ONE
How unique is the name, "One?" I asked the young man how he got his name and he told me that, "My mom named me "One" because I was her first son." I asked him, "How many sons does she have?" He told me he was the only one and I said, "You're lucky you're named, "One," you could have been, "Only." His middle name is Alexander, so he is "One Alexander." I said, "Alexander the Great would have loved your name." He told me, "If I have a son, I'll call him, 'King Alexander.' " He said that a friend of his named his son, "Sir James." When the kid was in school and the teacher called him James, he would politely say, "My name is Sir." He was a fun guy to talk with.
HONORING HER SON
My rider didn't get a chance to tell me the story of her son, she explained she worked for the Jimmy Miller Foundation in California. They have helped people with physical and mental illnesses for the past 18 years. Having read through their website it is truly a remarkable foundation that works with the ocean to help a wide variety of people young, old, and veterans. I found out that my rider had worked with Elton John on his Aids Foundation which led her to being the co-founder of this foundation. Her son was a surfer and had a surfing business. He had suffered a bad shoulder injury and at the same time was going through a marriage break-up. Suddenly, an undiagnosed mental illness appeared and he tragically took his own life at the age of 35. On the website is this message for this important organization, "We could not save Jimmy, but by sharing his life and his passion for surfing with the world, we've been able to save countless lives through ocean therapy. This is the legacy of Jimmy Miller and the foundation in his name."
WHO KNEW THAT PHYSICS WAS FUNNY?
It was another great ride from the airport. My rider said he was in physics and he spent twenty years fixing nuclear cameras. What he does now is different, but since I didn't do well in Physics class forty years ago, I don't really know. I only have a few words to explain it: atomic particles and radioactive isotopes. I don't know his job title, but I'm going to say he is a Comedic Physicist. (He may be the only one and I'm sure he'll love his new title.)
It was clear immediately that he was not just some intelligent scientist with no personality. His performance in my car should have been filmed. He did tell me he's never performed in front of people, but explained, "When I drive in an Uber, I figure if I make them laugh, they won't hit me." His education was different, because his dad wanted two kids and he had five. "There was no money for me for college, so I borrowed $5,000 from a bank" and he had his uncle co-sign for it. He went to an electronics school for two years and said, "You can get a good education without going to college." Whatever his job is, he does make a six figure salary.
At the age of 62, he has two adult children around 40 years old. He said, "My wife kissed a lot of toads before she found her prince. I married the first girl I kissed-I didn't think it would happen again. On our honeymoon, my wife's antibiotics messed up our family planning." And to top it off-he's been married 42 years.
Here's a few more of his greatest bits: "My dad taught me all about physics in how he disciplined. His hands were as big as dinner plates and his fingers were like sausages." "I thought it was odd that my grandparents in Kentucky were first cousins also, until I realized that in Kentucky the only options you have are cows, corn, coal and cousins." "My dad never told me about the four rings of marriage, the telephone ring, the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering."
I didn't want to end the ride and I'm sure he enjoyed me laughing at everything. He said, "The ride is on a company account, so if you want to take a few left turns you can." I think he could talk about anything and make it funny, even physics.
A REAL KNIGHT?
When the woman told me that she was from Minnesota, I quickly explained that it is one of my favorite states, because I've been able to driver so many incredible people from there. Her response was, "That's a lot of pressure you're putting on me." I laughed, but the laugh was on me, because now I have another terrific story from Minnesota. Unfortunately, it was a pretty short ride. She was meeting her two sisters in Charleston and of of them was bringing a fake sword. Yes, I did write, "Fake sword."
I told the woman a few of my Minnesota stories and asked her what she did for work. "I do a lot of things, I'm an attorney and a Danish Knight." As an attorney, she sues insurance companies and I'm sure she's very good at it, but she's a knight? She has been an honorary counsel for the country of Denmark since 2014. In January, it was announced that she will be officially knighted at a ceremony in the near future. She is the first knight I have ever driven, which I think is as improbable as having a woman in my car with a Super Bowl ring. (And that happened too!) She really is a knight and one of her sister's for fun is going to knight her with her fake sword. She was delightful to talk with, I just wish I had asked her to send me a picture of her sister "knighting" her.
SOUTH DAKOTA'S LOSS
The young woman made my day. I told her that I'm old enough to know better than to ask how old a woman is, so I asked, "How old were you last year?" She laughed, but was confused. She said, "25, no, I'm 28." The ride went that way as she told me when she entered college in South Carolina she decided she needed to change her life. She moved out to South Dakota to start her life over and one day got up and said, "I'm not drinking anymore." She told me that South Dakota, "Is the most beautiful place in the country and it's heaven on earth." Her family is in South Carolina, so after a few years, she came back to South Carolina and got a great job and she's doing wonderful. Her stepdad has a hearse and appears on the television show, "Street Outlaws." She said, "One day I had to borrow the hearse to go to work. I pulled into the drive-thru and ordered two cheeseburgers. The cashier asked me, 'Is there anyone back there?' I said, 'That's why I ordered two cheeseburgers." I know she's going to read this, so, "I'm wishing you a magnificent 2023 and keep on the same track you're on."
"I NEED A HUSBAND"
From the moment she got in my car, the woman from the Carribean was fun to be around. It was a short ride, but she told me she was in town taking a break and getting a change of scenery. She just had a big break-up and she came back to where she went to college.
While she was changing her destination on her phone, she said, "I'm not a techie. I need a husband to do these kinds of things for me." I started laughing and told her that my wife was "The techie" in the family and she does a lot of those those things that I'm not very good at. When I pointed to the picture of my wife on our business card, the woman enthusiastically said, "I can be a sister-wife!" I told her I would tell my wife and of course she laughed when I did.
A short time later I was able to take the woman on another short ride and I gave her some career advice. I told her that she should go into sales or customer service because people instantly will like her. She obviously liked people too. I hope she stays in town so I can driver her again and see what her progress is on getting a job and a husband.
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