THE PFISH PEOPLE: I drove many Pfish fans to the concert in Charleston on a Saturday and Sunday and I learned a lot. The fans are called "Pfishheads" or "Phans" and they are some of the most dedicated music fans around. I had many passengers who had been to 50 or more concerts, including one who was going to his 294th Pfish concert. The group started in Vermont in 1983 and has never had a commercial hit. They are known for playing a wide variety of music and are exceptional musicians. It seems that many "Phans" either play music now or used to play a musical instrumental. My passengers were fun to talk to and extremely knowledgeable about music and Pfish. Many of them have groups of friends that they meet up with at concerts, some they haven't seen in many years. They are a very close and friendly group and they have had success in their diverse careers so they are able to travel to the concerts. Possibly their most famous fan is Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is running for President of the United States. One guy summed it up best when he said that, "Pfish is the most popular band that no one has ever heard of."
THE CANCER SURGEON: He has accepted a job in Charleston after turning down an offer at Harvard. He was one of the doctors who had Steven Jobs as a patient. Fortunately, he didn't get into any medical details in my car, but he was very interesting to listen to. His success rate with patients is around 70%, while most doctors have a 7% success rate. A few years back he was told by one of his supervisors that his methods were not acceptable. Four years later, the same supervisor offered him a prestigious position in front of an auditorium crowd and he pretended he couldn't hear him. The supervisor joked that he owed him some drinks since he was the motivation for his success and persistence. He told me something he tells his students, "when you are convinced you are doing something right, you should always be persistent in your efforts."
THE STUDENT: I have heard that some people say that, "you can never have enough education," however, how many people live that? My passenger is completing her 7th degree, her fourth bachelor's degree, 2nd associates degree and one master's degree. (or is it 2 bachelor's, 4 associates and a master's degree?) She is a massage therapist and does other therapy too. She told me, "the benefits are terrible and the pay too." I told her it would make a great commercial with the last line-"come join me, you'll love it." When I dropped her off to go on a cruise she said, "I've been too busy being a student to travel." I mentioned that they probably had some classes on the cruise and she replied, "I did see one that looked interesting." She may be still in class, even on her cruise. She had an infectious laugh and I enjoyed entertaining her in my car.
THE ARGUMENT: As they got in the car they were arguing on a Saturday night about work. One of them was a chemist and the other one an engineer. They did have a couple drinks, but their battle continued for the entire ride. The woman,(the chemist) said, "we don't need people like you coming in to solve our problems. We do it ourselves and save money." At one point she was so angry she said, "I want to kill you." I had trouble following the words they were using and said, "I wish my son who is a chemical engineer could translate this for me." The guy said near the end of the ride, "I wish I was more aggressive in this argument, because I could win it." I said, "after 36 years of marriage I know that sometimes by not winning the argument, you actually win it." The woman yelled out, "that's what every F'N man in this country needs to learn." For my comment I got a hug from her when I dropped them off. I asked if they were together and they said they were friends sort of. I have a good feeling they are more than friends and the night was just beginning.
THE ITALIAN ENGINEER: I was taking him to see the new Star Wars movie which I had seen the day before. He loved going to movies, but doesn't go very often because of work. He lives in Italy and works on a cruise ship as one of the engineers and never has a day off. He enjoys it, but misses going to the movies. He had some hours off with the ship docked in Charleston. He told me that the most difficult part of the job is docking into port and coordinating it with the helm. We talked about Star Wars and all of the movies he has seen and most of them he saw several times. As he got out of my van I could not help it and got a big grin from him when I said, "may the force be with you."
THE CONDUCTOR: The concert conductor was in school college studying international relations and journalism when a professor said that he had the personality of a conductor. He was passionate about music so he decided to change his major. He's in charge of a large music building where he works as an employee, but as a conductor he is an independent contractor. We had a great conversation about the advantages and challenges of being an independent contractor.
THE HAIR LADY: She was annoyed immediately since I was looking for her on the other side of the building before I went to the correct side. She said almost nothing during our ride to her first stop. She was fixing her hair before we stopped. When she went in the store I got out to clean the car quickly. On the back seat was three large clumps of hair which I did not touch. When she came out I said with a smile, "I was just cleaning the car and found that on the back seat. I'm guessing you don't want them, but that's more hair than I have on my head." She did smile and took the hair back, but she was still unhappy.
THE SADDEST RIDE: Most of my rides are somewhere between pleasant and a lot of fun. Sometimes, I have a quiet ride since the passenger doesn't want to talk and occasionally I have a very odd ride. Rarely do I ever have a sad ride, but this one was awful. I picked up an older man who probably was in his seventies. He had been here a few days from Kentucky. His son had a serious medical issue earlier in the week when his blood pressure hit the roof and somehow damaged his brain. He still didn't have all the details, but his 45 year old son could not move parts of his body and showed signs of acting as a child. The story got worse because the son had recently lost his job and two months ago he had to bury his wife after a brain aneurysm. Two years ago,the son had to bury his only child who died in a car accident. I felt awful for the Dad and told him I would say a prayer for him.
With the new year beginning it's a good time to feel grateful for health and the life we have.
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