in World War 11, made a pact that if they survived the war they would vacation in North Myrtle Beach the rest of their life. Their father bought ten small plots of land to build on that and it cost around $175 each. The three brothers were all golfers since growing up their Dad built a golf course around their house. The Dad knew that North Myrtle Beach would be a big tourist area and it was a great place for his family to vacation.

The second story I almost missed, because the first one was so interesting.  The husband is retired from an invention he patented in 1986. The idea came from his four year-old son.  They were feeding the dog together and when he poured water into the bowl with dog food, his son asked, "Why does the water turn red?" He had no idea since he told me that dogs can't tell color. He was no longer permitted to burn pallets and wood in his backyard and wondered if he could do something with it. He said, "I drove 100 miles to a dog food manufacturer and asked the manager if I could watch their manufacturing process and the guy thought it was the craziest idea he ever heard." He developed a process to make colored mulch and fifteen years later sold it to a large company that does millions of dollars in sales. One moral of this story is-listen carefully to your children's questions, you never know where it might lead.

WHAT WAS THE BEST PART OF YOUR WEEK?

After I asked the couple that question about their vacation, the woman replied, "What was the best part of your week? I said, "Right now and I can prove it." I told her that today was by birthday and I'm working all day. She couldn't believe it was my birthday, because her birthday was the next day.  I said, "Can I sing you Happy Birthday?" She replied, "Only if I can sing it with you." We sang each other Happy Birthday and had a lot of fun doing it.

89 WAS THE MAGIC NUMBER

Over three days I typically will give 65-75 rides, but there were a lot of short rides and I was over 85 in the final two hours.  I was also getting close to my money goal for the weekend and then I knew that my last ride would be ride number 89. I picked up four friends in their twenties from New York. There was one girl and three guys and the girl had long, very bright pink hair. It was striking, so I complimented her on her hair and asked, "If my hair was pink and I was driving this orange car, would it clash?" She said, "No, it would look great, you can bleach it."

The ride was two miles long and we did a lot of laughing. The three guys were from Staten Island and I recited many of the high schools that I visited while working early in my career. When I went to drop them off, the girl asked if they could take a selfie with me and we did.  My bright red shirt and her bright pink hair made for an amazing picture.  I'm hoping she still sends it to me.  As I pulled away I realized I was $6 short of my weekend goal and then I got a tip from my last riders of $8. It was a very generous thing for them to do since the ride only cost $4. I would have told them I was going to write about them and post their picture, but I'm still waiting for that picture. It's the closest I'll ever come to pink hair.

50 YEARS TOGETHER

The day before I celebrated my 39th wedding anniversary, I drove a couple who just celebrated their 50th anniversary earlier this year. I asked them what the secret was to a successful marriage and the husband said, "You can't give up when the road gets bumpy." They both taught in special education for a combined total of over 60 years and he also taught high school football for 40 years. They have children and grandchildren who are following in their footsteps. The wife said that when she earned her degree over three years there were times that she studied at night, slept two hours and went to school in the morning. Although she is still working part-time as a substitute, they have been doing some traveling and enjoying life together.