MY FAVORITE RIDER COMMENTS FOR AUGUST 2026

Her birthday is coming up this week and I asked her what she's going to do. She said, "Well, I'm 46 and I really don't have birthday parties anymore, but if you give me some weed, money, or coffee that will work."

The pharmacist has no kids, so I asked, "Do you have a dog?" He replied, "I barely remember to feed myself, that wouldn't be a good thing."

Married for 58 years I asked what the secret of a successful marriage was and he said, "Shut up! Don't continue to upset the other person."

I asked the couple married three years how they met. She said, "We're actually cousins by marriage. My aunt married his brother. We both use to babysit a lot of the kids in the family." Me: "Have you gotten a lot of flack from your family?" She: "We' used to, but one still calls us "Crazy 1 and Crazy 2."

I asked the young couple from Mississippi, "How long have you been dating?" She said, "About three months, but we're definitely going to get married and see all fifty states."

What does she do for a living? She said, "I do por_. Chat, about 3-4 nights a month."

I said to the two sisters from Idaho, "You know when you're driving someone from Idaho it would be nice to get a potato." She: "I gave the last one out at the hotel." Me: "You're going to be in my blog with that comment."  She: "I never dreamed of getting such recognition."  An hour later a young guy added, "It sounds like something people from Idaho should do."

The attorney is moving from New Zealand to Australia, "We call it crossing the ditch."

Visiting Colorado they decided to walk forty minutes to get coffee. She: "Because of the concert we waited in line for an hour and a half.  I can't have caffeine and they didn't have decaf so I had milk."

He builds the insides of Amazon facilities and told me, "There is a secret location they have in New Jersey and even if you guessed where, I can't tell you."

The die-hard New York Met and New York Jet fan kidded, "If the planes carrying The New York Yankees and New York Giants crashed on their first road trip I wouldn't mind."

"You always have a choice. I don't believe in coincidence." After spending ten years in jail for drugs and other offenses he changed his life and has a good job, plays in a band and is a music producer.

I asked if he was a sports fan and he said, "I'm not really a fan of anything in life."

The experienced flight attendant said, "I'd rather deal with the peasants(joking) in the back than the people up front." 

"My husband and I had a processing business for 42 years turning animals into meat and we've been married 53 years. Sometimes I wonder how I had the time to work a full-time job and also raise three kids."

Bartender: "I always try to give people my best and leave them better than they were before."

 MORE RIDER COMMENTS                       

A caregiver for forty years she said to me, "My job is everything, I love it."

She: "I have silver shoes and I know how to have a good time."

Married for 54 years I asked the woman from Nepal, "What is the secret of a successful marriage?" She said, "In my country women must compromise."

Married for 36 years I asked him the secret of a successful marriage and he said, " Don't fight, arguments are not personal and don't let them drag on."

She: "My best friend in Seattle bought a mannequin and kept it in the car to avoid the extra taxes(tolls) as a solo driver for five years. She would put different hats on it or sunglasses and saved thousands of dollars."

He stumped me with two money trivia questions: "Who is on the $500 and $1,000 bills?" Although they are no longer printed the answers are, "President McKinley is on the $500 and President Grover Cleveland is on the $1,000 bill." 

I told the two couples they now had better luck being in my car and the guy who said he was a "man of leisure" said, we're taking three different planes and they may all crash."

She: "I always smile to people because you don't know what people are going through."

He: "I had to learn how to relax. I'm very outgoing, but when I'm under stress I stay away from people. Don't isolate yourself and when someone asks you to do something with them that you really don't want to do, do it."

He: "When I was a kid my mom used to go to a wig store that had mannequins. I used to call it "The head store." 

Talking about a past rider who was a cancer researcher and was concerned about her impact, my rider said, "Fulfillment comes from seeing impact."

He: "I built humanoid robots in Norway and unmanned drones here."

She found love at work and said, "Love happens when you least expect it."

I asked the chef for many years, "Do you have chef dreams?" He: "All the time, sometimes I wake up sweating. I don't have the food ready or don't have enough ingredients. My next job is going to be on an oil rig."

She: "When I worked in a bakery I gained a hundred pounds."

I asked, "How do you like Colorado?" She replied, "It's actually kind of nice."

The rider can no longer drive and told me, "You guys have taken care of me for ten years."

I asked the guy what he did for work and he said, "I have about 200 jobs. It's really about ten jobs."

"My sister(hair stylist) had mannequins around the house and they always scared me in the bathroom."

"My friend has about five mannequins that he draws on for fun."

She: "I became a massage therapist after going to an energy healing class my mom couldn't make."

Her unique name was "Lyric" and I asked how she got the name. She said, "My mom liked it from an old movie she saw."

When I asked a Marissa(my daughter's name) how she was named Marissa, she said, "I don't know, I'll call my mom now." Her mom said, "I just liked the name."

I PICKED UP RIDERS FROM

Italy, Guatemala, Philippines, El Salvador, Afghanistan, Micronesia, India, Ireland, Mexico, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Soviet Union, Germany, Nepal, Columbia, Ukraine, Ghana. 

UNIQUE OCCUPATIONS:

Formerly built humanoid robots and unmanned drones.

Director of Property Management building Amazon facilities

Aircraft Fueler

Director of Marketing United Airlines

HR Air Force

Former Town Planner

Owner of in-home diagnostic testing for epilepsy

Realtor, manager of cafes, and plays roller derby

Top Teamsters Manager and Recruiter

Optician

Female attorney from Columbia

Business Owner Satellite Imagery and Representative of the Philippines Government

WHAT RIDERS SAID ABOUT ME AND MY CAR

She: "Neatest Uber experience. We enjoyed our experience with you so much! I love the sheet you gave us with your favorite quotes. We were laughing so hard at them at the bar! I can't wait to show them to my family back in Mississippi. Quite the comedic relief! We will continue to share stories about you!"

Wiping tears from her eyes, she said, "It's nice to know that there is humanity in the world."

"This is a beautiful thing to see. You just don't see something like this very often."

"This is a collage of humanity, it's very special.  I always wished there were people out there who did things like this. Thank you so, so much. Can I give you a hug?"

"It is insane. It's so sweet what people did. I love when people come together to do something."

The young guy said, "This car really tells a story. It's kind of magical and shows everyone is different. I wish I had something to add to the history."

"This is beautiful what you've turned this into. I never expected this in an Uber, it was such an experience. Best of luck with all your adventures."

"You make people happy, I feel happy."

He: "The ripples you create spread far and wide."

"This is a great way to start my day. It really lightened up my mood."

"I can feel your life energy."

"This is well organized."

He: "You're going to need a bigger museum."

She: "I know I was meant to be in this car."

He: "Incredible, your granddaughter is so lucky."

"This is not what I expected."

"I've never ridden in a car museum."

"This is freakin' amazing. I love the set-up.

"This is the most memorable ride-you're awesome."

"Your car reminds me of the Jingle trucks they have overseas with a lot colors and things hanging."

"I love your collection."

"I love your drive."

"This is the funnest ride I've ever had."

She: "You have to come back to Colorado Springs-people here need to see this."

"It would be awesome if you were my driver again."

"This was such a pleasant surprise."

"Great conversation."

"I had a great time."

"This car beats the best Uber car I've been in."

"This was so much fun"

"I love your vehicle."

"This was a fun ride."

"This was the most entertaining ride-awesome."

 "Lovely to have ridden with you. I'll remember you."

"I'm looking forward to seeing you again-awesome."

He: " This is tenacious, to consistently keep this going takes dedication."

The Red Sox fan said, "Love you, thank you. Keep doing what you're doing."
"That would be awesome if you were my driver again."

"You're the guy with the coolest van."

"Amazing, you're doing good work."

"This is the best Uber ride I've ever had."

"I really appreciate your car, I wish I could contribute."

"Thank you, that was so nice."

"Have you ever been a tour guide?"

"After 43 years, how do you keep the spark?"

He: "You probably shouldn't tell us which bills are the most valuable."

"One of the coolest rides I've ever had."

"My friend used to have a cab with pictures of his riders on the ceiling."

"Thanks for the tour.  I love your car."

Words that riders said to describe the car: "Dang", "Wow", "Wild", "Curated", "Super cool","Crazy" "Magical".

MY RIDERS GET MORE THAN A RIDE

Several years ago I posted a few separate blogs from riders commenting about me and their experience riding in my car and I made comments about the comments. With my museum expanding to 80 countries represented in my car and pictures of over 50 riders, the comments I receive are always posted on the bottom of my monthly rider comments list. (That list will be out in two more days with over 60 comments including these below)

This is my way of thanking them and highlighting them this month after giving almost 200 rides on the five weekends in August.

My story on "The Sunshine Girl" appeared in the last blog and although she thanked me for being an inspiration with this drawing and sunflower pin, it really was her.

She: "Neatest Uber experience. We enjoyed our experience with you so much! I love the sheet you gave us with your favorite quotes. We were laughing so hard at them at the bar! I can't wait to show them to my family back in Mississippi. Quite the comedic relief! We will continue to share stories about you!"

The young couple from Mississippi were adorable and below is their picture hanging in my car. Her enthusiasm will be shared with young and old couples alike.

Wiping tears from her eyes, she said, "It's nice to know that there is humanity in the world."

"This is a collage of humanity, it's very special.  I always wished there were people out there who did things like this. Thank you so, so much. Can I give you a hug?

Two different riders, both women, brought up humanity which is a very common word used in my car.  I make sure riders understand that this is about them, not me. They get the credit for what they have shared for many others to enjoy and these two women on different rides understood my message. The second young woman lives in Charleston, South Carolina where I used to drive and she is a very dedicated nurse. Thank you, for doing what you do!

"It is insane. It's so sweet what people did. I love when people come together to do something."

People coming together is what this rider understood, it's an effort by many people. Sometimes it takes a village and sometimes it takes a museum in an Uber.

The young guy said, "This car really tells a story. It's kind of magical and shows everyone is different. I wish I had something to add to the history."

"This is beautiful what you've turned this into. I never expected this in an Uber, it was such an experience. Best of luck with all your adventures."

Two different young men enjoyed the ride and this was their view.  People are surprised and they realize this is something very special.

She: "I know I was meant to be in this car."

I've talked with riders about this a lot. Sometimes they are running late or their car broke down, or they are having a very difficult day.  I refer to the dentist a few months back who was wiping tears away because she had lost a close uncle and she said, "I wish all my friends could be here in this car talking with you." Sometimes things happen for a reason and I want my riders to feel special, because they are.

He: " This is tenacious, to consistently keep this going takes dedication."

"This is well organized."

Two more guys commenting on my organization in the same month.  It's the first time I've heard the word "tenacious" used, but I appreciate the compliments.

He: "The ripples you create spread far and wide."

The bartender was very moved and said a number of things, but this was key. I told him about the Scott Adams quote that I love, "Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with not logical end." I am very confident that my riders will think about what they saw in my car and it will have some impact in their lives and the people around them.

MY FAVORITE RIDERS IN AUGUST 2026

HE WAS THE SUNSHINE 

August was an incredible month personally and driving. My final rider of the month ended my month with his thoughtful generosity.  I had told him that my wife and I had just celebrated our 43rd anniversary and then his sister told me he was going through a difficult divorce. He took out a $50 bill and handed it to me saying that my wife and I should go out to dinner on him. Above my head in my car is a sign that says, "If You Can't Find the Sunshine, Be the Sunshine." He was the sunshine. A picture of his $50 bill is attached to the sign and when people ask I will tell them about what he did. Sending lots of good karma to him and many thanks for inspiring others.

MOTHERHOOD AND MUAY THAI FIGHTING

I've always thought being a mother is an incredible profession and mothers deserve all the credit in the world for what they do. On the second day of the month I drove a mom with four kids, who is also a neonatal pulmonologist (MD) and for the last five years she is a Muay Thai fighter in her free time. I asked her how she is able to manage her time and she said, "I've always done it."

Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand known as "The Art of Eight Limbs," where you use punches, kicks, elbows and knees. She is 6-1, she trains six days a week and has fought in several countries and has won one big tournament. When I asked her about her hobby, she said, "It's not a hobby, it's a lifestyle."

As a gift she gave me a Pra Jiad, (above) which is a traditional wristband warn by fighters to give them good luck and offer protection, and show respect for teachers. It's very colorful and she told me that it was blessed by a monk. I am displaying it right up front for everyone to see and bring them luck too.

THE SUNFLOWER GIRL MEETS THE SUNSHINE MAN

It was her very first Uber driver and she was a joy to drive.  She's been helping at-risk children in her career, because, "I don't want anyone else to go through what I did." She taught herself to smile saying, "You never know what people are going through." We could have talked for an hour because of her positive attitude. She loves sunflowers and below is a picture of my wife's sunflowers in our backyard. The sunflower girl gave me a sunflower pin which will hang in my car, drew a picture of a girl and thanked me for the ride. The pin and the picture and message will be on my next blog under rider comments. She made my day and I made hers, how great is that?

                                                 

"YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE"

Over the years I have been inspired a number of times by people who made a decision to change their life and they did it. My rider had spent ten years in prison for drugs and a number of crimes.  He had enough of that kind of life and today has a good job, but his passion is his music. He plays in a band and records his own music and is a music producer. He told me, "I don't believe in coincidences," and that you determine your life.  His music is a reflection of his positive beliefs and actions. He's a good role model to show people that they can overcome adversity in their life.

THE SMILING SISTERS FROM IDAHO

Another ride was pure fun driving the two sisters(not nuns) on vacation together in Colorado. We really had fun when I told them how nice it would be to get a potato from someone coming from Idaho. One sister replied, "I gave out the last one at the hotel." When I told her that she was going to be in my blog, her reply was, "I didn't expect to get that kind of recognition." I've been telling this story and other riders have been adding to the story. One guy said, "It sounds like something people from Idaho should do." I put this great picture of them in my car mentioning the potato, but they didn't text me so I can't send it to them. (If you're reading this, comment on the blog so I can send it to you.) Who knows the great comments I'm going to get from a potato.

THE WORLD CAME TO ME

He was born in California and his mom is from France. He speaks fluent French, (unlike me), he travels a lot, he has a unique Indian name, and he's moving to Canada to go to graduate school. His youthful enthusiasm and his joyous personality made my ride with him a real delight. He may have set the record for the most "Wows" in my car and I made him laugh easily and often and enjoy our ride together. He's interested in environmental studies and is going to grad school for ecology and evolution and that's a lot of "E" words. Although he raved about my car and said, "This was such an experience," it was quite the experience to meet him and I hope to see him again when he returns next year for a convention. Au revoir, mon ami! (FOUR FRENCH WORDS!}

COUSINS BY MARRIAGE?

The ride had three stops and went a total of three miles, but we got a lot of laughs in this short ride. They were my 10th ride of the day and this was the one I was waiting for.  Married three years I asked how they met and she explained, "We're actually cousins by marriage. My aunt married his brother. We both used to babysit a lot of the kids in the family.  Are family is still giving us flack today." One family member calls them "Crazy 1 and Crazy 2!) Their family should stop giving them a hard time. They've known each other a long time and get along great. I hope to drive them again, but a little bit longer.(I drove them one week later, but the ride was shorter)

ANOTHER OUTSTANDING FLIGHT ATTENDANT!

For the second straight month I have to write about a male flight attendant who was a real character and professional.  He and his wife have a real estate business in Arizona and he's a real people person. He told me that some of the best fliers were from the Boston area and I've already shared that with someone from Boston. He said, "95% of people are great and the other 5% are just a-holes." He told me that he can't believe some of the things people do in airports and what they do or don't wear. He prefers to work the back of the plane instead of upfront and jokingly called the people in the back, "peasants." I'd love to hear him do fifteen minutes of stand-up and I have no doubts he would do it well. 

THE RESTARAUNTEUR WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR

He was from New York and since I'm from New Jersey I knew he was going to be a fun ride. He said he was in town to check on his three restaurants  and make sure the people there, "Weren't stealing too much." On three different trivia questions he stumped me: Tom Seaver's real first name(George), Who is on our $500 bill, "President McKinley" and who is on our $1,000 bill, "President Cleveland." He's a huge sports fan with his favorite teams being The New York Mets and New York Jets." He told me that if my teams, The New York Yankees and New York Giants had planes that crashed, "He wouldn't mind." I wish we had more time together, maybe next time.

FUTURE SKIING CHAMPION

I had the pleasure of driving a German college student going to school in Vermont.  He's studying business, but his real passion is skiing. His mom won a championship years ago and his family has a history of being very good skiers.  He's constantly around better skiers and consistently training. His goal is to win a World Cup in a couple years and he has the right attitude to do it. We had a great conversation and I got to learn about the world of skiing-I'm rooting for him.

DRIVING MCCARTNEY FROM THE UK?

It wasn't a dream, but it was D. McCartney and not Paul McCartney that I had the pleasure of driving. She told me that she doesn't use the name McCartney at work, but uses Starr as her last name.(Ringo Starr) From Ireland, part of the UK, I entertained her with my British stories and enjoyed hearing her accent very much. I did not ask her to sing, but she probably would have just for the fun of it.

Is Luck the Answer?

I read an article recently by a woman named Lori and it was entitled, "The Older I get, the Less I Believe in Luck." She made a lot of good points which makes sense since she is a "Certified Life coach, an educator, and an empowerment advocate."

Many, many years ago I heard an interview with the Hall of Fame football player, Roger Staubach who played for The Dallas Cowboys. As a Giant fan, the Cowboys are one of my least favorite teams, but  he is my favorite Dallas Cowboy.  He said that you have to be prepared and ready when opportunity comes about.  After football he built a very successful commercial real estate business which he sold in 2008 for over 600 million dollars.

In the article, Lori said that she now believes, "What I once called luck, I now recognize as preparation, persistence, and courage." Here are a few of her comments I loved:

"What we often call luck is usually something much deeper. It's preparation meeting opportunity. It's persistence surviving long enough to see results. It's courage showing up when fear stays home." 

I recently finished an incredible biography on Richard Branson the British billionaire and how he started his company which is spread across 35 other countries and he had a lot of courage and persistence throughout most of his career.

"From the outside people see the result, rarely do they see the journey."

I remember hearing the story of the great Liberace who was signing autographs and someone yelled out, "I would give anything to succeed like you." Liberace replied, "I did."  The results are only part of the story.

"The older I get, the more I see that life rewards people who keep showing up. Many people quit when results don't come quickly."

Thomas Edison failed 10-14,000 times to discover the lightbulb, but he kept going.

"Believing in luck can be dangerous. It can convince us that our future depends on circumstances that we don't control."

One of the most powerful forces in the world is choice.  People can choose to change their circumstances and I've personally spoken to many people who have done it.

"I spend less time hoping for luck and more time preparing for opportunity." 

 What opportunity are you preparing for today or this month?

Some Short Stories in August

 WE'RE GOING TO THE ZOO!

When was the last time you went to a zoo? I have no idea my last time, but I went on August 3rd, our granddaughters birthday. I went on the carousel and the little train.  The Denver Zoo had a Disney-like feel to it.  We got lucky it was cloudy for the first couple hours.  Below is my train and carousel picture. I'm not really an animal kind of guy, but they were there.                    

                          

CAN YOU SEE THIS CAR?

I am not the most observant guy, but I have to admit this observation was pretty ridiculous.  My two-year-old granddaughter got her first car.  It's not too big and not too small, but I wasn't there when she got it. So I walked in the garage door to babysit and I was in the house a couple hours and walked back and forth past this blue car without seeing it. Sitting at the kitchen table I looked over and saw it very close to the front door. It did not just arrive, but I did not see it for hours. 

TOOTH EXTRACTION

If you have never have had a tooth removed I can ease your anxiety and tell you it is simple, quick and painless...when it happens. When the meds wear off, a throbbing toothless area is left.  I did have one removed this month and when the oral surgeon started working on my tooth I heard the music in the other room very clearly-it was Olivia Newton John singing, "Let's Get Physical." I would have liked more calming music when the drilling began.

HOW MANY SPRINKLES ARE THERE?

The above donut was put in front of my two-year-old granddaughter and she started eating one sprinkle at a time. I estimated that there was a few hundred sprinkles. She eventually could not resist and took a couple bites and after twenty-five minutes she lost interest and the donut looked like this below. An hour or so she went back to the donut, but I'm not sure how many sprinkles she ate.

VISITING HOME DEPOT FOR MY BIRTHDAY

 After eating my birthday dinner at Olive Garden my wife took me to Home Depot. I was a little concerned when the guy below went to wish me Happy Birthday so I took his picture.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS?

This dinosaur is on a scooter and he goes down a big slide.  Here's the picture of it failing to do it and he comes up looking a little green.

                                                                      

                                                                              

                                                                                                                                              

IT'S NOT JUST THE FLOWERS!                                                                                                                            

I did buy my wife some beautiful flowers for our 43rd anniversary at the end of the month. However, I brought it into the house and could not find a vase, so I improvised.  I took part of a bottle and put water in it and then I put it in the below bucket and I threw in the salt shaker to maker sure the bottle would not tip over. It was perfect!

                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                              

                                                                                       

How Many Free Throws Would You Shoot?

When I was a kid my dad put up a basketball backboard and rim and it was attached to the middle of our garage on the top of our driveway.  I used to shoot hook shots and long shots and free throws.  The driveway sloped down so I was always shooting up.  I would take twenty straight free throws and my goal was to make sixteen which I did from time to time.

I recently saw a video that I watched a couple years ago by Eric Johnson of KOMO News in Seattle, Washington.  It's about a guy named Tom Steurey who lives in Eastside, Washington. After he retired at 65 he was at the gym and walked by the basketball court and saw a ball sitting near the foul line. He picked it up and decided to do one hundred free throws and he made 82 of them.  He was on his high school basketball team, but that was a long time ago.

He wrote down his numbers on his calendar and started doing it every day as part of his workout and then it became his workout.  Sometimes he would shoot 400 in a day and record it on his calendar and then on his computer.  He had retired from Boeing and he was a guy who liked numbers.

After a few years he had a bigger goal-he wanted to shoot one million free throws.  It took him a total of 17 years and he tracked all his free throws and he made 94% of them which is incredible.  He also estimated that going back and forth on the court he walked 1,500 miles.  At one point he made 222 shots in a row.

On his 82nd birthday he made free throw number one million in front of friends and family.  You can watch the news story online by looking up his name.  He said, "I did it for the challenge."

When you retire, what will you do for "the challenge?"

Why Are Dutch Kids so Happy?

Children in the Netherlands are regularly rated some of the happiest kids in the world, but why? Studies have shown a few simple explanations: Margreet de Looze, as assistant professor at Utretch University said, "Where Dutch children really stand out is that they have very good social relations. The amount of support they receive from family and friends, from teachers and classmates-in all these areas they score high."

The kids also have a lot of freedom, do a lot biking, and cell phones are banned from schools. These areas are all considered to be very positive.  Many parents work part-time which enables them to spend more time with their kids. Will working remotely have the same impact today?

Their are no school buses so kids regularly bike to school and of course the exercise is good for them. The communities are very close and kids are frequently involved in activities and local events. They feel good about themselves and their community.

As we raise or help children one of the basic things we want is for them to be happy.  It seems that the people in The Netherlands have figured out how to do this for years.