In August I gave 350 rides in 12 days, the most rides I've ever given in one month. Here are eight stories from the month, the most stories I've ever written for one month.
"WE MET GOING THROUGH A WINDSHIELD TOGETHER"
It wasn't 100% accurate, but it was very close. The couple from Minnesota married close to thirty years, made my day. I asked them my standard question to couples who have been married a long time, "What is the secret of a successful marriage?" His answer was hilarious and her answer may have been the best serious answer I've ever heard. He is a welder and once when he was young told a priest that the most important thing in a marriage is, "Not going to Church and having a lot of sex." She's a nurse and she said the secret was, "Seven words, please, thank you, I love you, and I'm sorry."
The two of them were riding in the front seat of a vehicle driven by a mutual friend who he wanted to date. According to him, the woman crashed into a wall sending he and his future wife through the windshield and back inside the car. His future wife broke her neck and had two surgeries and he came out fine and went on vacation in Mexico. They started dating sometime afterwards.
He was one of the most enthusiastic and outgoing people I've ever met. He told me, "I love life, people are awesome." I wish this ride was fifteen minutes longer. He was having as much fun as I was. As he got out of the car he was telling me that their daughter tattooed their wedding anniversary date so he would remember it. However, he said he wanted it there, because his wife didn't like it. The end of the story was that he pulled up his shirt and showed me the tattoo on his upper chest. He said he was a really good welder, but he could have been a comic who has an unlimited amount of stories.
FIRST DAY ENGAGED
The couple was grinning from ear to ear after getting engaged the night before. Visiting from West Virginia, they told me that she had hired him and he was very persistent in going out with her. '"He said, "She hired me and then I asked her out many times and she kept saying no, before she finally said yes to dinner. She asked to hang out the second time." They are in the time share business, setting up appointments for potential buyers. To celebrate their happy occasion I wished them forty years of happiness and I got a great picture of them with my mannequin Lily.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM HONDURAS
In Myrtle Beach we have a lot people who come from other countries and work here through the summer months and I've had a number of people from the country of Honduras and they always enjoy seeing the Honduras bill hanging in my car. This couple who have been married four years, really made my birthday special. The husband absolutely loved my car and seeing all the money in my museum and the wife and a great way of laughing. When I told them that it was my birthday, they suddenly started singing, "Happy Birthday" to me. It was a very nice gesture and caught me by surprise.
However, they were not done. They were heading to work and he said, "You really made our day." And that's when he gave me this eloquent birthday wish, "I hope everything your hands and feet touch prospers greatly." When they leave here they are heading for their next adventure in Montana to work in the winter. They were a delight to have in my car and I wish them forty years of happiness together.
I only had her in my car about 10-15 minutes, but she was remarkable. Retired and recently turned 80, she was heading to the airport and told me about the career she was retired from. She explained, "I have delivered thousands of babies here and in Europe. Mothers and babies are the love of my life." To emphasize what she was saying she told me what she did when she retired. "I used to visit the hospital and sit there and just watch the babies." She was very grateful for the ride and charming to talk with. One day in Charleston she was in the supermarket and a woman walked up to her and told her that she looked like the woman who delivered her baby in England thirty-five years ago. She had been recognized and appreciated and it meant the world to her. I appreciated her time and stories-she is a wonderful person.
THE MAILMAN DELIVERS HIS LINES
He was with his wife and son and they had a great time riding with me. He was very funny and his wife said, "I've told him he could be a comedy writer." He asked me if my mannequin was my girlfriend and then, "Is she single?" When I explained that some of my riders are a little afraid at first of the mannequin head, he joked that they wouldn't be afraid if they were the killer from Long Island that was just arrested. At the end of the ride he assured me that, "This was an Uber we won't forget." I'll remember that he kept me laughing the whole ride.
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY?
The young man was visiting from Bulgaria and is considered a J-1 student, working in Myrtle Beach for the summer. He had his undergraduate degree completed and he was getting his masters in "Positive Pyschology." I had never heard the phrase so I asked him to explain it to me. He spoke pretty well, but wasn't that confident in his ability to explain it. Ironically, I encouraged him with my positivity and he was able to explain it pretty well. A good definition of it is this: positive pyschology is the study of what is going right with people and how to use those insights and tools to help people not only cope, but thrive." I explained to him what I do in my car to brighten up people's day and the book I'm about to publish and his eyes got very big and he understood the connection. I hope to drive him again before he goes back home, I'm sure we'll both enjoy it.
THE BARTENDER WAS SHOCKED
It was a short ride, but the first minute was almost too much for the local bartender. As she got into my car she started talking and then gasped when she saw the mannequin head peering out from the front seat. "It almost gave me a heart attack; I thought it was a child looking at me." She took a picture and said, "I'm going to be talking about her all day." At one point she told me, "I don't want to see her the rest of my life." But moments later she said, "That's hilarious, you should bring her into my bar." I asked if she wanted a picture with Lily, but she said no. It was a fun ride, because she was so startled.
A WOMAN WITH MANY TALENTS
The woman from Oregon told me that she was a nurse and had worked the past few years in a hospital. Like many other nurses, she had gone through the difficulties of working on a COVID floor. She became interested in being a nurse during her six years in the Navy. It was her job to check the couple of nuclear areas on ships and she used to spend time working with medical personnel in the Navy. You never know what a person's background might be and she was very open to sharing that background with me and it made our ride a whole lot more interesting.
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