The guy from Ethiopia told me, "It cost around $2,500 for a round trip flight to Ethiopia. We have 13 months in our country and right now in Ethiopia the year is 2017." (Ethiopian calendar)
For the first time I heard the Uber app spell out the name of my rider to pick up. My rider said, "They used to say the name, but they knew they couldn't get it right, so they gave up."
He: "I was traveling with my son in Nebraska once and I said, 'Let's get some traveling money.' We signed up for Uber Eats and delivered in a big U-Haul. One customer said, "I didn't know I ordered that much."
"My mom got into politics because I tried to kill myself as a child. She's had several bills pass in the state senate to help kids get therapy."
Visiting from Ethiopia, I asked him, "What are you up to this morning?" He said, "I'm going to church now to pray for your safety on the road."
Me: "How did you get to live in Colorado?" He: "I wasn't the best I could be in Cincinnati, Ohio so I traveled with my dog in a conversion van for a year and a half to 48 states except Hawaii and Alaska."
His name is pronounced, "A Ton." "When I was a kid, I was teased when they called me, "A Ton of S _ _ _." I was upset and when I told my dad he laughed hysterically. He told me that he and my mom spent a lot of time coming up with a special name that I would not be teased about."
I asked the friendly couple, "What are you up to today?" He said, "Alcohol and cocaine." After I stopped laughing he added, "Just joking, I don't want to end up going to jail."
Technologist: "With my job it's always safety first. The other day in Nassau, NY. a guy went into a room without being checked and he had a large metal chain he was wearing and he got sucked into the machine and died."
She: "Working the night shift you have tomorrow, today, and yesterday."
Me: "How did you wind up in Colorado?" Him: "My friends ditched me."
Pilot: "In Hawaii there's an island with a runway and at the end of it there are waves that go over it. You have to time your landing to avoid the waves."
Older man: "I was working in Costco in the food area and they asked me what area I wanted to move to. I told them I wanted to work in the parking lot pushing carts because I had gained weight eating a lot of pizza and hot dogs and I was going to work it off. The young guys couldn't keep up with me."
She: "I was a medevac pilot in Hawaii and my plane needed major repairs. I kept telling the company and writing up the reports, but they did nothing about it. I finally left after two years and they tried to blacklist me from other work. A year after I left, the plane crashed and several people died."
I asked if they were married and he said, "Yes, we are married with children. Just call her Peg and me Al Bundy."
MORE RIDER COMMENTS
Me: "How did you two meet?" She: "He was in line behind me and bought me a Latte in the coffee shop." I asked him, "How often did you do that?"
Young guy: "I thought of doing the van life, but I kind of like having an actual bathroom."
He is from San Antonio, Texas and he is professional trucker with a CDL for a lot of years. I asked, "My sister told me there are a lot of dark roads in San Antonio, does that sound right?" He said, "No, not at all, tell her to turn on her headlights." (My mistake it was Austin, Texas)
Looking at the picture of the Kansas City Super Bowl ring, the couple from Florida said, "Are son has the same one since he was the Social Media Coordinator for them." They showed me a picture of their son with the ring and he knew my rider who worked for them four years ago.
He asked me, "Where are you from?" I said, "New Jersey" and he replied, "I'm sorry to hear that."
Getting in the car, the younger guy said, "I like to get in an Uber, put my headphones on and just enjoy doing me."
Going to work at 6 am on a Sunday morning that was his birthday, he said, "I'm happy to be here today and I'm here with a smile."
Young man: "I like working in maintenance, it's a lot better than climbing trees to prune them."
She: "I used to work in the airport and I was surprised there were so many angry people who were going on vacation."
The pilot told me that there are more problems on flights with women than men. "Men will apologize and say it won't happen again, but women just won't comply. They think they have rights, but they don't on a plane. It is not a democracy."
Telling them about some of the unusual things I learned about Ethiopia, he said, "Their New Year's Celebration is on 9-11."
He: "My wife and I have two boys, 7 and 11 and we feel we won the lottery, they are great kids."
"My sisters' name means princess and mine means sturdy. I feel like I got short-handed." With a very unique name, he said, "The person is what matters most, not their name."
I told her I met my wife at Burger King and she said, "I met my husband at Wendy's. He was the manager and interviewed me for a job. We got to know each other while we worked."
The journalist who loves tennis, told me that in the past, "I've played doubles with Serena Williams and all the big names."
"I bought the last seat on a flight and I had a boarding pass for our flight last night and they would not let me on the plane. We had get another flight for today."
She: "It's a Mexican tradition to celebrate a big party by killing a cow or pig and eating it and my 98 year-old uncle still does the killing."
"In my country, Nepal, we have the highest mountain in the world-Mt. Everest."
He: "I had to get out of Cincinnati because it's super humid and everyone's in a bad mood."
"A friend of mine told me that the worst summer of her life was when her daughter had just graduated high school and was about to go to college. I'm going through that now."
She: "I'm 64, but my mind is still 20, maybe 30 years old."
When I told the nurse the story of the ICU nurse who handled stress by taking off her badge and bra in the hospital parking garage, she said, "Taking off the compression socks are better for me."
The young guy from the Congo said, "Africa is no good, they are always fighting."
He: "I was on a never-ending treadmill in the corporate world in financial services, so I gave it up to work for a non-profit."
"It's rare, but we do get temperatures over 100 degrees in San Diego."
He: "My name in Ethiopia means sunshine. " I told him my business name was, "The Sunshine Man."
He: "Brighton, Colorado used to be a dirty place. I don't think you get your money's worth living here."
He: "I needed to get out of Alaska, the economy was pretty bad."
She: "I convinced my mom to buy an ice cream store."
I asked the retired guy, "What did you do for work?" He: "I did security for idiots." (He actually worked security in a mental hospital.
He: "Some of Washington State smells like piss and sea salt."
Giving him a note for his boss that said the below, he replied, "I'm gonna brag about this."
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT COLORADO?
He: "The mountains, I'm up there all the time. I hike, camp, fish-there's always something to do."
She: "The resources they have available for single parents."
"The people are the best. Some of the new people coming in have a different vibe, some are just grumpy."
"I can't get enough of the mountains."
"I like the hiking and the people."
"The view."
"It's not the standard of living."
"Colorado reminds me of my country, Nepal."
"I have a stellar view of the mountains."
WHAT COUNTRIES WERE MY PASSENGERS FROM?
Trinidad, Columbia, The Congo, Senegal, Cuba(2), South Korea, Venezuela, India, Ethiopia(2), Eritrea (Africa), Austria, Honduras, Philippines, Mexico, Nepal, Brazil, Guatemala, Benin (Africa), Australia.
Thanks to the Austrian couple who gave me this Euro bill that was more valuable than the one I had. This one is worth $11.58 here.
UNIQUE OCCUPATIONS
Owner four vape shops
In Cannabis industry, podcaster and rapper
Medevac Pilot
Customer Service for shoe company in Austria
Own Cigar Company in Dominican Republic
Model
Just retired from The National Institute of Health in D.C.
Former coin maker in Mexico
Former tree pruner
From Alaska he's now a machine operator making ice in Colorado
Owner of the largest finance and technology company in Ethiopia
WHAT RIDERS SAY ABOUT ME AND MY CAR?
"Just so you know, I've been in hundreds maybe thousands of Ubers around the country and this is the best one I've been in."
"I'll never forget the ride. That was incredible."
"You have all the good juju here." (Definition: it is a place associated with good luck and positive energy.)
"This is crazy good."
"You made my day."
"Love this thing you do."
"It's 6 am and you got me smiling."
"Thank you for sharing your museum with me."
"You made our ride memorable."
I told him my business name was, "The Sunshine Man," and he called me "The Sunnyside Man."
"Thank you, you gave me some hope."
"That was a great ride."
"You're full of life, a real human."
"This is a beautiful car, keep doing what you're doing."
The woman with cancer said, "I'm trying to feel good today." When she got out, she said, "Be blessed."
"Beautiful"
"Thank you for being out here."
Former Brazilian Uber driver: "You're a good driver."
"This was a fun ride."
"You are so nice."
"Cool the way you did this."
"This is cute."
"Super cool"
"Impressive"
"I really like what you've done with the place."
"I really like this car."
"You're the most interesting Uber driver I've ever had."
"This is wonderful."
"I love it."
"You many be the best Uber driver I've ever seen."
"I appreciate this."
"I love your car."
"Coolest ride I've ever had."
"Very interesting."
"I enjoyed the conversation."
"Car is good."
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