THE ALMOST LAWYER: My rider told me an awful story, or was it really awful? He was in law school studying for the bar exam and needing only 6 credits to graduate when his law school lost its accreditation. He could only transfer 30 credits to any school, however all his loans were erased. He was working as an intern in a law firm, but, "I was concerned to see so many lawyers who were unhappy and overworked with their job." He decided not to pursue law due to the time and cost he would have to incur. He signed up for a three month coding class or boot camp in California and spent $10,000 to get into the computer field. He said he's a "Bug Identifier," actually a software engineer working for Airbnb and he's enjoying his new career. Sometimes it takes a different path to get to a great place-there's really nothing awful about that, is there?
MS. ENTHUSIASM: She was in from North Carolina and going to a wedding. A few months prior she was in Savannah for a bachelorette party and the group met a bachelor party group and they were hanging out together. One of the guys asked her to be his date at the wedding and she agreed. On the ride to the wedding I kept her entertained, but in the end it was her enthusiasm that entertained me. She was from Pittsburgh and of course a Steeler fan. I told her the amazing story I was told by a rider about "The Immaculate Reception" which is considered the greatest play in football history. She didn't know about the play so she played it on her phone twice and could not wait to share her story with her Dad and her date who was a big Steeler fan. She was having a great time and when I told her I was going to give her my list of favorite comments from 2021 her response was, "Are you joking? This is an Uber ride to remember!" I started laughing and had trouble stopping when she said, "This is the best day of my life." She didn't want to get out of the car to go into the wedding and didn't want to fold my list, because, "I'm going to frame it!" When I told her I was writing a book about my adventures, she yelled out and said, "No way!" I wish I could have driven her longer and I think she felt the same way. I think she's going to remember her ride to the wedding as much as the wedding itself.(unless she marries her date)
THE MATURITY OF AN 18 YEAR OLD: I didn't realize he was just 18, because he talked like he was much older. He graduated high school and was working as a sanitation man. He was enjoying the job and the physical part of the job was easy for him. He asked me for relationship advice and I gave him some. He was very polite and told me, "I try to make things as comfortable as possible for the driver." I've never had anyone tell me that. He said, "I think that everyone should be responsible when they are in someone else's car." He was a little nervous about taking his girlfriend to her prom that night but he was very impressive and a delight to speak with.
THE POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR: Only one other time I have had the pleasure of speaking with a political science professor and that was only for maybe five minutes. This time I had 20-25 minutes and he has spent 25 years at Princeton University. He teaches constitutional law and we talked some about how the powers of the presidency have changed over the years. I asked him about the diversity of his students and how they get used to American politics. He said it was an "adjustment," and for some a very big one. He was very outgoing and personable and I would have loved another 10-15 minutes with him. After dropping him off I realized that I missed out by not asking about the leaked possible abortion ruling and his thoughts on it constitutionally. I have heard many times in the past that the Roe v. Wade ruling was not very solid when it was made and I would have loved to get his feedback-maybe next time.
SHE'S IN THE TWO PER CENT: I usually tell people that my list of favorite comments of the year has no comments from anyone who had been drinking. I follow that up with saying that about 98% of my riders have not been drinking since I drive during the day. However, this rider was definitely in the 2% who had been drinking. I went to pick up three people, one couple and a friend at a Mexican restaurant. I pulled into the parking lot right next to them and waved at them standing in front of the restaurant. Immediately I could tell that one woman, (the wife) was way under the influence. It was all over her face and I told her when she got in the car. I joked that I would have to take her picture and put it up next to my Super Bowl ring picture so everyone could see that I do have some people in my car who have been drinking. She wanted me to put her picture up and her husband did too. She said she would, "give me points" if I did. I'm not sure what that means, but I have the picture and I will put her up in my car soon, representing the 2%.
No comments:
Post a Comment