MY FAVORITE RIDERS IN NOVEMBER

                                             "CAN I DO ANYTHING AT ALL FOR YOU?"

After 9,000 rides it is unusual to have someone ask something to me that I haven't heard, but this man did. I was completely surprised when he stepped into my car and was overwhelmed by the 15 foreign bills I had hanging in my car. He said, "You gave me goose bumps," and "You put a smile on my face." I'm not sure his age, but he is probably in his sixties. He he has stage 3 congenital heart disease. He told me that at Stage 4 he will need a new heart.  He has lost several people in his family to the disease. He told his doctor, "I refuse to bend to this disease." I was taking him to the CVS to get his heart medicine and I'm not sure who got more out of this trip.  He's been doing some traveling with his son and he's collected some foreign currency so he was really impressed with my collection from my riders. He told me that he had a difficult week, so at the end of the ride I surprised him by giving him a Malaysian bill since I had two of them.  He said, "Can I do anything at all for you? I just hope I can ride with you again." 

                                                        "DEEPLY UNDERCOVER"

Steven Segal is an actor who has been in a lot of movies as a good guy who fights the bad guys and he's someone you don't want to mess with.  My rider, reminded me a lot of him and he said that. "People have said I should have a ponytail."(Like Steven Segal) This guy was tough too and someone you don't want to mess with. He makes a lot of money working on a job in the hospitality industry, but the most interesting thing about him is what he used to do. He worked undercover for The Department of Justice and he specialized in, "Saving North American women from human trafficking." He told me he would track leads and he would go wherever the leads took him. He's used to working hard and although his new job is challenging, it's nothing like what he used to do. 

                                                

                                             THE STATE DEPARTMENT MUSICIAN

When you think of a musician I'm pretty sure you don't think of one who works for our state department.  My rider has done that for the past ten years, visiting 35 countries playing American music to get people familiar with our country. He has been involved in a cultural program and told me, "We are taken very good care of." He performs at different events representing our country and earns $300 a performance. He's enjoyed doing it and told me that he and the band perform one song in the native language of the country they are in. They usually play bluegrass music, which is their specialty. One time he was at an upscale event in Saudi Arabia when a very official person came up to him and asked, "Do you know "Country Roads" by John Denver?" He had never played it before, but they did that day.

                                                         JOINING THE 2%

Over the years there have been very few times I have had three or four riders in my car who had been drinking, but this group was one of them.  They were college friends from Pennsylvania and they weren't too loud or rowdy, but they first discussed what would happen if they were in a fight. One girl said, "I would just sit down in a fetal position and suck my thumb." They were having a good time and finishing their drinks. I told them about the many things hanging in my car, but they really loved the picture of the girl who had been drinking and I said was, "Part of the 2% of people in my car that had been drinking." They asked if they could be up there too, and below is their picture and I will be displaying it in my car. It's a great picture with them all smiling! 

They also told two of the worst stories imaginable. A nurse explained that one of her patients could not control her bowels. After cleaning her up for half an hour, the patient yelled, "It's coming again!" Let's just say that this nurse was, "hands-on."  Another woman told a very long story that involved how her and her boyfriend had racked up hundreds of dollars on each of their Uber accounts in one night and haven't used the accounts in six years. She was so drunk on a St. Patrick's Day, that she ordered and then canceled 20 or so in a bar, before taking one. In one Uber she threw up in a cup, with "nothing getting in the car." She also threw up outside the next Uber and somehow received cleaning charges for both of them. She and all her friends had no problem completing the ride with me without incident. When they heard  that I write stories about some of my riders, one of them said, ""If you want a sex story, I'm about it." I passed on that, but they were a fun group and obviously good friends.

                                            `    A HAPPY AND HEALTHY ACCOUNTANT

I saved the best story of the month and one of the best of the year, for last.  In March of this year I drove a young woman who was under an incredible amount of stress. As an accountant during tax season, she had to do a number of billing hours for her firm.  She was suffering from concussion symptoms at the same time after hitting her head. Her doctor advised her to take time off or she would be risking serious injury.

It was great to see her relaxed, smiling and almost completely healthy this time. It's amazing how quickly someone's life can change for the bad and then the good. When her firm would not give her a raise, despite working long hours through her health problems, she gave them notice. Her new job pays her $20,000 more and pays overtime, which the other firm did not do.

She said her accident was also good because she met her boyfriend the same night she hit her head. She did not remember him at all meeting him the second time, but he said, "Don't you remember we talked all night and fell in love?" When I told her that she has a gift in her ability to work with numbers, her reply was, "It's not a gift unless you use it to help people."

As fun and inspiring as this ride was, she surprised me with a great story. I asked her the trivia question about the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston and like many others she did not know what it was built to look like.  However, she said, "I was the first one to go over the new bridge." When she was in third grade, she submitted the picture below for a contest that she won. Representing her elementary school and with a winner from the middle school and high school, they were driven across the bridge in a limo on opening day. She had to go to school afterwards and the limo took her there.  

Congratulations on your new life and yes, she still has that big smile as she did in third grade. (I am sure she is smiling right now)

 

My Favorite Rider Comments in November

Working in the old age home she said, "The oldest person we have is a man who is 108 and he drives his own truck every Sunday and just got a girlfriend in church."

"I'm selling my blood for $600 a month and my rent is $1,000 a month, I'm almost living off my blood." 

Him: "My little boy told me that I was better than a cartoon parent."

Woman living in Los Angeles: "I don't use rideshare in LA, I'm cheap. I don't drink so I'm Uber for my friends."

The CPA said, "Figures don't lie, but liars can figure."

"There's a Facebook site for women at the College of Charleston and it's called, "Are you dating my boyfriend? You have to be approved  to get on it.  I saw my ex on there, but I didn't make a comment."

Woman: "My 70 pound dog picks his own bandannas to wear."

Cancer doctor: "I have two sons in LA., one is successful and the other is an actor, he's still on my payroll." Me: "I guess he doesn't do any acting for you."

The 25 year old woman said at 8 am Saturday morning, "I'm going to stop partying tomorrow."

Picking up a young guy heading to work I said, "Sorry it took so long, there's a lot of traffic." Him: "Really?" Me: "It's 4 pm on a Friday in Charleston, where have you been? " Him: "Jail."

When she found out that I write about stories riders tell, the young woman who had been drinking said, "If you want a sex story, I'm about it." (I wasn't)

She: "When I was in third grade there was a contest to draw a picture of the Ravenel Bridge which was about to open. I won first place and I rode in 

The young woman said, "I want to go on a cruise, but I'm afraid of water."

I was performing bluegrass music with a band for a State Department cultural program at an upscale ceremony in Saudi Arabia when a very official looking guy came over and asked, "Do you know "Country Roads" by John Denver?"

She had been drinking, but she was discussing what would happen if she got in a fight, "I would probably get in a fetal position and suck my thumb."

She: "I do hair and make-up." Me: "I really don't have either of them." She: "It's never too late to use make-up."

She said, "When I was in 3rd grade I entered a contest where I drew a picture of the Ravenel Bridge and I won. I represented the elementary school and there was a winner for middle school and high school and I rode with them over the bridge in a limo on opening day.  The limo then drove me to school."

She: "My dad is inappropriately funny.  He says things that other people are only thinking and people laugh."

Talking about Ghandi my rider said, "Isn't he the guy with the bald head and robe?"

The New Yorker who owns a fish company in Ecuador said about the pandemic, "It was the hospitals that killed people."

She: "I like to be happy, doesn't everyone?

The store manager of grocery store said, "Customers don't want to be happy."

He said, "Kansas City is great place to grow up and also to move away from."

Him: "I once did a charity event where I was bartending with boxer Joe Frazier. I wasn't too happy that we had to share tips with him."

She had problems yesterday with her Uber driver who would not pick her up in the next parking lot and would not wait for her to walk to her, instead she canceled the ride. My rider, a former Lyft driver, said, "I still love Uber."

Telling the accountant that she had a gift being so good with numbers, she said, "It's not a gift unless I'm helping people."

The young man told me that, "A beautiful girl" is interested in him, but she's in a long distance relationship with, "A big guy." He said, "You only live once." I told him, "However, you do want to live, right?"

Guy from St. Louis: "Some people have actually asked me if I've gone into the ark?"(It's an arch)

I asked the couple who had been married 36 years, "What is the secret to a successful marriage?" He said, "Don't worry about nothing. If you're working seven days a week and doing everything you can, it will work out."

The CFO of a national company(35-45?) was telling me about all the offices they have and that it keeps him busy, "It keeps me off the streets and out of trouble."

She: "If I'd have my druthers, I'd never drive again."

Woman: "Adults only laugh about 4 times a day and kids laugh about 400 times a day."(It's actually 17 and 300)

The older woman was not happy with how she is aging. She said, "As men get older they look more distinguished."

The couple from Arizona told me, "We go to Hawaii when we go on vacation."

Him: "I worked deeply undercover for many years for the Department of Justice, specializing in saving North American women from human trafficking."

The man with Stage 3 Degenerative Heart Disease said, "I refuse to bend to this disease."

A Marisa said, "I didn't like my name when I was young, because I couldn't pronounce R's."

He said, "We help people get out of their timeshares. We've helped 550,000 people in the last seven years."

She told me, "I love the title of the book you're writing, it could be a movie and you could play yourself."(imagine that)

The GM of a Ford dealership told me, "The most new cars we've had on our lot is 27. It hasn't been getting better."

New York City Transit supervisor: "Assaults are up because people are pissed."

She's a big Disney fan: "I used to take my ten year old out of school early and fly to Disneyland without plans."

I asked the hotel executive, "How's the hotel business these days?" His answer, "Profitable."

Female bartender: "We give people our energy."

She: "Latrobe airport in Pennsylvania has free parking."

Australian woman from LA: "When I get out here it so calm and relaxing."

She: I've been a wedding florist since I was 15 years old."

She: "Even the Uber drivers here are friendly."

He works with Pepsi and says, "They are still stuck in their own ways."

"I work as a Director of Public Engagement for a museum in LA."

5th grad teacher: "These days they have an attention span of nil."

I asked the couple dating how they met and she said, "I was getting a tattoo from my cousin who was learning how to do it and he walked in the house with a beer, I didn't pay any attention to him." He added, "I got a beer tattoo and now sometimes she pays too much attention to me."

He is a Boston Red Sox fan: "I missed my flight in the airport and I was upset, but I saw David Ortiz there. I went into the bathroom and he was standing at the urinal. I didn't say anything then, I waited until he was leaving."

Female bartender: "One night as I was leaving I warned the other bartenders about this guy who needed to be shut off.  The next day I found out he wound up in the parking lot harassing girls and then shot himself in the hand. I really dodged the bullet."

Big Chicago Cubs fan from Chicago: My sister and brother-in-law won a raffle the year the Cubs won for World Series tickets.  They paid $1,400 for four tickets. I offered $1,000 for one ticket and they turned me down. They sold them for $14,000 each."

She said, "This is the coolest car I've ever seen.  Get some more bills for me."

"You put a smile on my face. I just hope I meet you again."

Being Thankful One Week Early

Waking up in the middle of the night is very common for me. However, for some reason, this morning the thought that came to mind was that it was Thursday, one week before Thanksgiving. And then my mind started wandering around and thinking about all the great things that have happened in my life this year.

It's very easy to watch the news on TV or read about the news in a newspaper, or look at your supermarket receipt and be pessimistic about life.  However, it's even more important to look on the bright side and to consider all the good things that have happened to you this year and how good your life is right now. We are all very different so I would encourage you to take out a piece of paper and make a list: "Things I'm thankful for in 2022." Here's my partial list, not in any order:

Except for the one week of mild Covid I had, my wife and I have been in good health.

Our son got married and we have another daughter.

This is my first year being semi-retired and I think I've adjusted pretty well.

I've been able to travel more this year away from home than any other year, visiting New Jersey several times, Pennsylvania, Orlando, Las Vegas and Colorado.

I am coming up on my five year anniversary living in South Carolina and writing this blog.

I appeared this year on YouTube and had an article written about me. 

This is the first full year that Odin, our dog, has been with us, and I'm still getting used to being a Dog-dad.

Our children have been healthy and have had some significant moments and accomplishments.

We were able to spend eight days with our three kids in Orlando and several with them in Pennsylvania for our son's wedding.

THE GIANTS HAVE WON 7 GAMES AND LOST ONLY 2!!

I received my bright orange car finally in March and it stills looks amazing.

I had my first and only cup of coffee this year and...it worked!

I have spent a lot of time writing and putting together a book that I plan on publishing in 2023.

My riders have been amazing this year with their generous tips and comments and I'm only 600 rides away from 10,000.

Lastly, the company that published the story on me and that puts out the YouTube show I was on, has asked me to write some articles for them. This will be the first time in my life that I will be paid to write something.

I just wanted to wish everyone an early Happy Thanksgiving and encourage you to be thankful not just this coming Thursday or this week, but every day.  Below are some terrific quotes, not from my riders:

“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.”
—Oprah Winfrey

“Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
—Charles Dickens

“Strive to find things to be thankful for, and just look for the good in who you are.”
—Bethany Hamilton

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”
—Anthony Robbins

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
—William Arthur Ward

Uber Driver Accepts 99% of Rides – Why?!

A few months back I appeared on a Youtube show run by Sergio Avedian, who has a program called, "Show Me The Money." He is a former New Yorker who now lives in Los Angeles and he does work for "The Rideshare Guy". They produce a lot of information through a blog, podcast and Youtube concerning rideshare money making opportunities in the gig economy.  He wrote this article about me this past week and it may have gone out to 100,000 people???

Over the last few months, I’ve met some incredible people through the Show Me the Money Club (SMTMC) on YouTube. The diversity of our community is our strength, and I believe if we all work together without labeling anyone, we can achieve our common goal, which is fixing what is broken with the gig economy. 

Is everything great in the gig world? Of course not, we need to keep fighting for our rights, from wanting to stay independent contractors (ICs) to fair pay and benefits. That’s why we need to work together and understand each other to keep fighting for our interests.

Speaking of working together, while hosting a SMTMC event, I met a man named Jeff, who I originally called “The Uber Kool Aid Drinker.” For him, Uber could do no wrong. As you all know, I don’t think Uber is perfect, and I’m skeptical of those who do.

Wanting to better understand Jeff, I decided to reach out to him and see why he felt this way about Uber, how he got started with Uber, and why he accepts (almost) every request that comes his way.

Meeting Jeff the Uber Driver

Jeff spends a lot of time around drivers, and he drove as an independent contractor courier. Jeff also worked at several major companies, so I believe he’s qualified to speak on both sides of the argument between independent contractors and employees. 

In Jeff’s words:

“I was an I/C driver and a manager of drivers for 25 years, delivering newspapers, magazines, fliers, phone books, etc. I was a driver and circulation manager for two companies, THE USA TODAY and Auto Trader. As an East Coast transplant in Myrtle Beach SC, I worked three years full-time as an I/C courier. As a political science major, I love to read and understand both sides of an issue. This carries over to being able to see  driver/management problems and why I can support Uber at times when others don’t.”

Getting Started with Uber

The freedom and flexibility aspect of the gig economy offers millions of people like Jeff an opportunity to earn extra cash. Some drivers like Jeff make a good living during these difficult inflationary times and supplement their retirement benefits. And if you are as outgoing as Jeff is, your success is guaranteed.

I would put Jeff’s tip percentage against any driver in the US. He has figured this gig out, and I can assure you that his infectious smile is definitely a weapon for success. 

These are some of the conversation starters in his car, a Ford Transit Passenger Van. Below, you’ll see bills he has collected from many tourists visiting his town as well as this handwritten note.

“Five years ago, my wife had this crazy idea to drive for Uber. I couldn’t understand why she would want to sit in a parking lot, wait for a stranger to contact her, go pick them up and take them where they wanted to go and somehow make money. As usual, in our 39 year marriage, she was right. We had decided to downsize and move from New Jersey to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She gave one ride in New Jersey, which kept her interested for many months. I had my own business, Sunshine Man Distribution, distributing free magazines for 6-10 publishers. I worked six days a week, sometimes 12-19 hours a day, and had 8-15 I/C drivers. I knew moving to South Carolina, wages would be lower. I would need full-time and weekend work, which turned out to be Uber. I had no clue how good it would turn out.”

As I mentioned above, Jeff may be the top tip-receiving driver in the US on any metric one chooses to use. He is so proud of this that he has kept detailed monthly stats of his tips. 

He does this to figure out his profitability, since he treats Uber driving as his small business but I think the amount of tips he receives from tourists and locals has become a substantial part of his weekly earnings. 

Take a look at his monthly stats from 2022! Seriously! He gets tipped on 46% of his rides? I think my best ever week was 12%, and I was mighty proud. Jeff makes me and a majority of drivers in the US look like an amateur. 

Jeff’s Philosophy in Accepting Every Request

There is one point where Jeff and I don’t see eye to eye: accepting every ride request. As the top cherry picker in my city of Los Angeles, I may have called Jeff an “ant” a few times. It is part of rideshare lingo I am used to; we are still trying to convince each other to walk to the dark side but I think we will ultimately decide to continue doing what we see fit for our personalities and the city we drive in. 

Even with Uber introducing Upfront Fares and Upfront Destination, Jeff continues to accept 98% of the ride requests. Every city is different, and I must respect each driver’s decision to do what is best for their situation. Jeff believes that it all evens out that the almighty Uber algorithm will be fair to him at the end of the day. He also hates the word “trip” – to him, there are no trips, they are all “rides”, there are no “passengers”, there are only “riders”. I don’t know about that, but if that will increase my tip percentage to 46% like Jeff’s, I will stop calling them pax.

Why does Jeff accept so many rides? In his words:

“When I drive, I have the following in mind: 

1. Treat each rider as a friend

2. Give them the best ride they have ever had

3. Give the rider something extra that they don’t usually get

4. Treat them like I want to be treated

5. Have as much fun as possible while driving safely

6. If someone in the future asks them, what’s the best ride you ever had, I want them to think of their ride with me

I also realized that other drivers were not picking everyone up, and I have rescued many riders who were desperate to get a ride. I learned that they rely on us to help them in many situations. I’m not concerned about taking a couple of rides that may not be profitable, I’m picking up 22-25 rides a day, and I always get profitable rides each day.”

Jeff drives three straight days for 12-hour shifts. He starts early, finishing before dinner time. 

He also can drive in two different markets, Myrtle Beach and Charleston. According to Jeff, driving for Uber is the most flexible and fun driving job he has ever had. He is not making tons of money but calls his earnings terrific, and he has improved his results year after year. 

Takeaways for Drivers

Anything you do in life, do it with conviction and the belief that you will succeed. Looking at the negatives and complaining is easy, but Jeff is another shining example of what the gig economy is all about. 

Can I do what Jeff does? Absolutely not, I don’t have his southern charm and his infectious smile. He has figured out how to be a successful driver in his own unique way in a tourist town. Uber should be grateful to have drivers like Jeff on the platform, if it was not for drivers like him, I would see many stranded riders. 

Jeff is also a prolific writer in his own right, and one of his hobbies is writing about funny and thought-provoking experiences that took place in his car. I use some of his one-liners on SMTMC with his permission, but I would like all of you to visit his blog to read some of the stories he’s collected over his 9000-plus trips.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Jeff about the best parts of rideshare driving:

“The best thing about driving rideshare is that you can take it and inject it into your life. You have so much flexibility that you can make it fit you. The perfect way of doing this is the way you choose. For me, I love driving for Uber. They are not perfect, but it has been great for my wife and me, and that’s what I choose to do.”

What do you think of Jeff’s story?

-Sergio @ RSG

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Sergio Avedian

Sergio has been driving Uber and Lyft for about five years. He has over 6000 rides on both platforms, mostly on Uber. Sergio has a degree in finance, and worked on Wall St. for over eighteen years. In his free time, he still trades stocks and derivatives for himself and a few friends. He is also a PGA certified golf instructor, teaching golf is his passion. Sergio is married with two wonderful kids who take the rest of his afternoons/weekends between their soccer practices and golf tournaments.

 

COCOA KRISPIES HAS MORE CHOCOLATE NOW!

I think I may have promised that I would not blog about Cocoa Krispies again this year, but I'm breaking my promise.  My wife and I were in a Wal-Mart and going through the cereal aisle with the 4,000 different kinds and I didn't even realize there was a big change.  There was a Cocoa Krispies box I was going to take, but the box was open and behind that was I thought something like Cocoa Krispies and noodles or Cocoa Krispies and fruits loops or something like that.  You know how they combine a bunch of things and people somehow like it?  Well, I wouldn't be interested in that.  I guess it's milk that I saw on the box, but it looks like discolored teeth or even dog food! This is the box I glanced at and then covered up:

I got a couple boxes, but is it better than the original, the one I've been eating? I do think at some point they took chocolate out of the Krispies, could they really be back? I had to find out, so I did a taste test the next morning at 4:30 am before I went out to drive.  This is what it looked like in my office:

I set up the two bowls and first started eating the Krispies I've been eating and then I switched over and tasted the ones with, "MORE CHOCOLATEY FLAVOR!" Not only can you see the difference in color, but you can taste it immediately with the first bite.  There is definitely more chocolate! But, the big question is, do I like it? Yes, but I'm going to have to get used to it and it may take a couple bowls. (Not today)

So, while you were sleeping this morning, I was able to do the Cocoa Krispies Taste Test. The only problem I have is some of the old Krispies are on the bottom of the container with all of the new ones  on top.  I originally poured the new ones on top and then had to empty most of the container for the taste test.  Now, I have some hybrid Krispies, chocolate and MORE CHOCOLATEY FLAVOR. 

Don't worry, I won't blog about Cocoa Krispies the rest of the year-promise.  It's a thumbs up!

I Voted In South Carolina

 It was the first time that I have voted in person and I wasn't sure how easy or what it would be like.  I think all the schools were closed and they used the cafeteria in the high school that is almost across the street from our development. There was a good crowd around 9 am, with two lines and 30-40 people in each one.

The back of my driver's license was scanned and I signed the computer. I used to sign a book so this was a little different.  A ballot was printed out for me. There were nine computer terminals lined up next to each other on the right.  There was no booth with a curtain which is how I was used to voting in New Jersey. The line moved quickly. I put the ballot in and voting began.

I did not recall being able to vote completely one ticket by pressing one button, but the option was there. It was fast and I moved on to the last part and inserted my ballot in a machine and it read, "finished" or something like that and the lady gave me an, "I voted sticker."

I was walking out of the building with this little sticker, but what do you do with it? I was going home, so it seemed silly to put on my shirt.  I put it on my head just to get this picture below. I was there about twenty minutes and hopefully it will be this easy in two years for the presidential election. You know it's not easy taking a picture of your own forehead, it's easier voting. (I took the picture at home, did you really think I took it out in public?)

"If You Breakdown, He Will Come"

My favorite movie of all-time is "Field of Dreams" which came out in 1989 and it takes place in Dyersville, Iowa.  It's an amazing story of a man and his relationship with his dad and most of the movie centers around the baseball field that the son, Kevin Costner, builds. One of the iconic phrases in the movie occurs when Kevin Costner, pictured below, hears a voice on his farm and it says, "If you build it, he will come."

I have a little twist to my favorite movie and it occurred one hour south of The Field of Dreams," thanks to the amazing customer service of Allen Hermsen of Hermsen Automotive, in Tipton, Iowa. My son and his new bride, were traveling across the county from their wedding in Pennsylvania and going home to Colorado. They were driving an old school bus home when they had thermostat problems. 

They got to Allen's garage and in a short period of time he was able to fix the problem. Unfortunately, when they drove 20 minutes away to another town, they broke down. They called Allen and he was on his way with three gallons of water to flush the coolant line.  He cooled the bus down and they drove it back to his place and he worked on it again until it was perfect.

After working on the bus for many hours, Allen refused to take any more money for saving them, saying, "It's your wedding gift." He finally agreed to get paid and my son and daughter-in-law had to twist his arm to treat him to dinner where they thanked him for his kindness and his hard work. 

As an Uber driver in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, I occasionally have riders from Iowa and I'll be talking about Allen and how he helped my son and daughter-in-law. I am also sending this blog directly to him. It's my way of saying to him, "Great job-thank you for your help."

My wife and I have lived in the South for five years.  The people here are incredibly nice and frequently go out of their way to help you.  The next time I have someone go out of their way or give incredible customer service, I'm going to think of my favorite movie and look up at the sky and say, "Is this Iowa?" (If you have never seen "Field of Dreams," in the final scene the father asks his son, "Is this heaven?" The son replies, "No, it's Iowa.")

Thank you Allen!

MY FAVORITE RIDER COMMENTS IN OCTOBER

She got out my car at 12 noon after a 3-mile ride and handed me $20, "This is for not murdering us. I have a fear of Uber drivers." Me: Thank you, but you're wearing a black, Friday the 13th shirt-I should fear you."

I told the above story two weeks later to two women on a four-mile ride, getting out of the car she said, "I'm looking forward to reading your list, thank you," and handed me a $20 bill. Me: "Is this for not murdering you?" She replied, "Yes, and opening the door too."

Riders have given me currency from their country and I had 12 bills on display in my car. A woman saw the Indian bill with Ghandi on it and said, "I love Ghandi. Would you be willing to trade it for Argentina and Italy?" I traded Ghandi.

Later in the day I told two couples that I traded Ghandi and a guy said, "My mother wouldn't have traded Ghandi."

I was surprised that the outgoing woman was a librarian. She said, "I'm the kind of librarian that my kids say to me, "shhhhhhhh."

I told the woman from Chicago that she had a great personality and would be a terrific Uber driver. She said, "I hate to drive, but if there was a job looking out the window at things, I love doing that."

Woman in her 30's: "When I was 3, I had a dream that I was eaten by a chocolate kiss and I became an almond-my parents laughed their asses off."

The head football coach of a USFL team live in Dallas. I asked him, "Are you a Cowboy fan?" He said, I don't root for them, but if they played ISIS I would."

He explained, "In high school I worked very hard to lose my virginity with my girlfriend, but it just didn't work out."

Looking at her teenage daughter's choice of a Halloween costume, she said, "It was a sexy nurse costume with big boobs and she doesn't have any."

She told me, "I cured myself in six months of having severe anxiety by eating small doses of psychedelic mushrooms."

The black woman said she could teach diversity at companies, "Just pay me all the money and I would go in and play the video of, "Walk This Way" by RUN DMC and Aerosmith."

Couple: "We lived in Hawaii for 6-7 years and just moved to Montana." Me: "Why did you move to Montana?" She: We're not very smart." 

Growing up in LA, she said, "You know mobility is big issue there, so when you turn five, they give you a car." 

I "rescued" the married man early in the morning from a multi-million dollar house from a lonely widow who he drove home because she had too much to drink. He said, "I put her to bed. She wanted me to get in bed with her. She was beautiful, but I told her I had to go."

Getting in my car the young woman said, "I need to either get more boyfriends or more money."

After looking at many places in Florida for a house, the New Jersey couple arrived in Myrtle Beach.  He told me, "We got out of the airport and my wife said, "I love it." When we were driving to the sales appointment, she said, "Are you feeling it?" They are moving here in two weeks.

Picking up two young women downtown around 6:30 am Sunday morning, I asked, "So what are you two up to this early." She said, "We were just out for our one time all year." Me: "Can I have that in writing for your parents? I thought maybe you were going to church this morning."

After telling the guy from Maine that another Maine rider worked 20 hours as a farmer when the weather was good, he said, "And there was still time to mow the lawn."

He told me he was in Wealth Management, but to me it sounded like "Wolf Management," which I didn't understand. He said, "It's really the same thing."

I asked the couple who knew each other for 20 years, "How did you two meet?" He said, "I used to sell weed to her ex-boyfriend."

Most southerners hate cold weather, but this guy said, "When it gets cold, I'm in love."

When she turned 40, "I decided to have 40 drinks over a number of days and I did the same thing when I turned 50."

As she got in my car she said, "I'm here." I said, "I'm here too." She replied, "It' a good thing, I don't think it would be good for a ghost to drive me." Me: "The day before Halloween wouldn't be a problem."

I asked him, "What do you do for work?" Him" "I do what other people won't do."

Male: "My parents told me that I wasn't raised to bitch and moan. If you have a problem, solve it."

Male: "Life hasn't started taking shit away from me like my memory and health."

Me: "How did you decide to move to Hawaii?" Him: "One day I just got up and said, Why don't we move to Hawaii and buy a coffee shop?"

The young couple met in a bar and I asked the guy, "Did you have a pick-up line?" He said, "She wanted to bring me home the first night."

Engineer on a 118 ft. boat: "I lost my sailboat in Key West during the last hurricane. It just disappeared."

The four guys in Charleston had been drinking on a boat. Arriving downtown one of them said, "Look at that truck, it's got no tires and it's up on blocks-we should steal it." I said, "If you do, I'm going to take a picture of you doing it and hang it up here in my car for everyone to see."

She said, "I was on a cruise in Morocco not long ago and the people there didn't want us to be there. They were throwing rocks at us and the police had to escort us."

Telling her about the rider's comment that Paul McCartney, "Is the only 80-year-old man I would trade for my 60-year-old man," she said, "I prefer George Clooney." She also knew the month and year he was born.

From New Jersey, he told me here in South Carolina, "My friend made about $500,000 last summer selling shitty food."

The woman edits rulings from The Chicago Supreme Court and said, "My husband used to write some of them that I edited and I always tried to find something I could correct so I could tell him I did it."

I asked the 11-year-old girl as I picked up her heavy suitcase, "What do you have in here?" She: "Bricks."

The articulate woman who was a hair stylist explained that, "Writing is a love language. When you have the gift of writing you're touching people with words."

"My husband and I had an Uber driver who told us that the government was trying to kill us through the weather. I was scared of her."

I asked the guy who does Uber Eats, "How do you like it?" He said, "It doesn't talk back to you and doesn't get sick in your car."

The male Uber driver in Charleston told me he once had a 45 minute ride with an 18-year-old who was full of it and told him he just got out of jail. "Halfway through the ride he told me his arm was bleeding on his shirt. He said he was a rapper, but he was terrible. I put on some music and rapped a lot better than him."

                                                                SOME MORE COMMENTS

I told the guy in his 20's that my earlier rider was doing a half marathon and she's running in every state in the country, he said, "It doesn't sound very appealing."

Woman who is a college graduate: "Becoming a nanny is the best decision I ever made because I love it."

She: "I've been a Wedding Florist since I was 15 years old."

The English woman said, "If you ever go to Britain you have to go to Liverpool, it is the best place in the country, the people are wonderful."

I asked the two women from Massachusetts, "Are you Red Sox fans?" We're more football fans. We're not retired yet and baseball is more of an investment of time."

 Woman: "Selling cars was the worst job I ever had and the most money I ever made. The managers were mean and humiliating to everyone."

Him: "When I was a kid here in Myrtle Beach, I put laundry detergent in the hotel fountain and there were a lot of bubbles."

The woman told me, "I'm not funny on demand."

He: "I was at a "Meet and Greet" with my son to hear Brian Cashman, the General Manager of the Yankees talk. Afterwards I met him and he handed me his World Series ring and let me try it on."

Getting a job when he was homeless, he said, "I wasn't going to take no for an answer."

Beginning his training in the Navy he said, "We're usually closed off from everything for 16 hours and then we get back to the real world and find out what's been going  on."

Arriving without clubs at the golf course, the New Yorker said, "We're just going to throw the balls around today."

She: "My sister's name is Sibikaia, which means the seventh child."

"Oregon has the best drivers in the country, they are always driving the speed limit."

She said, "Anxiety is my co-pilot."

Him: "I'm a supply chain consultant. The computer chip shortage we had was because one of the two biggest manufacturers in China had a fire and their plant was destroyed and they couldn't rebuild it during the pandemic."

Male truck driver: "A guy in our office said he talks to hundreds of drivers each month looking for a job, but they only hire about two a month. They prefer drivers who have a history of being with companies for awhile."

She: "It's a pretty good business decision to be out driving early on Sunday."

Seeing my sign, "If you can't find the sunshine, be the sunshine," the woman said to her husband, "That's our motto."

Young woman just sitting down in my car, "This is the coolest car I've ever seen, can you always drive me?"

Me: "What do you do for work?" She: "I answer e-mails all day." (Customer Service)

She said, "I feel like this ride was meant to be."

She said to me, "I wish we could put you on speed dial."

The young woman said, "Working at Murphy's (the gas station/convenience store), it's not really all that it's cracked up to be."