NIGHT TRAIN: His name was Night Train, really it was. I thought the most interesting thing about my rider was his first name, but I was wrong. His Dad named him Night Train after the Hall of Fame football player, Night Train Lane, who he had met. His mom let his Dad name him, but she said he has no say in anything else the rest of their lives. Night Train has worked in baseball his whole life. "My Dad broke all the labor laws, because I've been working since I was five and have done every job in a baseball stadium." He is currently interviewing with several teams for a job. Half way through the ride I found out his grandfather was Bill Veck, the Hall of Fame former owner of the Chicago White Sox. His grandfather created many of the baseball promotions that exist today in the major and minor leagues. He is famous for hiring a midget to lead off games, because they had to walk him because there was no strike zone. He also came up with Disco Demolition night where in the seventies fans brought their disco records and the plan was for them to be blown up in between a doubleheader. The stadium was sold out with 20,000 people outside the stadium and things got out of control and they had to forfeit the second game. I had a great time talking baseball with Night Train and how he manages to live with such an unusual name.
A SUNDAY MORNING EARLY RIDE: My first ride set the tone for a terrific day and I wish I could thank the two women I picked up who were in their twenties. They had been celebrating Bike Week and at 6:30 am they were ready to go to sleep. I asked them if they had been up all night or they were just getting up and one of them said, "what do you think?" and the other said, "do naps count?" They were friends, but they could have been sisters since they talked the same way. They were outspoken and funny and had me laughing almost the whole way. "We're just so wonderful," one told me as they jumped from one topic to another. I told them they were a great first ride and one replied, "we aim to make every ride the best ride." They were having a great time making me laugh. "I hate Mondays," she said very clearly and then explained how she really disliked the first day of the week. I couldn't resist and told them, "Monday's my favorite day of the week." Before I could explain, her reply was simple and clear-she said, "F_ _ _ you." I imagine that other people have wanted to tell me that when I told them about how I feel about Monday's, but her comment had me chuckling all day. It turned out to be two decent rides instead of one and they gave me a generous tip, but I think I should have tipped them since they really did make it a great ride.
NOT JUST A GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE: I had the pleasure of driving someone from Myrtle Beach to Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, which was about 90 miles.(It's north of Charleston, South Carolina) He is in Human Resources for the federal government and works out of Charleston. He's responsible for hiring people all over the country, in person, by phone and by video conferencing. We talked about how they have special programs for veterans and for young people to get them into civil service positions and also how he handles hiring people who need to have security clearance. He said that millennials these days are frequently concerned more with how much time they off, job flexibility, and when they can work at home and less about the actual job. As much as I enjoyed talking about hiring people(really), he was a history buff with a fascinating history himself. His Mom worked as a secretary in the federal government and she was the first woman in South Carolina to volunteer after Pearl Harbor. She was told by supervisors three times not to ask to enlist in the war effort, but she ignored them. She eventually worked for the Navy's military intelligence interviewing captured Germans from submarines. Her drive and ability was recognized quickly and she became known as Eleanor Roosevelt's "right hand man." He showed me a couple of pictures of his Mom with Eleanor Roosevelt. He impressed me with his dedication to hire the best personnel and also at the same time his concern with saving money for the taxpayers. I hope to give him another ride in the future.
THE GROOM: I asked my passenger when he got in the car early in the morning, "do you have any big plans today?" "I'm getting married later, but I'm really worried about the weather." I was taking him to play golf, but I figured I could give him a little wedding gift. I told him that I would talk to the man upstairs and ask them to hold the rain off a few hours until they were at the reception around 5:30. I also said I would mention it to a few passengers during the day, so I wasn't the only one pushing the rain back. "If the rain holds off until 5:30 you'll remember this conversation and if it doesn't, don't worry, you'll never see me again." I told him that shortly after we cleaned up at my wedding reception in the back of my parent's house, it poured and caused some flooding in the streets. When I told him that I've been married for 36 years he asked me, "what's the secret to marriage?" I said, "I heard a long time ago that it wasn't finding the right person, but being the right person." I added that it was important to remember that people are different and they have different views based on their past experiences. And the rain? There were a lot clouds and a couple sprinkles, but the rain didn't come down until the evening, mission accomplished.
THE NEGATIVE RIDE: When my rider got out of my car I had two thoughts: I felt badly for him and he was so negative I felt like I should take a shower. He had lived here for five years and came here with his wife and Dad. His Dad passed away a couple years ago and his wife left him and he was very bitter. He complained about everything here and I did not try to cheer him up. I let him talk and he was very eager to talk. He did say he was moving out in May and that would be a really good thing for him. He may have been most upset that the wages are very low here, but South Carolina is like that. He summed up his thoughts up with this, "the people suck, the wages suck, the politicians suck and the weather sucks." I won't forget this ride, but I'd like to.
THE LONGEST RIDE: I pulled into the Charleston Airport to wait for a ride, and I certainly got one I would not forget. My rider was coming in from China and heading to Columbus, South Carolina, which was 107 miles away. It was an easy ride on the highway and it took one hour and 45 minutes. With a $15 tip I made over $100, the most I've made on any ride. The 27 year-old automation engineer, was very interesting to talk to. His Vietnamese parents came over here after a very difficult time in Vietnam. He had been out of college only three years and has done very well. We talked the entire time on many topics. He travels mostly in the U.S. for work and sees his job as making things automated and reducing human error. He's interested in retiring early and has been looking into a young movement called, "F.I.R.E." It stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The goal is to retire in your 30's or 40's. He has always run a few miles as a hobby, but decided to enter the Chicago Marathon last year. He did not train, but he finished it in over six hours. He's training now for a Charlotte Marathon of 31 miles this year. I learned a lot and had a great time too.
THE PLAYBOY BUNNY: How often can you pick up a Playboy bunny? It could be every year around Halloween, you never know. When the guy put her in my front seat, I was aware that she wasn't wearing much and I soon found out why. It was early on a Sunday morning and she had just woken up and really didn't know where she was. She told me she must have drank too much last night and she was a little down on herself for being put in the car by a guy she did not know well. She said she was at a Halloween Party the night before and that's all she remembered. I had to ask her what her costume was since I was driving and I certainly wasn't going to try to figure it out. She said, "I'm a Playboy Bunny, but I've lost my ears." She didn't seem drunk, but she was still a little disoriented. She's a beautician and she was fixing her hair a little and with the window open one of her blonde hairs literally flew across the front seat and hit me in the mouth. I removed it from my mouth and asked, "do you want this back?" I did cheer her up some with a few stories and made her laugh and by the time she got home I think she felt a little better than when she got in my car.
THE CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINER: I picked up a rider from the Marriott Hotel who had just given a twenty minute presentation to about a hundred sheriffs. He was speaking to a much larger group this week and has co-written several books. He encouraged the sheriffs to do better handling the public. "Officers always need to keep in mind that the cameras are on, but it's really an advantage for them." He explained that they should constantly be promoting all the good stories that they are involved with and that they just are not doing enough in this area. It was a pretty short ride unfortunately, so I wasn't able to get a lot out of him, but it was very interesting.
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