Monday, September 25, 2023

My Most Memorable Riders in September


 JAH TEFF AND JEFF

The Jamaican man lives in Brooklyn, New York, but he was visiting Myrtle Beach.  He told me he was a performer and when I asked what he was doing in town, he said, "I'm singing on a yacht tonight." I immediately told him that it sounded like a good title for a song and he agreed.  Much to my surprise and amusement he started throwing out lyrics for the song. He said, "Singing on a yacht tonight, just in your full suit of white." It wasn't a long ride, but he threw out a few other lyrics with sunlight and I think he's going to finish the song. I gave him my address so I could see the finished song. I looked online and he really was singing on a yacht that night.


"FUN, FUN, FUN"

In 1964, The Beach Boys had a top ten hit with the song, "Fun, Fun, Fun." In the first few minutes of driving the young woman from the Chicago area, she actually said the word fun four different times.  I told her she was in "The fun car," since that's what one of my riders called my car.  On vacation, The Starbucks Manager was a joy to drive.  She said, "My grandfather always said, 'If you're not having fun, what's the point?'" Her goal is, "To always have fun." Not too long ago, her father hadn't had a vacation in eight years and she convinced him to take a two week road trip with her to visit the states in the north east of the country. She has a lot of great memories of that trip with her dad.  "He's usually the guy at the party standing by himself," but he really enjoyed the trip with his daughter. I asked her how she deals with negative people and she explained, "You have to make sure negativity doesn't break down on your positivity."  Starbucks is very lucky to have someone with her attitude working for them and I was lucky because she made my day.  It was definitely a fun ride.


MUSTANG LOVE

Way back in 1976 The Captain and Tennille released a song called, "Muskrat Love." The couple I drove had a story that would fit perfectly into a parody and it would be called, "Mustang Love."  They had been dating six months, but the guy, Layne, told me, "I tried to date her for twelve years and nine months." He was persistent and one day she contacted him and wanted to go out on a first date and a second one. Her name is Shelby and she is named after the shelby mustang, because it was her dad's favorite car.  It was no surprise that Shelby and Layne both love mustangs.  I suggested that if down the road they have kids they could name them after mustangs.  They both started laughing since she already had the first name picked out-Roush, after the roush mustang.  I think this is a relationship that was meant to be.


HIS BEST

I've asked a lot of people the same question, "What do you do for work?" This was the first time that someone has answered, "My best." I told him about Jah Teff from the Bahamas and he was also from the Bahamas.  Living in San Diego, California now, he told me he was in the entertainment business.  A very nice guy with a big smile, I told him he had to be an actor.  When the ride ended, he had me write his name down, Omega Kayne, and he said, "Look it up, you'll be surprised."  For almost thirty years he's been an actor, director, and writer and has been in a number of movies and television shows, some which I've heard of. I was surprised his career was thirty years old, but I'm sure he does give his best and his best and his smile has carried him pretty far.


TWO DIFFERENT LIVES

I picked up a young woman not far from my house after 5 am one morning.  I was surprised when she told me that she ran two psychiatric hospitals in Massachusetts and she lived in Myrtle Beach.  She spends half her time in each place, but her real challenge is being 26 years old and getting respect from the people she works with.  When someone gives her a hard time, she said, "I just smile back at them and don't respond." She is very confident that she knows what she's doing and then she tells the disrespectful person what they need to do. Her other challenge is that having been raised in the South, her idea of being nice and friendly is a little different than the people she works with in the northeast.  When she's home in Myrtle Beach and not working, she likes to act her age and not be the boss. She explained, "I'm really living two different lives."



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