MY FAVORITE RIDERS IN DECEMBER

STILL FIGHTING

Last month I drove a woman who overcame breast cancer and this month a woman told me a very difficult story about her battle with liver failure.  One day she was fine and the next day she was very sick.  It was not hereditary and it didn't have anything to do with alcohol, she had a very serious liver disease. She told me, "I couldn't walk or talk for five months." Eventually, she was able to get a liver transplant with very little time to spare.

From Buffalo, New York, she was on a trip to South Carolina, her first trip since her illness a few years ago.  She looked perfectly healthy and had a very big smile too.  She told me that she has to watch what she eats and is going to many weekly doctor appointments so they can monitor her progress.  She is planning on writing a book from a children's perspective on how they view a sick adult since her niece and nephew have had to see her difficult journey.  She was inspiring and I wished all the best with her book and her continued good health.

LIVING AND LOVING PORTUGAL

My Christmas morning started with a terrific early morning ride to the airport. The woman was heading out to another city to visit family and then coming back to the Charleston area to spend more time with her dad. She works in property management for a company in this country, but she lives in Portugal and she loves it there.  She explained to me that the people there, "Make leisure a priority, they work to live and not live to work. The quality of life is better there." When she lived in New York she considered herself, "An Honorary Jew." She had many Jewish friends and she had celebrated all of the Jewish holidays.  She got my morning off to a great start and she was fortunate I was there to get her to the airport after 5 a.m. for the rest of her journey.

BANGLADESH IS NUMBER 59!

A very nice couple from Bangladesh was visiting their daughter and gave me this incredible bill. They have been visiting Charleston for many years and could probably give tours.  They were so excited to get this bill to me-thanks again for your thoughtfulness and wishing you continued success and happiness in Bangladesh.

THE AMAZING TRAVELER

This is the time of year that everyone is traveling and I've heard some incredible travel stories.  However, my passenger had some of the most unusual travel stories I've heard and she probably has enough of them to write a book about them.  A few examples:

Moving out of her apartment in Washington DC, she didn't have a car so she put together a bunch of large bags for the move and ordered a taxi.  She expected the driver would help her, but when he pulled up he had only one leg.

She once gave her ID to a lady at the airline counter, but the woman dropped it and it fell into the counter.  They were unable to get it out without taking apart the entire counter, so they let her on the flight and mailed her ID to her.

She got on a small plane to go to Wyoming. There was only twenty seats and she turned out to be the only passenger.  Going through the security measures, the pilot asked her if there was anything she needed.

About to travel on a small airline she found out that the airline closed completely.  She took a taxi for a two-hour ride out of the state. Driving in the dark early in the morning, the driver told her that he had never been out of the state.

She had a great ride with me and there were no problems.

A STAND-UP COMIC

I had the pleasure of driving a stand-up comic from California, Courtney O'Donnell. She's and actress and writer also and is starring in a short film this coming year.  I didn't get a chance to talk with her that much about her career, but I did look her up. She has appeared at the New York Comedy Festival and has won several awards for turning out comedic content for others.  She's been a comic the past five years and I'm wishing her the very best in 2025.

POKER ANYONE?

He had sold a number of businesses and then sold a weight loss company with nineteen locations just before the pandemic hit.  During the last four years he's been a professional poker player in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.  He doesn't particularly like living out of a suitcase so he's only working 26 weeks a year and at the same time contemplating the next thing he's going to do in his life.

THE COUNTRY OF JORDAN IS MY 60TH BILL

The four guys from Jordan pictured below are on a five-year visa and they are cooking in a restaurant helping out one of their brothers.  They had big smiles when they got in my car and one of them ran inside to get me the bill pictured here since I did not have one from Jordan.  They tried to encourage me to come into the restaurant and try their food and I may just do that one day.  I did ask if they had chicken but I think beef kababs will probably do.  They also said I should come to Jordan one day because the beauty of the country is, "Indescribable." I'm putting their picture up in my car which will also advertise their restaurant.  Thanks guys for the Christmas present.

I Saw Some Things on Vacation You Normally Do Not See

If you look carefully on vacation you may see something amazing, unusual, funny or something you've never seen before.  We only spent a couple days in Disney World in Orlando and this is what I saw:

1. In The Magic Kingdom it is common to see tired people. These two people expressed the feeling of many when one laid down face first and the other is on their back.  I believe they were still breathing.

2. You can go to an aquarium and see a lot of fish, but this fish was hanging on a restaurant wall with a Christmas hat on.  I think his name was Nemo.

3. It is not unusual to see a woman breastfeeding.  However, in this case she was in a very nice restaurant and she was underneath the teepee.  Two seconds earlier was the better picture-completely under the teepee.

4. Did you ever wonder how an elevator works? I haven't either, but here is the side panel and what's inside and I have no clue what the circuits are.  This action took place at our hotel.

5. You can see thousands of hats and not see one like this.  In The Magic Kingdom, this man has about 50 Disney pins on the hat.  He told me he had 20 of these hats and he's working on another one.  Each hat had to cost at least a few hundred dollars and maybe close to $500 to make.

6. If you have never seen the "Country Bear Jamboree" in The Magic Kingdom, it consists of a bunch of bears playing music and singing.  This has to be the best bear singing group in the country.

7.  You have probably seen gingerbread cookies before, but a gingerbread giraffe? It is standing in the lobby of The Animal Kingdom Lodge.  If you ever wondered how long a giraffe's tongue is, the answer is eighteen inches long.

8.  My Uber car has a museum inside and these cars are transportation on Disney property driven by Disney employees.  I did not look inside, but you can get a ride in this through the Lyft app.

9. With all the decorations and Christmas trees it's only fair to show you a menorah.  We were standing in line on our first ride, which was called "The Jingle Cruise." I looked in the window and saw an office and there was a menorah a little covered up.

10. In the lobby of our hotel with the gingerbread giraffe, was this pretty amazing Christmas tree.

Where Did Rudolph Come From?

With Christmas only a couple days away, I thought it would be helpful to answer a question you've probably asked before: "Where did Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer come from?" I'm sure you don't know the answer, but you are about to find out-consider it my Christmas gift to you.

We can thank Montgomery Ward for giving birth sort of to this legendary animal.  The original Montgomery Ward was a mail-order business and later a store that existed between 1872-2001. Aaron Montgomery Ward started the business in Chicago. A few years after the original store and mail-order business closed, it re-started as a website and mail order and is just called Wards.

Rudolph was created as an ad campaign to get more people into the store and it was successful doing that in the 1930's.  Montgomery Ward asked copywriter Robert L. May to create a story for their holiday coloring books.  The new story was inspired by "The Ugly Duckling" story and the book sold millions of copies between 1939-1949.

May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote the song, "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" in 1949 and it became a number one song in the 1950's.  It was recorded by Gene Autry and in it's first year it sold 1.75 million copies.

In 1998, the movie came out and it was a big disappointment at the box office, though it seems to have done pretty well since then.  Some of the voices in the movie are from some famous people like: Whoopi Goldberg, John Goodman, Eric Idle, Debbie Reynolds, Richard Simmons, and Bob Newhart.

And you thought Rudolph only helped Santa out! It's a pretty amazing story that has existed for over eighty years.  Merry Christmas to all!

"The Wonderful World of Disney"

I recently spent a day in the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, which is a park I haven't been to in a number of years. I may have been the only one, but walking around the park I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite people in all of history-Walt Disney.  

He used to take his two small children to a playground and sit on a bench and think that there should be a place where kids and adults can both have fun.  From that one idea, became Disneyland in Anaheim, California and almost 70 years ago on July 17, 1955, he opened that park by dedicating it with these words:

"To all who come to this happy place, welcome.  Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future."

Walt Disney had difficulty getting financing for Disneyland until ABC agreed to produce a show which originally was called "Walt Disney's Disneyland," but went by many other names over the last seventy years. (including "The Wonderful World of Disney)  

A friend of his, Art Linkletter, who was a well-known actor on television, turned him down, but volunteered to be master of ceremonies for the opening show.  He brought two other actors with him that day, Bob Cummings and Ronald Reagan.(The future California Governor and U.S. President) After the show, Walt Disney asked his friend Art Linkletter if there was anything he could do to show his appreciation for his help. Linkletter, was now convinced that Disneyland would be a big hit, so he asked for Disneyland's camera and film concession on Main St. and for the next ten years he made a small fortune on it.

I've been to Disney World several times as a kid and many times as a parent and this was the first time as a grandparent.  It is a spectacular accomplishment that brings joy to around 50 million people a year in Florida.  It's an amazing place that often does not look real. The picture below looks incredible, my wife and Cinderella's Castle.

It doesn't matter who you are or what you like, there is something here for everyone.  You can see things you've never seen, eat a big turkey leg, watch fireworks, see singing bears, go on slow and fast rides, and have one of the best days of the year with family, friends, or just yourself.  

Many years ago, I replied to a famous columnist who wrote a column complaining about the cost of going to Disney World. I answered his column and he replied to me.  I told him about my experiences as a father bringing my kids to Disney World and I explained that for some things cost does not matter, but value does.  

We don't see excellence enough, but when we see it, we know what it is.  You can call Disney World wonderful, magical, or a number of other incredible adjectives, but very simply...it's a place that you can experience excellence and enjoy it forever.

Thank you Walt.

VIEW in your browser

Thank you for a magical visit.

We hope you had an enchanting time during your recent Walt Disney World Resort visit. We sure enjoyed having you as our Guest! And we appreciate you playing a part in creating  magical memories for everyone around you. Hope to see you again real soon.

My "Wicked" Experience

I'm pretty sure you have noticed a lot of advertising for "Wicked," the blockbuster movie that recently came out.  It's probably a little too much for you, it may remind you of when the big "Avengers: Endgame"  movie came out in 2019.  That was the Avengers that started with "Iron Man" and Robert Downey Jr.  The lead in to "Wicked" was that children's fantasy that L. Frank Baum wrote in 1900 and became a movie in 1939, just "The Wizard of Oz."

My wife and I had an unusual experience seeing "Wicked." Our oldest daughter has been singing songs from "Wicked" (the musical) for twenty years.  It appeared on Broadway in 2003 and made a billion dollars in revenue since then.  Unfortunately, the movie we saw did not go smoothly.  The picture on the screen was not great, the sound was not perfect and the small cinema had chairs that were not very comfortable.

I knew my daughter was very excited to see it, so I had some fun with her.  I was sitting next to her and I asked her if she wanted me to switch seats with my wife so she could ask her questions during the movie. That did not go over well and she said, "There should be no talking during the movie." Then, she warned us to, "Shut off our phones." We have been to a few movies in the last fifty years of cell phones.

During the movie, my wife leaned over to me to tell me who two of the women were and our daughter shushed us and hit me in the arm.  We had trouble controlling our laughter.  Suddenly, an ape who looked like he was the ape from "Planet of the Apes" appeared on the screen and before I could say something, my wife said, "Planet of the Apes" and I almost lost it.

I felt a lot of pressure during the movie and I didn't want to get hit again.  I had one last close call when this large face of "The Wizard of Oz" appeared on the screen.  I thought it looked like Ronald Reagan, but I didn't want to say anything.

The plot was outstanding and the music was good also.  I didn't expect to be laughing so much during the movie.  I'm hoping my daughter will sit next to me for the second part of "Wicked" which comes out about a year from now.  I'll be ready not to laugh then.

Do You Know This Family?

My wife and I were hungry after being on the road for six hours.  We pulled into a Cracker Barrel restaurant which is a good place to eat. We were sitting at a table and my wife was admiring all the old, country decorations around the store, when she said something very funny.

She was looking to her right at a picture on the wall of a guy obviously from a different generation.  She said, "I bet he never thought he would be hanging on a wall in a Cracker Barrel."  I'm pretty sure that he never knew what Cracker Barrel was. (It started in 1969 in Tennessee)  I would have taken a picture of him, but there was a family sitting at the table in front of him.

I thought this family would do, do you know them? I have some questions and I'm sure you do too. Did the photographer tell them not to smile or is this their smile? Did other people get this picture or just the family? Were they paid to pose for this? Was it placed in the local general store? Did other people look at it and say, "I know Bob and Mary, nice picture?

How did the picture end up on the wall in that Cracker Barrel? Is this same picture in other restaurants?  Is the picture 100 years old? Now that I brought this up, will you have questions about pictures you see in other restaurants? Yes, I have finished asking questions.

Who Was The Real Wizard of Oz?

"The Wizard of Oz" is probably the best known children's book/movie of all-time.  The author, L. Frank Baum, created the character of the Wizard of Oz, from a real person. It took about a century for the name of Washington H. Donaldson's name to be associated with the book and movie.

Washington H. Donaldson was a gymnast, ventriloquist, balloonist, tight rope performer and magician.  For two years he worked with P.T. Barnum in his circus.  When we last saw the "Wizard of Oz" he disappeared in his balloon and Washington H. Donaldson did the same thing. At the age of 34, his balloon flew into a storm and his body was never found.  He spent his life entertaining people with his exploits like few others.  Although few people know his name, he inspired "The Wizard of Oz."

Many years ago in 1990, I saw a terrific movie on television, "The Dreamer of Oz", which starred the late actor John Ritter.  It was the story of L. Frank Baum and how he wrote, "The Wizard of Oz." in 1900.  A few unusual facts about his the live of L. Frank Baum:

During his life he was a writer, editor, owned a store, a newspaper and a magazine, he was a theatre producer, an actor, a singer, he breeded poultry, sold fireworks, was a travelling salesman, a newspaper reporter, playwright, store clerk, and he taught theatre.

He was born in Upper State New York, but it was when he moved to South Dakota that he found his fame. Dorothy would have been from North or South Dakota, but he thought Kansas sounded better.

He wrote 14 "Wizard of Oz" books, 41 other novels and four others that were lost, 83 short stories, 200 poems and 41 scripts in his life. He had planned on purchasing a small island that he was going to call, "The Marvelous Land of Oz."  It was going to be a, "A fairy paradise for children." He had that idea in 1905, fifty years before Walt Disney opened Disneyland.

Washington H. Donaldson entertained tens of thousands of people during his short life and through the genius of L. Frank Baum, his exploits have continued to entertain millions more one hundred and forty-nine years after his untimely death.

LOOKING BACK: Happy Birthday Dad!

December 5th will always be my dad's birthday, although we lost him three years ago at the age of 94.  If you asked me for ten or twenty words to describe my dad I'm pretty sure that "creative" would not be one of them. He was a business and financial writer for many years and that doesn't make you think of creativity.

I was recently looking at some old newspapers he gave me and I found an article he wrote that was definitely creative and funny.  At the time, he was the Associated Press business news writer in New York City and he was replying to a story in a magazine called, "Today's Secretary" which said that good secretaries are hard to find.

The below picture is of the front page of "The Evening Press", a paper in Binghamton, New York. The date is Wednesday, March 13, 1963.  (I was two years old.) The paper cost seven cents.  My dad wrote it as if he was a female secretary and sending a reply to her boss.  He signed it, "Your Girl Friday."  

This was written sixty-one years ago by my dad, the future officer for years at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York City.  The title is, "Look Boss, No Machine Can Think Up Your Excuses!" I did not edit anything in the article.  I think he would get a kick out of me sharing his creative writing which I think is a pretty creative thing for me to do.  It's worth reading.

Dear Boss:

     If you think you can get a machine to buy your wife's Christmas present, bring you coffee three times a day and make excuses to the head office, just you go ahead and get yourself one!

     I don't agree with that story in the magazine, Today's Secretary, that says it is almost impossible to find a good secretary.

     They may be talking about the average secretary but they certainly aren't talking about me! Why, I can spell (a lot better than you), I get your dictation within reason, I know how to change the typewriter ribbon and I certainly don't come to work wearing layers of make-up and coats of eye shadow-no matter what the story says.

     The magazine's survey found that some girls demand a salary of up to $75 plus fringe benefits. That may be true of the girls they talked to but you surely know I don't make that much.  And about the only benefit I get that everyone else doesn't get is Washington's Birthday!

     The story says businessmen should resign themselves to being unable to find talented office girls for many years to come.  That may be so but after three years you surely know I have the talent for this job. My advice to those businessmen who can't find talented girls is that they would find the search simpler if they gave raises a little easier than pulling teeth, if they didn't watch the clock so closely at lunch time and if they kept their distance from the secretary's desk.

     And what's wrong with having some eligible males around the place? The story seems to think they're taboo.  Would you like to work in a place with girls only?

     "Today's Secretary" says too many secretaries can't take shorthand, erase properly, file, answer the phone correctly or handle carbon paper.  OK, many girls can't, but the story doesn't mention all the jobs we do, such as cleaning the mess off your desk once in a while, telling your wife you're not around or getting rid of pesky visitors you don't want to see.

    The magazine says some companies just tell secretaries to send out letters by a number keyed to a correspondence manual, they are so desperate.  Well, I'll tell you, no correspondence manual will ever show me how to read those scrawled, smudged words you squeeze between the lines of your letter drafts.

    When they make a machine that can read those squiggles, I'll be ready to leave and you can have your old machine.

                                                                                            YOUR GIRL FRIDAY

MY MOST MEMORABLE RIDER COMMENTS IN NOVEMBER

 

He: "I was born in Japan on a military base.  My parents had to sue the emperor to keep me. At the time all children born in the country belonged to the state."

The Jamaican woman told me that this is how they talk in Jamaica: "My sister says, "A ready, yuh ready, already." Translation: She's ready to go.

Frequent rider: "What kind of mileage do you have on this pig?" Me: "Pig? This is a famous Uber!"

He: "My parents met on vacation in Jamaica. He hit on her and she threw a drink in his face. He chased her around the island for two weeks until she said yes, because he was charming and persistent. They came home and a week later they got married-they knew."

                                      

Me: "It must be great to be the field kicker for THE Notre Dame Fighting Irish." He said, "It is and I'm paying $83,000 to do it."

The survivor of breast cancer said, "Your current situation is not your final destination."

The six-year-old girl asked her mom, "Can I count to ten billion?" Unfortunately, the ride ended when she only counted to 400. 

The woman told me there were so many people from Ohio moving to the Charleston area, that her friend years ago made a killing printing up t-shirts that said, "Ohioans go home, but leave your daughters."

He said he was an introvert, but on a short ride he is the first rider to ever ask me, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?"

The history college professor told me, "The FBI had a big file on Eleanor Roosevelt, they considered her a threat."

The local stand-up comedian was on his was way to Ohio to perform and he looked at the money in my car and said, "You have more money in your can than I have in my bank account."

The Philadelphia resident who is a very big Eagles fan was stunned at the wedding last night in Charleston. She: "Dick Vermeil was at the wedding and I walked up to him and said hello and said, 'Go Birds!' He said, 'Go Birds' too." (Eagles coach for 15 years, age 88)

I told him I never know on a given day who I'll pick up and he added, "You're just like Forrest Gump- he said, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get."

The talented artist from D.C. said is motto is, "I do murals for doe and colors for show."

He explained to me that one of his favorite things to eat is a spaghetti sandwich.  "I put garlic on toast with sausage and bacon.  I saw my brother do it many years ago."

His favorite quote: "If you can understand the magnitude of your suffering, you can see the abundance of your blessing."

Mother of two children: "When they come out they are big and hungry."

Family doctor at the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston: "I just walked the bridge.  I'm writing a book and one of my characters walks the bridge thinking about the problems in his life."

He: "They are selling the last few plots on Daniel Island. For sixteen million dollars you can get a pile of dirt."

He: "I'm going to get myself a little piece of car." Me: "Is it the front of the car or the back?"

When I told him that my rider told me he was a secret agent, he said, "He told you that without killing you?"

Moving from the Seattle area to South Carolina, they young man was adjusting to how friendly people are here.  "I was thinking, what is happening here? People were talking with no purpose."

Another young man who moved to the South had the same kind of reaction: "I was thinking, do I owe them money?"

Explaining his retirement he said, "They were tired of me and I retired them."

He asked me, "If you were CEO of Uber for one day, what would you fix?"

She: "My husband and I could not drive so we hired a friend to drive us when we moved from Long Island, New York to Charleston, South Carolina. We paid him $3,000 cash."

Telling  the college history professor about my passenger, one of my favorite riders who lives nearby and whose mom worked with Eleanor Roosevelt, she said, "She's my favorite person in history. I was a tour guide for two years at her house in New York City when I was in college."

MORE RIDER COMMENTS

I got a huge laugh from a young man when he got in my car.  I had just watched him sneak out of the front window.  I said, "Last week I asked a young guy what he was up to and he said, "I just skedaddled out of a girls apartment," and he told me he does it a lot.  I said to my rider, "Were you just skedaddling?" He just kept laughing.

The College of Charleston student was from Saudi Arabia.  I asked her how she got here and she said, "TikTok, I saw a video on the town and it's been great."

I told him that a previous rider took her four kids on every vacation even the many to Europe. He said, "My parents went on vacation and left me and my two brothers at home all the time.  The one cruise they took us on they wound up with a $10,000 bar bill."

Groom on his way to his wedding: "You made my anxiety go down a lot."

How did you start dating? She: "We were friends and then I said, 'He's not so bad."

The football player for LSU said, "I eat five pounds of steak a week, they are trying to get me bigger."

Young cook: "I love cooking for people who know I created it."

I told her that there wasn't really a fancy dress code for the restaurant since we're in the South and she said, "So, as long as I'm wearing clothes, I'm okay?" Me: "Yes, you need to wear clothes."

He got in the car and showed me my picture on his phone, "Don't you look black here?"

She: "My two favorite Ubers other than yours, was a Tesla and a driver who gave out all kinds of snakes including Nutter Butter cookies, my favorite."

The woman originally from Thailand, said, "You don't have Thailand here."  Me: "Are you sure?" Seeing the former King and his son on separate bills she said, "I want to scream." Me: "Can you do it in Thai?" She said, "Wooooo."

He: "My name Royall goes back six generations."

Football player from Notre Dame: "I met Joe Montana and he's not a big fan of the movie, "Rudy."

She: "I'm a recovering CPA-it's a very demanding career."

My rider looked at my "Hoop Tea" hat I got from another rider earlier this year and he said, "My wife and I were drinking Hoop Tea before anyone knew what it was."

He moved from Atlanta: "I got tired of the crime."

I asked her, "What do you enjoy most living in Charleston?" She said, "What's not to like?"

The man from Turkey told me he went to visit New York, but got on the wrong bus.  "I went to Buffalo and that was a big mistake, it was not New York."

UNIQUE OCCUPATIONS

Field goal kicker for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Cornerback for LSU

CFO Post & Courier News

Humanitarian working for a government contractor

Data Scientist

Genetic Counselor

Director of Investigations (Pentagon)

Custom Jewelry Maker

Oral Surgeon

Customer Service Rep for American Embassy in Slovania

Motivational Speaker for kids

ABOUT LILY, MY MANNEQUIN

She took six or seven pictures of herself with Lily and said, "I'll send you one to put in your car." (Still waiting.)

The woman from Seattle said, "I was in a department store with my friend and she was talking to a salesman and trying something on. I started talking to a salesman and then touched his arm. It didn't feel right and then I realized it was a mannequin.  Every time I go in that store I hope they don't remember me."

I had a few mannequin heads from when I went to school.  I gave them to my neighbor who puts up a lot of Christmas decorations.  She hung them on a tree, but she got a phone call from the elementary school across the street.  They asked her to take them down because the children were afraid to look out the window.

She: "I love it."

"In Boston they just arrested a guy who had a mannequin for the HOV lane.  He was a repeat offender and had been warned."

Man from South Africa: "Your can would never survive in my country.  People put a mannequin in the front seat to prevent hijackings."

ABOUT ME AND MY CAR

"I love your car."

"I've never seen anything like this."

"This is so much fun, I love this."

She: "Are there other drivers who have a museum in their car?"

"This is the best car I've ever seen."

She: "Having all these bills, does it make you want to go visit some of these places?"

Looking at my car, he said, "I have so many questions."

"This was a real pleasure."

"This was a most enjoyable ride."

"This is the coolest Uber."

"You are fabulous."

"This was the best Uber I've had in my life."

"You are so cool, you have a unique approach."

Charleston college student: "I hope my friends and I can get you again."

"Awesome, the most entertaining Uber ride I've ever had."

Impressed with my car, she said, "I know when I see a hustler."

"This was awesome, I wish I had something to give you."

"This was a great ride."

"This was a wonderful ride."

"I enjoyed the museum."

"You're the most interesting driver I've ever had."

Saying goodbye, she said, "Make a fortune."

My Favorite Riders in November

THANK YOU FOR SERVING

My first ride of the month was one of the most memorable of the year.  He served in the marine corps and as a defense contractor for eleven years in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  Many of his experiences still haunt him, including losing three of his friends when our embassy was attacked.  He was willing to share part of his story with me on an early morning ride.

He was born in Japan on a military base and he told me an incredible story.  The Emperor of Japan was still alive and there was a law that anyone born in Japan belonged to the State.  He told me, "My parents had to sue the Emperor to keep me."  He is working locally and still has security clearance and keeps up with events overseas.  I hope he finds some peace.

THE FIGHTER

In January I should hit 15,000 total rides.  I have had a lot of good rides and many great rides and a handful of unforgettable rides. I picked up the above woman from a very nice hotel in Isle of Palms, near Charleston, South Carolina and it was one of my best rides ever.  She had just had a free night there after winning a contest run by a local business.  She wrote a twenty page essay on how she just survived breast cancer.

She is a pre-school teacher and after a self-exam she received the bad news from her doctor.  Over a year and a half she went through radiation, chemo, and finally surgery.  During this time while she took care of her two sons, she also started college and wrote a book.  The book is for children and explains to them why their parent is sick with cancer.  She is self-publishing the book and is having it edited now.

She inspired me and at the end of the ride insisted on giving me the pink sash she is wearing above.  It says "FIGHTER" and has the breast cancer insignia on it.  She wanted me to hang it in my car for others to see and thirty minutes later I put it in front of my car above the money hanging over my head. Her words of wisdom were simple, "Your situation is not your destination."  This picture will also go in the car so my passengers can see and hear about this fighter, a real winner in life. 

KITESURFING ANYONE?

People move to The South for many reasons, but my last ride of the month was easily the most fascinating one.  My rider moved from Vermont to the Charleston area because he wanted to live in a place that had very good conditions for kitesurfing.  He learned it on his own and explained it in detail to me what it is.  I have seen this pictured above, but I didn't know it was called kitesurfing.  It's also referred to as kiteboarding.  It's a sport of finesse that you use the wind to lift you off the water sometimes 50-100 feet in the air.

His interesting hobby almost prevented me from hearing about his incredible journey he took a few years ago: he sailed around the world for almost two years.  He joined his dad and a group of sailors on twenty boats with around one hundred people who made this journey together.  He was grateful to have spent the time with his dad.  This once in a lifetime experience has brought him new challenges in trying to adjust to normal living after spending so much time on just appreciating very simple living.  I have no doubt he will find his challenges and excitement in other places and I encouraged him to start fresh as a professional athlete would after retiring.  It was a great way to end the month and be thankful for what I have and for Thanksgiving in a few days.

THE "UN-RUDY"

The young couple immediately had me laughing.  He said he was a field goal kicker for Notre Dame and I said THE Notre Dame? He made a comment about another Notre Dame and then I realized he was playing for THE Notre Dame. He had only been kicking for a year and he was a walk-on there.  I said, "It must be great to be the field goal kicker for THE Notre Dame Fighting Irish." He replied, "It is and I'm paying $83,000 a year to do it."

One of the greatest sports movies of all-time was, "Rudy," who was a walk-on to Notre Dame and got to play in one game due to his persistence.  He told me that he met Joe Montana, the Hall of Fame quarterback, who went to school at Notre Dame.  He told me that Montana was not a fan of the movie. Still, I was a fan of this guy who was living the dream and I wished him well.

GETTING READY FOR THE PROS?

I don't recall ever having a current college football player for a major school in my car, but this guy was on the LSU football team.  Although he is a cornerback and on the team, he is not playing this year.  They have been trying to "grow" him by giving him a strict diet.  He told me, "I'm eating five pounds of steak a week."  He also runs track and plays volleyball and has incredible leaping ability.  He currently has deals with Puma and Nike and is enjoying his college experience.  He had a terrific personality and I'm sure whatever his future is, he's going to do very well.

HISTORY WITH A COLLEGE PROFESSOR

I had only four miles to drive this woman to the airport and I tried to convince her to skip her flight so I could talk to her longer.  She teaches locally and I told her a couple history stories from my Uber adventures.  When I told her I drove someone locally whose mom worked with Eleanor Roosevelt, she told me that, "She's my favorite person in history."  She was a tour guy in college at Eleanor Roosevelt's home in New York City.  She told me the house was a gift from FDR's mom, but the catch was that his mom was going to live there at the same time.  She also said, "The FBI had a big file on her, they thought she was a threat."  I would have been happy with another four miles with her, maybe next time.

THE BUFFALO MAFIA

I was going to pick up a Frank and as I pulled up I saw the above three people wearing shirts that said, "Mafia." They looked friendly and explained that as fans of The Buffalo Bills they are part of the "Buffalo Mafia." Their son was celebrating his 18th birthday and I took them to a bar/restaurant to watch the Bills game.  Frank and his wife are both hair stylists and they got a good laugh out of Lily, my mannequin. They were on their way to watch the Bills game. Their picture is now hanging in my car for future members of the "Buffalo Mafia."

Happy 50th Anniversary Jersey Mike's Subs

Sometimes amazing stories are right in your own backyard.  Growing up in Edison, New Jersey, we used to get subs in Edison from The Tastee Sub Shop. Just when I was growing up, Jersey Mike's Subs were just getting started.  I never knew the whole story of their success, but it all started with a part-time job.

In 1971, Peter Cancro, was 14 years old and I was 11.  He lived in Point Pleasant Beach in New Jersey. After working at Mike's Giant Submarine Shop for three years in Point Pleasant Beach, the store was for sale.  His mom suggested that he buy it. (My mom suggested I take Spanish when I was in high school.)

The original company was started in 1956 by Jimmy Lepore who had a number of stores on the east coast.  His daughter, Marie Ingravallo, and her husband Mike, owned several stores including the one in Point Pleasant Beach. 

In 1974, Peter Cancro, with the help of a high school football coach, who was also a banker, put together $125,000 in three days and bought the store.  As I'm writing this sentence I just found out that Jersey Mike's was sold for $8 billion dollars to Blackstone Inc., an equity firm.  I think he made a pretty good investment in 1974.

Cancro began franchising the store in 1987 and today has over 3,000 locations and does three billion in revenue. Recently, they started adding stores in Canada and they have stores in The United Kingdom also.  If you saw their commercials this year, actor Danny DeVito was in them and he grew up a few miles from the Point Pleasant Beach store.

I've always said that I hit the jackpot when in college I got a part-time job at Burger King and I found my wife of now 41 years.  Peter Cancro turned his part-time job into being a billionaire.  I think he did pretty well too.

Have You Ever Been To A Cake Picnic?

 

We have all been to a picnic.  Maybe there are sandwiches, subs, or cooking on the grill.  You can smell the cooking on the grill- steak, chicken, hot dogs, or burgers. Sure, you get around to the end and you might have some cake.  What if it was all cake and you weren't dreaming?

In San Francisco they had a picnic with 613 cakes.  They didn't say how much milk and coffee they had. It was a community event that you had to bring some kind of cake to get in and people came from everywhere just to attend. Many of the cakes were homemade.

Elisa Sunga got the idea after attending a cookie exchange and had a cake exchange where she expected to invite a few friends who brought a few more friends.  She put an invitation on social media and 183 people showed up with a cake. She did another one in Los Angeles and New York and had around 300 people with cakes for each one.

This last event was a little different because a museum was celebrating its 100th anniversary and asked if she could bring cakes and 1,000 people wanted to come.  The cakes were put down on many tables and each person received a color-coded name tag and had an hour to wander around looking at all the cakes. Groups were called up and they had five minutes to get as many slices of cake before the next group was called.

This was a lot of fun I'm sure, but I was thinking-what if everyone brought different kinds of chicken?

Do You Need Advice From Grandma?

Of course you do and since I'm a grandpa now, I know how important this is.  My wife, is a grandma and I get great advice from her all the time. (Really honey, I'm not just saying this)

Take a look at this picture below, how funny is this?

About 12 years ago, a co-worker in New York City asked Mike Mathews for advice and he suggested they call his grandmother, Eileen for advice. She did and it made a big difference for her.  Mike bought a lemonade stand and set-up a Face Time booth for New Yorkers to talk with his grandma.  He said, "My grandma has so much love and her presence is to big for our family, she needs something more.

Every Saturday morning he would set this up at a different location on The Upper West Side.  He would come up with a question for the day to start conversation and the free advice was a big hit.  In 2018, his grandmother passed away at age 102 and he closed the grandma stand.

Recently he started the stand again with six rotating grandmas, three in person and three remotely. He believes that this helps people to reach out to their own grandmas and this makes our senior citizens more valuable.  Below is the new stand, which looks identical to the old one.

34 Hours in New Jersey

 

It was a short trip recently, eleven hours of driving from Myrtle Beach to Branchburg on Friday and then 11 hours the other way on Sunday. We were there for a Celebration of Life Day for my wife's cousin.  We were at the cemetery and then we went out to lunch with family.

We also squeezed in a few hours for a couple friends and our daughter and son-in-law.  I invited one of my friends, Larry, over to our hotel for a free breakfast Saturday morning and this was the second time this year I treated him at this hotel.  In April, he brought his guitar and gave me a private concert of one song in the pool area.  He is pictured below lounging by the indoor pool and saying hello to a former co-worker who was sent this picture.

Some of the other highlights of the trip were things that I learned or had never seen before.  This is an electronic salt grinder which is new to me since I don't use salt on anything and I needed an explanation on this object.

The dishwasher I saw was amusing because it actually has "dirty" and "clean" printed on it and you slide the message back and forth.  I think it's more fun asking my wife if it's clean or examining the dishes. Take notice that the white message is for "clean" and the darker one is "dirty."

Something amusing happened in the hotel shower.  I was sure I heard music playing and could not figure out where it was coming from.  According to my wife, it was not my imagination and this drain somehow plays music as the water hits it.  I thought I heard "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," but maybe it was just my imagination running away from me.  My wife also told me that it was the same drain the last two times we were there, but all I heard previously was water coming down.

MY MOST MEMORABLE RIDER COMMENTS IN OCTOBER

Me: "How did you two meet?" He said, "We met at the rodeo. My friend bet me $50 I couldn't get her number. I went over to her and gave her my phone and said, 'Can you fill this out for me?'" (Engaged and together ten years)

He: "What's the number one responsibility of a father? Teach your kids how to throw-up, so they get to the toilet."

Cleveland Browns fan: "For the last ten years every time the Browns lose I donate $1 to charity. (St. Judes) I'm going to go broke."

Me: "Have you ever gotten a gift from an Uber driver?" Her: "Maybe some fleas once."

The engineer who designs crosswalks, asked, "Why do they have so many crosswalks in Myrtle Beach that go nowhere?"

I asked him what he does for work in Kentucky and he said, "I make peanut butter for a living.  At Jiffy, we put out one million pounds a day and I get free peanut butter all the time."

I showed them a picture of the largest golf driver in the world from their home state of Illinois and she said, "Can you swing it?" Me: "It's 731 pounds." She: "I know a lot of strong men."

As he got in my car I asked the young guy, "What are you up to today?" He said, "I just skedaddled out of a girl's apartment." I asked, "Do you skedaddle a lot?" He said, "I do."

He: "Charleston is where all the beautiful women are. In high school they all sat at the same table, today they are all in Charleston."

He grew up in Boston and was a big Red Sox fan. I said, "How great is this? The morning after the Yankees win the pennant, I get to talk with a Red Sox fan! I've had a lot of great rides with Red Sox fans." He said, "This isn't going to be one of them." When he got out, he said, "F_ _ _ the Yankees." He was only half joking.

When I told her that the picture of the Super Bowl ring hanging in my car was from a woman working for the Chiefs in public relations, she said, "They let women work in the NFL?"

The Citadel student said, "I'm worried that some of my friends in other colleges are learning how to be functional alcoholics."

I asked the couple what they were up today and he said, "We're doing some swimming." He meant they were going to drink by the water. I said, "I really thought you were going swimming." He: "That's probably because I have a swimmer's body."

She: "English was my worst subject in school, because nuns were teaching it."

I asked the woman in medical sales for twenty years," What's the secret to your sales success?" She said, "Being genuine, knowledgeable, and persistent."

His real name is Moses and he said, "I had a number of teachers growing up who told me that I didn't act like Moses did."

She: "I wasn't going to come to the bachelorette party, but I won $1,000 on the slots, so I came."

She: "I drive badly so no one asks me to drive them."

The woman who lost her child eleven years ago during childbirth told me, "Every year I take off on that day and we release balloons to remember him."

The angry Verizon user said as he was getting out, "I better tip you now before I throw this phone through the wall."

                                             MORE RIDER COMMENTS

She: "I was named Sloane, because my dad liked the name from the girl in the movie, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

The young guy said, "The day I got the DUI was the worst day of my life." (In a golf cart)

"In Thailand they have shrimp in their pizza."

From Canada originally I told him that I visited "Man and his World" in Montreal when I was a kid. (World's Fair in 1967)  He said, "You can't say that anymore."

"Chicago is the best city in the world to live in between June and October."

"The class that more people fail in college than any other is accounting."

Instead of saying her car was in the shop, she said, "My car is in distress."

He told me, "I was born to live out in the woods."

Talking to him how on the app Uber considers this a trip and not a ride.  He said, "It is called rideshare."

The big Chicago Cubs fan admitted, "When they won in 2016 I cried like a baby."

She: "As a med-tech I work seven straight twelve hour days and then I have seven straight days off. I get two weeks of work done every other week."

Woman originally from Denmark, "I'm retired as an ice skater and I've toured Europe, Canada, and the United States."

Very interested in politics, I asked him, "What do you think is going to happen in the election?" He said, "I think she's going to get smoked."

From Idaho, the teacher told me, "Idaho is on of the worst states in spending for education and Washington state is one of the best."

After I told him I had over 14,000 rides, he said, "They should get you a cake."

She said, "My friend's brother's girlfriend was the college student who got killed getting into a car that wasn't an Uber a few years ago."

                                UNIQUE OCCUPATIONS

Book Event Planner for Publishing Company

Crosswalk and Traffic Signal Designer

Confidential Secretary for the New York Stock Exchange

Peanut Butter Maker for Jiffy

Airplane mechanic and Pro Boxer

Retired ice skater from Denmark

His title is "Right Away Line Clearance.

President Materials Company

Tour bus driver for "The Temptations"

Law Professor

General Manager Steel Company

                                                    (She's from Chicago, Lily is from Kansas)

                      COMMENTS ABOUT LILY MY MANNEQUIN

"What's with the doll head?"

"I didn't even see her there."

She: "My mom was a manager in a department store and she had a young girl responsible for dressing all the mannequins and she used to talk to them too."

He: "She's hot."

"My daughter was told by another child that mannequins were really dead people."

"What is she looking at?"

                   COMMENTS ABOUT ME AND MY CAR

"You just made my day."

"This is so special-I never could have expected to get a ride like this."

"I had a really hard time all week, you are all the sunshine I needed today."

The company President said, "I love what you're doing. This is human-why we exist."

"This is the most interesting ride I've ever had."

"That was the best ride ever."

"You're so much fun."

"This is amazing."

"I love your car."

"Hope you get your 20,000 rides."

"This was awesome."

THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

 

Over forty years ago, I graduated college with an English and Political Science degree.  I've been a political junkie for all these years and I have a large library of books on both sides of the political aisle. I also love numbers, so election night for me  is bigger than The Super Bowl.  I've spent hundreds of hours reading about this election and I'll continue to read about it for months to come.  

It is only a few days from Election Day and this is my political blog with my predictions and why. Earlier this year I blogged that I didn't believe it would come down to Biden vs Trump and I got that one right. Four years ago, I made the below points before the 2020 election and I copied them below:

2020: I’ll make three points:   1. President Trump has no chance of winning the popular vote and never did.  I believe that Joe Biden will win New York and California by at least 7 million votes

 I think Trump will lose the popular vote by 8-10 million votes, most of them from New York and California and he will lose the rest of country by a couple million votes.

 I think President Trump pulls out Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, but he falls short with a few of the states he won last time and Joe Biden is elected.  Some of these states will be close as there are always close races in some states.

I did pretty well here since Biden won California by 7 million, although Biden and Trump were in a dead heat over the rest of the country.  I did pick Trump to win Pennsylvania which he didn't, but I said Biden would win by winning some of the states Trump won in 2016.

Here are five questions and answers about the election:

1. Can Donald Trump win the popular vote? Absolutely, positively, NO! It is not going to happen and here's why: 

The two largest liberal states are California and New York.  Below are the popular vote totals for the Democratic candidate over the Republican candidate from these two states and their totals outside of those two states:

California and New York                                          Rest of country

2008 Obama   + 5 million                                           +4.5 million

2012 Obama    +5 million                                              Even

2016 Clinton    +6 million                                            -3 million

2020 Biden      +7 million                                             Even 

Total                +23 million                                           +1.5 million

Harris is from California and she will win these two states by 5-6 million votes, Trump cannot overcome that many votes in the rest of the country. However, Harris will not win the vote outside those two states. Two points on California: it does not get their final numbers for a couple weeks because of their size.  Trump had 6 million votes in California four years ago, yet he lost the state by 5 million votes.

2.  Will other candidates impact the vote? It could have been a lot more, but only 2% of the vote four years ago were to other candidates and it won't be more than 3% this year.  

3. Will there be a declared winner on election night? No, it's extremely unlikely it will happen. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin do not count all absentee ballots until election day.  However, I think it's likely there will be a recognized leader very early the next day.

4. Did pollsters once again underestimate Trump's numbers? They have made concerted efforts to prevent this, but a race that is almost a dead heat will certainly swing his way if there is any miscalculating like this again.

5.  Over the last few weeks there have been many polls showing one candidate with a 1% or 2% lead. Is that significant at all? The margin of error is probably 3-4% so no, this is not significant. What a 1-2% lead means is that the race is up for grabs and it's highly unlikely a candidate will win that state by 5 points.

6. What issues will make the biggest difference?

A. My favorite Democratic writer, James Carville, famously said during the Clinton elections, "It's the economy stupid." The ECONOMY issue favors the challenger, Trump.

B. If CHANGE is what the country wants, this favors the challenger, Trump. I do believe that a woman's perspective and a younger person is change, but polls show that the country is not happy with the direction of the country by very large numbers and that cannot favor the incumbent party.

C. If MONEY is a major factor down the stretch, this definitely favors Harris since the Democratic party has a very large advantage here. (However, Hillary outspent Trump by half a billion dollars and lost)

D. If ABORTION is the key factor, this favors Harris, 

E. The IMMIGRATION/BORDER problem is a big issue that clearly favors Trump.

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON RECENT EVENTS:

The Al Smith Dinner: I was shocked that Harris skipped this event and sent a video.  It's a non-partisan charity event every four years that the two candidates get to joke with each other and the press.  It is a very favorable event for Democrats, but only Trump attended.

The interview with Harris on Fox News: I give her credit for going, but it was not good for her.  There were a couple moments I thought she did okay, but this was why her staff has been keeping her away from difficult questions.  She also showed up late and her staff was waving to end the interview.

Trump working at McDonalds: It was funny to see, but seeing pictures of him working the window reminded people that he is more like them.  He has always related well to regular people which is part of his appeal.  I'm sure it wasn't his idea, but someone should have gotten a raise for it.

Trump canceling several interviews: It does bring up the question if his age and stamina is a problem.  He has been running for the full year compared to only a couple months for Harris.  Watch where he ends his campaign.  In 2016 his last event was in Minnesota after midnight into election day because he was trying to win that state.(Lost by 1%) Hillary's last event was in the heart of Philly with all her supporters and celebrities.  He outworked her from beginning to end.

Trump did a three-hour interview with podcast star Joe Rogan: He did well on a long interview. To be fair, Harris has had trouble doing 20-25 minute interviews and she admitted this week that her weakness is that she has difficulty answering questions spontaneously.   

PREDICTIONS: 

THE POPLULAR VOTE:

If there are 150 million votes, a 3% victory is 4.5 million votes.  I think Trump wins outside of California/New York by 3-4 million votes and Harris wins those two states by 5-6 million. Predictions so far have said she needs to win this by at least 3% to also win the electoral college. I think she wins this by around 2 1/2%, just less than what Hillary beat Trump by.

My picks:

VP Harris 50%

Pres. Trump 48%

Others 2%

THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

The seven battleground states are Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, and Arizona.  Most, if not all, will be very close with 1-3% victories.  I think Trump wins at least five of these, one being Pennsylvania. (Biden who was from Pennsylvania may have had a better chance to win there as he did four years ago)

It is very common in elections for there to be close races and these states for the third consecutive election will make the difference. 

I think Trump wins with 285-300 electoral votes.

THE REST OF US:

Whoever wins, it will be remarkable that they pulled it out.  It will not be the last election nor the end of the world.

The reality is that around 75 million people voted for the candidate you didn't vote for.  You may not understand how they could have, but they did.  It may be your neighbor, co-worker, mailman, or the server the next time you go out to eat, or even a relative. 

You don't have to like everything they do.  You don't want to have everyone around you agree with you on everything either.  Trust me, but if you don't agree, it won't bother me at all.