Most Memorable Rider Comments in June

The couple with no children has 7 rafts, about 7 beach umbrellas, and around 15 beach chairs.  He joked, "We're living the luxury of life and you don't have it."

She: "My sister owns a dental lab.  My kids thought they didn't have to brush or floss because Aunty would get them new teeth."

She: "My dad, (80 years old), pulled the recliner one inch from the TV screen, turned up the volume, and was watching a documentary on the octopus at 3 am. He wanted it to be like he was at the movies."

She: "A week before our honeymoon I told my husband he was too hairy and I waxed off a lot of his hair on his chest.  His nipples were bleeding and he was crying." (She has never seen Steve Carrell in the movie, "The 40-year-old Virgin.")

Talking about his girlfriend next to him, he said, "She's too gorgeous to have a sense of humor."

She: "I was told that Myrtle Beach is warm, but the people are warmer."

"I grew up a big Red Sox fan, but when they started winning I went over the the dark side and became a Yankee fan."

Meeting a 24 year-old year girl on vacation, the 30 year old guy said, "She makes me feel like I'm in high school." (In a good way)

She was tired, had not eaten late in the afternoon, had not had anything to drink and I brought her home after leaving her boyfriend in hospice care at the hospital. She said to me,  "I am a local, I get the 15% local discount."

She: "She was a jailer, she tried to get them to Jesus, but it didn't always work."

The very successful and well known chef has worked all around the world. He said, "I prefer living in Myrtle Beach because I'm a nobody here."

"My mom was a big Red Sox fan and every Christmas she would buy a Red Sox ornament and put it on the tree.  Since she passed away, I have a second tree that I decorate with with just Red Sox stuff." (Yankee fan now)

He: "In 2004 when I was serving in Iraq I was given an Iraqi bill with Saddam on it and I've kept it for good luck."

Woman living in Myrtle Beach two years from the northeast, surprised me when she said, "I haven't found people to be very friendly here."

Backing out of the driveway I had to watch out for their friend's little dog.  He said, "Don't worry about it, it's 16 years old, it's time to go." Me: "How can I go home and tell my wife I ran over a dog?" He: "Don't tell her."

She: "My parents met in a high school parking lot.  He was trying to get her attention and he bumped into her car with his car."

He: "The worst ship ever built was not the Titanic, it was partnership."

She: "I sell security systems by phone and I beat out all 18 men who sell in the field and I've won two trips to Hawaii and one to Mexico."

Female dentist: "Five per cent of my patients are a nightmare, always complaining about something."

She: "I exude what I want to get back."

Explaining how it's important to be in touch with nature and walk on grass, he quoted a country song from Eric Church, " Walking barefoot in the mud takes the rust off your soul."

"My driver told me that she took someone to New Jersey from the Charleston area and the guy bought her food, paid for a hotel room and she cleared $750 for the trip."

Cleveland Browns fan, "When they win the Super Bowl, they'll probably burn down the city. I may burn my house down."

Same Cleveland Browns fan, "I have friends who have a bank account for Super Bowl tickets one day when the Browns make it and their wives know what the money is for."

The owner of the HVAC company arrived at a wealthy woman's house: "She was in a panic and angry and told me she was dying from the heat.  I said that air conditioning has only been around for 100 years and mankind has been around 10,000 years and she was going to make it. She said, 'You're a wise ass.'"

The young woman had been struggling with her fear of driving, so I gave her some advice. Ending the ride she said, "I love you so much, you're the best one ever." (Driver)

Aerin: She told me, "My mom couldn't decide between an "a" or "e" until she saw a magazine article that said said Estee Lauder's granddaughter's name was spelled like this."

Explaining that her parents moved she said, "My parents ran away from home."

Mourning the loss of her dad last year, the young woman on Father's Day said, "When you're angry you can't see the light."

Me: "What do you do for work?"  She: "I run colleges. I manage three colleges in three different states."

In the pool business he had an off day on a Sunday: "A millionaire woman called, texted and had an emergency that her heater wasn't working in her pool. I explained to her that at 6 pm on a Sunday I could not get someone to go out there and fix it and it wasn't an emergency."

The woman from Charleston said, "Myrtle Beach is cleaner and the landscape is better than Charleston."

I asked the man who will be celebrating 40 years of marriage next month, "What's the secret of a successful marriage?" He said, "Communication, you have to talk about things. Sometimes my wife, who is Italian, says to me, 'What's the matter with you?'"

Microbiologist: "I get to nerd out all day."

He: "I work with people in Spain and they are very chill."

"I know a guy named Real whose last name is Deal." So, he's the real deal.

The woman from China said, "China is a cashless society. I didn't use it for six months."

She: "I run child care for people who are at conventions."

He: "I grew up living next to the Mara family." (Who owns the football Giants)

Builder in Myrtle Beach, "It's tough to find land to build another house."

I asked her, "Have you noticed a difference down here compared to up North?" She: "They're as slow as s_ _ _."

ABOUT ME

"I love your energy and vibe."

Getting out of my car he said, "It feels like I learned something."

She: "I love that."

She: "I appreciate the display."

He: "Thanks for the stories."

He: "That was the most interesting ride we've had."

She: "You're the most passionate Uber I've ever had."

My Favorite June Riders

                                             

THE VALLEY GIRL FROM MICHIGAN

I thought I was going to cheer her up and make her day better, but it turned out that she was easily my best ride of the weekend.  I found her sitting on a bench in front of her hotel.  She had had a rough night.  She had been meeting a girlfriend she hadn't seen in ten years, but their airbnb reservation near the beach was canceled. Her friend got mad at her last night and wouldn't let her stay in the hotel room so she slept in the lobby of the hotel.

She is very successful in selling alarm systems on the phone and explained, "I beat out all 18 men who sell in the field and I've won two trips to Hawaii and one to Mexico." The secret to her success is her personality, from her voice to her infectious laugh. She said, "They call me a Valley Girl and think I come from California." Her name is Trisha, but one guy couldn't understand her, so she says, "Pippa is my stage name." I threatened to record her laugh and play it for other riders when they don't laugh at something I say and that just made her laugh more.

I brought her to a hotel on the beach, but we were both laughing even when she got out of the car. She told me that a week before her honeymoon, she told her husband, "You're too hairy." Straight from a movie scene from the movie, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" with Steve Carrell, she tortured her husband by removing his hair and making his nipples bleed and him cry. She has never seen the movie and I told her that it was her homework.  Will I remember her? She told me that people say, "I look like Elaine from Seinfeld and I dance like her too." And, she has an unforgettable laugh.

THE WELL KNOWN CHEF IS TOO WELL KNOWN

I had a short, but interesting conversation with a very successful chef.  He has worked in some of the top restaurants in the world and has worked with some of the top chefs also. He has opened a number of restaurants and in some cities he is recognized as he walks down the street.  He enjoys the east coast the most and in particular Myrtle Beach, because he says, "I'm a nobody here." I was laughing when he told me that they, "Don't like paying six figures here." I explained that I knew as soon as I got here that the pay was considerably less than the northeast. It was clear that he likes to be in charge and he's the one who knows what to do and how to do it in a kitchen.  I didn't tell him that I don't know anything about cooking, but I can recognize a very successful person when I meet them and he definitely is one. 

CAN A RED SOX FAN CHANGE INTO A YANKEE FAN?

There is no bigger sports rivalry than the Yankee/Red Sox and it's gone on for many decades. You could say it's gone on for almost a hundred years since the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees. My final ride of the month is one I will talk about for a very long time.  The high school principal from Connecticut, told me, "I grew up a big Red Sox fan, but when they started winning I went over the the dark side and became a Yankee fan." I have never heard of a sports fan switching teams when their team started winning and switching to their biggest rival! I can't wait to "entertain" Red Sox fans with this story.  He also told me this very touching story, "My mom was a big Red Sox fan and every Christmas she would buy a Red Sox ornament and put it on the tree.  Since she passed away, I have a second tree that I decorate with with just Red Sox stuff." He was vacationing with his wife and they were a perfect ending to my day.

DRIVING MICHAEL JACKSON

He told me that he worked at Legends, the venue that has performances with celebrity look-a-likes.  Then he said he was Michael Jackson and I had to take a closer look at him in my mirror.  When he was around five years old he won a talent contest as Michael Jackson and he turned it into a career. He's performed in a number of places including Las Vegas for three years. He said, "When I finally got adjusted to the heat, it was time to move on." My wife and I saw one of the shows a few years ago with a different Michael Jackson.  I forgot to ask him what his favorite Michael Jackson song, but I did say to him as he was getting out, "You're not going to do a little moonwalk when you get out, are you?"  He laughed, but I did watch him walk away just in case he did it for me.

ONE CHICKEN NUGGET FOR ME?

I picked him up at McDonalds and he had ten chicken nuggets in a bag. He told me I was taking him to his girlfriend's place to "Steal his car back." He didn't take it, but the way it sounded I said, "Since you're stealing a car, shouldn't I get one chicken nugget so I keep quiet?" He said that they were his girlfriends and she would be upset. I encouraged him to tell her with a straight face that you had to give me one, but he didn't think he could do it. I wouldn't of taken one from him, but they did smell goooood.

TALKING NEWS WITH A REPORTER

I had a very enjoyable, long ride with a local television reporter on a Sunday morning.  She was in her mid-20's and from Los Angeles. We were able to discuss some local issues that she has done stories on and I explained to her what I do.  We had a good laugh about people here complaining about traffic, because Los Angeles and New Jersey have a lot worse traffic than Myrtle Beach.  

She impressed me because she made a point of saying that she likes to report on both sides of a story, although she isn't given a lot of time to do her report.  She does come up with her own ideas which she seems to enjoy. She told me that she frequently has to, "Mask her emotions," when she is speaking to the public, no matter what the topic is.  I waited until the very end of the ride to tell her that I hadn't seen her on TV, because I don't have one.  I'm sure she is going to have a very successful career wherever she winds up working.

PICKING UP POSITIVE

Sometimes when we go to pick someone up they are not using their real name.  Usually, it's a nickname and I've picked up a lot of interesting nicknames, such as Trrrip, Dynamite, and  Unbreakable.            .  However, when I saw the name, "Positive," I couldn't wait to pick her up. She had a terrific smile and a very good laugh and she definitely was positive.  She told me that her mom started calling her that and some of her friends do too. She said it was easy for her to be positive, but not so easy for some of her friends. She said, "There's a lot of negativity in this world. it's not that easy for people to change." She apparently had a difficult time during the past couple years with COVID and that helps her keep her sunny disposition.  

Who Is Talking in Your Kitchen?

It's a pretty easy question, right? I mean you always know who is in your kitchen, or do you? The other  morning just after 6 am, I honestly did not know.  When something unusual happens I always like to look at the possibilities and figure out what was the most likely answer and maybe you can help me get the right answer.

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED: I woke up in my office where I usually get my last few hours of sleep.  I had a good night's sleep and walked into the bathroom outside my office. Coming out of the bathroom, I walked towards the kitchen to get my water bottle and that is when I heard voices. (The voice did not say I should build a baseball field as in the movie, "Field of Dreams")

There were two voices, one male and one female and they were LOUD. I am always quiet in the morning because my wife and dog are sleeping. They were not speaking English.  I thought it was Manderin. (My wife said I have to put Manderin, but I've never thought or said the word in my life. It sounded Japanese or Asian?) 

The voices lasted a second or two and as I walked into the kitchen it was quiet. I stood there looking around very puzzled.  We have no TV and there's no radio, so I ruled that out immediately.  My wife's phone was in the bedroom on the other side of the kitchen. The door was closed and it sounded like it came from the kitchen. I did not hear the same sound the rest of the day.  

When my wife woke up two hours later, I told her the story and she laughed.  Here are the possibilities:

A. My wife was charging two different phones, one of them had the volume off and no sim card.

B. The second phone had the volume on and no sim card.

C. Her laptop was off and on the counter.

D. Her phone was next to her bed and she did not hear any loud noises and the sound I heard was not behind a closed door.

E. My phone was in my pocket and the sound was off and it was not coming from me.

F. I checked the pantry in the kitchen and there was no one there.

G. The windows and porch door were closed, it did not come from outside and I don't believe our neighbors speak another language. Their three dogs bark, but do not speak another language other than "Dog."

The only logic explanation is B. If there is no sim card, can something suddenly come on the phone for a second or two?

I have no idea, but unless you come up with some other explanation, that's what I'm going with. Waking up early while everyone's sleeping is really going to be fun now.

A Belated Father's Day Story

It's never too late for a good story so here it is:

In San Antonio, Texas there is one of the world's greatest places, but don't take my word for it.  In 2018, this place was given that recognition by Time Magazine.  The place is called, Morgan's Wonderland, and it's one of the most unique amusement parks in the world.  It is for children and adults with disabilities, who get in for free. Since it opened in 2010, they have had over one million visitors from all over the world.

How does something like this happen? Where does a great idea come from? Gordon Hartman, was a philanthropist and a former home builder. In 2005, he started the Gordon Hartman Foundation to benefit kids and adults with special needs. His daughter, Morgan, was born with a rare disease that left her with cognitive and physical ailments. In 2006, he watched his daughter try to play with some kids at a hotel pool, but they walked away.  From the pain of watching that, he built an amusement park in her name.

It took him four years and 35 million dollars to build the park. Former basketball great, David Robinson, and actress, Eva Longoria, helped open the park and Toyota became a sponsor in 2012.  There are wheel chair accessible fields of all kinds, waterproof wheelchairs in the splash park, and many other accessible features designed for kids and adults with disabilities, such as a day camp and a medical facility to provide medical assistance of all kinds.

Many, many years ago, a man took his two small children to the park.  He used to sit and watch his kids play and think, why can't there be a place that kids and adults can both have fun? That man was Walt Disney and that's where Disneyland and Disney World came from. Gordon Hartman's daughter, Morgan, is thirty years old now. Because of her dad she will have friends to play with the rest of her life and a lot of other people will have a whole lot of fun.

I'm Positive This Will Help You

                                                                                               

Over the years I have read many books and articles that discussed the value of thinking positive instead of negative.  There have been a lot of times in my life that I have focused on the positive that comes out of a situation instead of the negative and I have found it has helped me a lot.

Recently, I read an interesting article that talked about a study that shows that an optimistic outlook on aging can help with memory loss. The study was from the Yale school of public health.  The author, Mathew Wilson said, "Positive thinking may be more powerful than you think."  The study took place over 12 years and with 1,700 people over 65 and it showed that, "People with positive thoughts about aging had 30% better results than people with negative thoughts on aging.

The article listed these five things everyone can do:

1. Memorize positive words to change your mindset.  One example I can give is, when something happens, do you react to it or respond to it? Responding is positive, reacting is not.

2. Write down the positive things in your life. It's easy to go over what we did wrong or bad things that happen to us, but I have found that focusing on accomplishments and things that are good, is far healthier.  

3. Set attainable goals and chart your progress. Working towards reachable goals and keeping track of them is always helpful and it is good for you.

4. If you're feeling sad, try smiling more.  The article said, "Research has shown that smiling more reduces your heart rate and blood pressure in stressful situations." Don't try to smile more, just do it. The sign in my car which many people have commented on and some have taken pictures of is this, "If you can't find the sunshine, be the sunshine." Smiling is a form of sunshine that we can give more of.

5. Imagine positive outcomes. People worry way too much of what the worst thing that could happen, focus on more positive results-it's good for your health.

Recently, I copied down a bunch of quotes I liked on all different topics.  I didn't realize I would be using them so quickly.  I hope you enjoy these and I believe you will:

"Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day."

Alice Morse Earle

"Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you."

Mary Lou Retton

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope."

Helen Keller

"Enjoy life. Accentuate the positive, not the negative. It sounds so trite, but a lot of people will pick out something to complain about rather than say, 'Hey, that was great!' It's not hard to find great stuff if you look."'

Betty White

   

The Doggy Door Saga

We have had our dog Odin for well over two years, however, this year has been the year of the doggy door. It all began early this year maybe January or February.  My wife said, "We should get a doggy door so Odin can go in and out of the screened porch and we won't have to open the door for him all the time." I said okay and several weeks or a month later, we rehearsed our lines again and nothing changed.  I believe it was three times that we did this and finally one day I came home, the doggy door was sitting there in a box.

If you don't know, I am not the one who puts things together, I only help out. My wife is great doing this, so the door was going in when she was ready to do it.  Several weeks went by and my wife asked if I wanted to help her with the door.  Finally, the door went in and that was the easy part.

In case you're wondering, the pet door was invented by Sir Isaac Newton, well maybe.  He is given credit for having a hole in the wall for his cats in the late 1800's, but legend has it that the invention goes way back to the 14th century in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." (A servant looked through it) The oldest known cat door is in Exeter Cathedral in the UK around 1305 AD.

Back to 2023: We would stand at the door encouraging Odin to go through and bending down to open the flap so he would go in.  This was more difficult than when we were holding the screen door open.  Cheering him on to go through the door morning to night made me wonder how Isaac Newton got his cats to go through it.

Below is how he looked during this learning time, just staring at the door on both sides.

It took a couple months and now some of the time Odin goes through all by himself.  Pictured below is the action shot of him doing it and after he went through it. His head is through the door.

Odin doesn't go through all the time, but it may be half the time. One day, we'll be able to enjoy this old invention just like Newton did. We're hoping that time comes in 2023.

Amazon Prunes

It was a little bit over a year ago that something amazing happened in my life-I had my first cup of coffee. We were on vacation in Orlando and I had been constipated for two days and I knew I had to do something drastic before traveling home. I ordered my first cup of coffee from the bathroom and before I could say, "I like coffee ice cream a lot better," the magic of coffee worked almost immediately.

I really thought it would be the last time I would have coffee, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. Last week, I had the same problem and I knew I had to do something about it. I didn't have any prunes, so my wife made me a cup of coffee..... and nothing happened. 

I ordered a second cup of coffee..... and nothing happened.  I ran out to the supermarket and I found where the prunes were.  There were a couple different ones, but Amazon Prunes were the cheapest and I figured, it's Amazon, it's got to be good.

A few minutes later I entered the bathroom and waited a minute. Years ago I walked into the bathroom with prunes and it worked before I opened the bag. So, I waited a minute..... and nothing happened. When I went to open the bag of Amazon Prunes, this is what I saw:

They were Amaz!ing Prunes! In the corner of the bag it said, "It feels good to feel good."  After eating half the bag of prunes, I waited....and nothing happened.  I ate some dinner and had my third cup of coffee with dinner.

Finally, I went into the bathroom....and something happened.  Over the next ten hours,enough happened that it really did feel good to feel good again. I can't believe I've had four cups of coffee in my life.  I hope I don't have to drink that again.

The Lay-Z-Boy That Isn't

 Recently I had a funny conversation with a regular rider of mine about some things that my wife and I don't have: a TV and a barbecue grill, were the two big ones.  I'm not really into talking about what we don't have, but more focused on what we do have.  Later on, I realized that we don't have a recliner either, but we do have one now.

I decided it was time to get one for my office so I can sleep a couple hours when I wake up in the middle of the night and also it would be a good reading chair.  However, the chair was part of a big plan.  First sell the couch in the living room, which we did.  Move the couch in my office into the living room, which we did to make room for the chair.  There are a few other pieces to this plan, but we're still working on them. 

Back to my story of the Lay-Z-Boy that isn't.  The company was originally called the Floral City Furniture company in 1927 and in 1929 they created the Lay-Z-Boy recliner which the company is known as today. The company started and still is in Monroe, Michigan and the company does around $2.4 Billion in sales. It has grown 100% in the last ten years. A recliner should last at least 7-10 years and possibly up to 20 years just in case you're wondering.

My wife and I went to a Lay-Z-Boy store, but we didn't stay long.  I wanted a smaller chair for my office and the prices were in the $1,500-$2,000 range in some cases.  We bought the above chair online and it's on the smaller side and it looks pretty good and it's comfortable.  I could have bought many chairs for the price of a Lay-Z-Boy, but we'll see how many years my chair lasts.

So, we've added a recliner, but when we're all done we may no longer have a couch in the house! And a TV? It's possible, maybe this is the year! Or, maybe by election night in 2024?

Four Last Minutes With Mrs. Maisel

If you have been watching the extraordinary series on Amazon, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", and you haven't watched the final episode, I won't ruin anything for you. However, you do need to sit down and watch the last show, "Four Minutes," because it was outstanding.  This show has received awards and applause for six years and unfortunately the show has come to an end.

The show starts out in the 1950's when Mrs. Maisel's husband leaves her with two kids in a very nice Upper West Side apartment in New York. The show is about her journey as a single mom as she goes into the world of stand-up comedy and how she triumphs overcoming all obstacles.  If you have not watched this show, there are six seasons to enjoy and you will laugh out loud. It has a terrific cast, including Tony Shalhoub, who starred in the television series, "Monk," and plays Mrs. Maisel's dad.

The final show was simply great.  All too often shows fall short in their last show and fans are disappointed.  You will not be disappointed with this final show.  When you do watch, "Four Minutes," in the final 15 minutes you should make sure that you watch how the camera films these minutes.  You should listen closely to the words that are said and how powerful they are for anyone and everyone.

There's an old saying that there are three kinds of people in the world, people who wait for things to happen, people who make things happen and people who don't know what happened.  "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" is about a woman who made things happen. One sentence in this last show is her saying, "Open the door and go get it."

You don't have to go out and do stand-up in front of a crowd.  You don't have to run for President of the United States when you're 80 years old.  You don't have to become a millionaire. Each of us has unlimited potential and you do need to figure out what it is that you want to do and then you have to, "Open the door and go get it."

If you haven't watched this show, YOU HAVE TO-you will enjoy it.