Favorite March Riders

 THE OVERWORKED ACCOUNTANT: The spring is tax season and for many accountants it is incredibly busy and there's a lot of pressure to get everything done before tax day.  What if you suddenly find out that you have a potentially serious medical issue that makes your work more difficult to do? I took a young woman (25-30?) to work one day and really felt badly for her. I recognized immediately that she was a Type A personality and correctly guessed she was a first born based on her work ethic. I could easily relate to her from my work experiences and her short sleep schedule sounded very much like mine also. Her yearly bonuses are tied up in the billing hours she has this next month and a recent, large, unexpected hospital visit makes things more challenging.  She had an Uber driver recently who gave her this great quote: "Don't set yourself on fire, to keep someone else warm." She was very personable, but doesn't get to use her personality much in her job.  She's looking to move into a technology field, but she has to overcome her challenging situation immediately. She's too busy now to read this, but if she ever does see this: IF YOU SET YOURSELF ON FIRE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU ENJOY, REMEMBER THAT IT'S FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. THE ENERGY AND EFFORT YOU PUT INTO YOUR CAREER SO FAR, YOU HAVE PUT THAT ENERGY INTO YOUR HEALTH NOW, SO YOU CAN SET YOURSELF ON FIRE IN THE FUTURE. YOU CAN DO THIS!

THE YOUNG AND POWERFUL VOICE: My passenger yesterday morning was headed home to Ohio. I asked her what she did for work and she said, “I’m in charge of marketing for a Cancer Foundation.” She told me she had been doing it for 15 years and I asked if she had started in Junior High School. Usually, a rider will laugh at that, but she said, “I’ve only been full-time a couple years, I’ve been volunteering since I was ten when I lost my Mom to breast cancer.” The Karen Wellington Foundation sends families on vacation while they are battling cancer to give them a break from the disease and make some great memories for them. My rider is a tremendous writer and writes a blog on the stories of the people they have helped. (The KWF Living Blog)  You may not be able to read more than one of the stories on this blog at a time, but the second one, “Celebrating Strangers,” meant a lot to me.  I meet strangers every day in my car and have no idea what they may be going through. Angeline wrote this about her foundation: “Although our mission is rooted in FUN, our goal is to give back to thousands of deserving strangers LIVING with cancer.”  She summarized this blog by saying, “Never underestimate the significance of the time you give to others. Don’t forget to slow down just enough to be aware of those strangers who need a bit of extra love along the way.  You never know the impact you might have.”  The best part of my ride was reading about what she and her Foundation has accomplished. Her Mom lived a very full life and her daughter is making every day count too.

REMEMBER ME: Over the years I have picked up probably a few dozen bartenders. Some of them have been very memorable, but almost all are personable and friendly. It was early morning when I picked this bartender up and I can only guess he's in his mid to late 20's. "I'm different. I don't talk much with my customers.  I just bring them what they want and they love me." He told me that he usually doesn't talk to Uber drivers, but he talked to me and he was very interesting. "I'm situationally witty. I like it when someone says, "Can I ask you a question?" I say you just did and I walk away." He seemed like a more private person, however what he really wants is to be remembered. He said, "There are 7 billion people on the planet, I'd like 1 billion to remember me." If he made a conscious decision to talk to people, how could they not remember him? I hope I get another chance to talk with him.

THE SUNSHINE FARMER: So, there I was on my first full day driving my orange car. My business name is The Sunshine Man and I looked to my left and saw the cruise ship in Downtown Charleston.  The name of that cruise was "Sunshine." My rider on the right, was standing there with his five year old son and a very large suitcase, which was bright orange. Is there any doubt this was going to be a great ride? They were from upper state Maine, right along the Canadian border.  The little boy almost stole the show with his comments about his Dad, "he's getting old and fat and my sister and I beat him up all the time." His Dad, in his mid-thirties, quickly got my respect with his explanation of what he does on the farm-just about everything.  He said, "When the weather is good, we work 20 hour days. If you want to survive in Northern Maine, you have to work eight days a week?" Of course, I asked him if that's what the Beatles were talking about and we both laughed.  How did he get the work ethic he has? His Dad always worked on many jobs, but he was involved in his Dad's snow plowing. As young as nine years old he was out shoveling snow,(which he still hates), to help his Dad with his customers.  He never got paid and I told him that he should tell his Dad he owes him back pay. In high school he wound up with 9 W-2's. He got a great deal on his cruise and used it to spend some quality time with his son. I'm very thankful that they spent some time with me.

HER FRIEND: Sometimes a traffic jam turns out to be a good thing.  I was driving a Mom and her adult daughter from a beach area to Downtown Charleston when we were stuck for about twenty extra minutes. I entertained them, but the Mom had a very interesting story.  A friend of hers for many years and recently passed away and she had been thinking about him on the beach.  His name is Paul Farmer and he was a Global-Health Pioneer and was very well known. He is the founder of Partners in Health, which changed the way the world cared for the poor. In his life he set-up clinics and hospitals and is responsible for saving many lives around the world. She spent time with him years ago in Peru helping people improve their health.  She told me the key was just, "To educate them to take their medicine every day.  One his favorite sayings was, "If you can't find a solution, be the solution." She told me this, because the sign in my car says, "If you can't find the sunshine, be the sunshine."  If it wasn't for the traffic, I probably would not have heard about her famous friend.

THE POSITIVE FLIGHT ATTENDENTS: They were not a couple, but they could have been.  They got a long very well and both had positive attitudes. The first thing the guy told me was, "I'm happy you have a great rating." Very few people mention my rating which is 4.99 out of 5. They were both very easy to talk to and joke around with. When he said,  "this was the best Uber ride he's ever had," she added that she had a great one in Las Vegas: "the driver had several things hanging in his car he had gotten from other riders." I interrupted her and pointing to the picture of my rider's Super Bowl ring, I said, "Yeah, but did he have a Super Bowl Ring or a $500 bill from the South Sudan?" We were all laughing now and she said, "the driver wrote a personal message on a post note for every driver. I still have mine." I was impressed, but I said, "it's too bad I don't have a gift for you," as I pulled out my list of favorite rider comments. I could have driven them all day-they were my best ride of the day.

THE POLITICS GUY: With 7,600 rides now I have only had the pleasure of speaking with five people directly in politics.  As a political science major who reads politics on both sides daily, my passenger gave me a special gift at the end of the ride.  He worked for many years on the Republican Congressional side and is currently a lobbyist.  He knows all the big names and has worked with many of them. He told me he's gotten the most done, "when I work with someone on the other side of the fence." I could have talked with him for a couple hours, but I had one important question I never thought I'd get answered. I told him that I knew on Election Night that President Trump had lost because his margins were not high enough to get him through the votes that were going to come in the next day.  I asked him if he thought that President Trump really believed the election was stolen? He said, "I don't think it was and I know a number of people close to him and he absolutely believes it was stolen." I thanked him very much for that, because to me what that means is that instead of it being, "the big lie," as we always here, he's just flat out wrong.(on this subject)

THE OUTCAST FROM NEW YORK: The final ride of the day in Charleston was just delightful.  My passenger was with her teenage daughter and it was a long ride to Mt. Pleasant, perfectly set-up to get me on my way home. Being a New York fan, she was kind enough to open her garage door and show off their full bar/mancave decorated with New York uniforms and framed pictures of New York sports legends. Two years ago her and her husband had a successful business and had just purchased a house to move into in another area of New York. The pandemic hit at that exact time and their life changed when they lost the new house. Her husband put her in the car for their anniversary and drove to South Carolina and had a realtor take them around and they found the perfect house in Mt. Pleasant. The friendliness of the South was ideal for her and a very easy transition, which is not the norm. Her kids are happy and her husband has a different business helping people financially. Not only was she easy to talk with, but she had a good sense of humor too. She wanted to name her daughter Isabella, but her husband's last name rhymed with it and someone in his family already did that. It was a great way to end the day and here are some pictures of her garage. (Gary-the Giants Jersey that is blocked is number 80, Jeremy Shockey)