MISS TARANTULA
It doesn't seem to be very nice to refer to a woman as "Ms. Tarantula," however, in this case I am sure she will laugh about it. One of my favorite rides last year who had one of my top comments of the year, was a young woman who told me, "I'm going to a reptile convention. I help rescue exotic animals and right now we're helping a tarantula." I'm not sure who was more excited about this ride this month, it was great to see her again. She wasn't wearing a fancy hat, so I didn't recognize her. She told me that she was 21 which surprised me because in addition to being extremely personable, I thought she was in her mid twenties last year.
She had a couple great stories: "I was in an Uber going over the Ravenel Bridge and heard a big pop, the tire blew out. I'm terrified of bridges and the car scraped it's way off the bridge. The driver made sure I was okay and offered to pay for the ride, but he was upset about the tire. I ordered another Uber and when I got in the car I was excited about what happened I talked for three minutes without realizing the driver was deaf."
Of course, her adventures with tarantulas continued, "I rescued three tarantulas and the first day one of them got loose and my sister found it crawling up my back. I was screaming and gave them away to someone else that night." She promised to send me some pictures of the tarantulas, but I'm still waiting. If I could give her a ride every month, I think I'd be writing about her every month.
INCREDIBLE
If I didn't see him get in my car, this would have been only a good ride. My next to last ride of the month, was a very personable and outgoing guy. He had a good sense of humor and was very comfortable with who he is. He drives a truck, but since it was a short ride our conversation was limited. From New Hampshire, when he was younger, he played basketball and actually played against the legendary Harlem Globetrotters. He told me that he played, "The bad guy," against them. In school, he also was very good at throwing the discus which he enjoyed I think more than basketball.
Did I mention how tall he is? I did see him walk towards my car and once inside I said, "I'm sure no one has asked you this, but, how tall are you?" He suggested that I guess and I said, "7-1?" My second guess was 7-4, but, he finally told me, "I'm 7 feet 8 inches tall." His dad was 6-9 and when he was born, "They knew I was going to be 7 feet tall." I asked him a number of questions about his experiences with his height and I could tell that he's had a lot of fun with it. and accepts who he is. I was almost at a loss of words, but it was a pleasure meeting him and he was nice enough to take the below selfie with me. He's a pro at doing this too, notice how much taller he is then my van!
GOING OVER THE BORDER
I was taking him to one of his two jobs and he said he was Russian. I made mention of the Russian bill I had hanging in the car and he told me he left about a year ago. I asked, "Why did you leave Russia?" He replied, "Putin is crazy." He spoke good enough English that I could understand most of his story. He tried four times to leave Russia and once was put in jail. He was able to get a sponsor and was able to seek asylum. A friend helped him to get a job at a hotel and at a restaurant in Charleston. He is very happy to be in the country and he will soon have to go in front of a judge I believe to extend his visa.
THE PROFESSOR OF NEUROSCIENCE
I was impressed immediately by him, but he didn't strike me as a professor. I thought he was in sales with his very outgoing personality. Working at MUSC- The Medical University of South Carolina in downtown Charleston, he was heading to the airport. He really enjoyed the 24 foreign bills in my car and he had to take a call with with boss. He said to her, "I'm in an Uber, do you want to see the swag in his car?" I was laughing as he showed her a bunch of things in my car. He does a lot of media events and takes questions from them concerning neuroscience and there's no question he's good at it. I'm hoping to drive him again since our conversation was interrupted by his phone call.
MOVING FROM NEW YORK
When you move from New York to South Carolina it's a big step, but what if you're legally blind? The 29 year-old woman had a 16 year-old cat and she did have a truck move some furniture for her. Her mom did come down to help her get settled, but unfortunately, she moved into an apartment complex she called, "The projects." She didn't stay there very long and when I met her she still had a few more things to get over to her new place, 25 minutes away. When I pulled up she said, "You've got a lot more than you bargained for." I filled up my van with stuff including a litter box that did not stink, and we were on our way. She was very nice and told me she moved to, "Get a change of scenery." We arrived in the dark and I had to point her in the direction of the back of the building and I brought everything upstairs for her. She had said I should leave everything on the curb, but I'm not leaving a legally blind woman in the dark to carry a bunch of stuff up stairs. The ride turned out to be fifty minutes all together and I believe she had her parents in New York give me a $45 tip for my efforts on the app. It was my final ride of the day and I got some serious exercise.
"CHARLESTON FOUND US"
I often ask people how they wound up living where they are, but this couple had a very unique answer. Originally from South Africa, they've been together for thirty years. They moved to New Zealand and two years ago decided to live in The United States. They knew they wanted warmer weather, so they spent six months traveling looking for the right place. In North Carolina they were talking with a woman working in the store. "She asked us some questions and told us to visit Charleston-we didn't have any idea where it was." They love the area and you could tell they made the right choice. She's a pastry chef and he's a retired CPA. I asked him, "Was it an easy transition for you to be retired?" He said, "No, I'm unhappily retired, I'm going to get back to do something soon." They were a pleasure to drive and both had a good sense of humor.
THE TWO OH THREE
The young man was impressive and told me about the business he and his sister had started. In their twenties, their business focuses around their home state, Connecticut. The area code is 203 and they have a local brand of clothing and products that they now sell in two stores. I checked out their website and they are very involved in local events. They realized that there wasn't any good business that advertised the state and now they have two stores. They do hundreds of local events to advertise their business also. He just got a full-time job in advertising and he will still spend time helping his sister out with the growing business. Below is one of their pillows for sale.
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