WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
I went to pick up OTM and I asked him, "How do you say your name, OTM?" He said, It's not my name, it's my brother's name." I asked him, "How do you say his name?" His real name is Trey, but he goes by "TJ." I asked, "What does OTM mean?" He said, 'Only The Money' is a nickname." I asked, "What is your name?" He said, "It's Jay, but I go by JT." I asked, "What name is on your account?" He told me, "YBM." I asked him, "What does that mean?" He said, 'Young Boss Makers.' I told him that I thought we were doing an Abbott and Costello routine.
REVISITING 9-11
The 9-11 attack occurred almost 22 years ago, yet the events of that day for many people are as clear as can be. My rider's experience was shocking when you consider that she experienced the first two hours totally oblivious to the world and what really scared her was that she could not reach her mom to tell her that she was okay.
She: "I worked in a grocery store five blocks from the World Trade Center. That morning I had a dentist appointment and I sat on the subway with my headphones on. I saw some people looking out the window at a fire in the distance, but it's New York, so I didn't pay attention to it. When my dentist was finished he tried to scan my credit card, but it wasn't working, so I said I would pay him next time. I headed into work with my headphones on and I arrived around 10:30.(almost two hours after the first plane hit) My boss could not believe I didn't know what had happened. We could only take cash, but when people were coming in dazed and full of soot, I broke down and cried. It took me three hours that night to walk home to Brooklyn and my mom was hysterical because I couldn't call her and tell her I was okay."
THE PRODIGY
I was driving him to a technical college, unaware that he was actually only 16 years old. He told me he had finished all his high school requirements and was officially attending the graduation in 2024. By then, he's going to have his associate degree as a software engineer and in cyber security. When I asked him what he was like as a kid he said, "When I was 3, I was put in kindergarten and at four years old I opened up my family's home computer." He told me he wanted to see what was inside and figured out how to do it pretty easily. He still has that computer and for fun he takes it apart and puts it together every once in awhile. Whatever he does in the future, you can be assured that he's going to be successful.
THE CHICKEN DANCE LADY RETURNS
Early in the month I drove her and she told me that when the rotisserie chickens come out at her supermarket, "We also yell out, "Yi-ha, come and get it." It's after that they put on some music and do a chicken dance. However, her second trip definitely put her in the category of my favorite riders. She told me, "I have 6 tattoos on my body, four are dogs of mine I lost, one is my dad who I lost recently, and the other is an eye on the back of my head, my neck." I used to tell my three kids that I needed eyes on the back of my head and I've had one for twenty years." She explained that her last tattoo cost $600, I said, "You're body is worth a fortune." She said that her son has tattoos all over his body.
Later she told me, "I've had some life, I've often thought I should write a book about it." Me: "What would the title be?" She: "Oh my God, what now?" I told her that I was going to keep a notebook in my car and we'd start writing her book next time. When I told my next rider about her eye behind her head, he said I should get a picture of it and hang it in my car. It's a great idea, we'll see if she'll go for it the next time I drive her.
HOW THEY EDUCATE IN GERMANY
The German couple have been living in Michigan for the past six years and next year they are moving back to Germany. He is an engineer and his wife does electroplating. According to Mr. Google, electroplating in simple words is: "A process that employs an electrical signal provided by an external power source to reduce cations of a desired metal in solution and produce a metallic coating. "She explained this to me, but it went way over my head. However, it was interesting how they got their training. He went to a university, but she worked sort of as an apprentice. They explained, "She worked for a company and got paid less since she was training and the companies paid the university for the training." They were a very intelligent couple who were both well educated and were kind enough to share their experiences with me.
THE RIDE KEPT GETTING BETTER AND BETTER
The young woman got in the car talking with her boyfriend and they were having some kind of disagreement. I was surprised that it became such a great ride, but she may have been more surprised than I was. She told me an unusual story on how she got her name, Lexie. "My mom could not decide what to name me and my sister. She kept talking about Alexis and Victoria and my brother was annoyed at the constant discussion, one day he just said, 'Lexie and Tori and that was it."
Her dad liked the name because he used to wrestle and was a fan of wrestler, Lex Lugar. When the two sisters used to argue he would send them into the corners of the room and he would announce the wrestling match. Her dad was her most significant parent growing up and unfortunately he passed away at the end of last year.
She kept giving me compliments such as these: "I love everything about this ride. I know funny and funny is you. You're a light in the world." Her dad made her laugh a lot and for 15-20 minutes I was able to entertain her and get her to remember her dad. When I told her that I was going to use some of her comments in my blog and then I added she was going to make my book too! I made her day and she made mine. I think her dad would have made me laugh, but in a way he did. I'm sure a lot of his personality has rubbed off on her-he did very well. She has a lot going for her.
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