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.