My Most Memorable Rider Comments from June

He: "I've been married four years.  I met my wife on September 26th and we married on October 5th." (10 days later) We knew we were right for each other. She was perfect." 

She told me that her ex-husband sold her dog. She: "His name was Thor." Me: "Your ex-husband's name was Thor?" She: "No, his name was, "Piece of s _ _ _." (Cheated on her)

She told me, "When I saw you had a transit van, I wondered if you had a stripper pole." 

Sitting in front of a very nice house for a few minutes, my passenger walked down the driveway and said, "Do you have my coffee?" When I said I was here to drive someone, he added, "You were supposed to go to the Sheraton and bring the coffee to me."

After telling me several horrendous stories about the difficult month he and his wife had, I said, "I think I may need a shower after I drop you off. I should drop you off soon." He: "A lightning bolt could strike you at any time."

Driving two Jamaican women to the back of a hotel, suddenly one yelled out, "Blow the vehicle, blow the vehicle!" She wanted me to blow the horn to get a car's attention.

Playing golf with a guy who plays once a year and his son, my rider said, "It was so awful. I could have shot him. He's worth $3 million and he had no tees or balls."

"My uncle only wore shoes twice-for his wedding and his funeral."

Woman from Arizona, "The heat in Arizona is like having a hair dryer blowing on your face."

"My wife has an unusual pet, a chameleon. It has reptile dysfunction."

She: "My boyfriend started drowning in the ocean and I saved him yesterday."

I asked him, "What kind of work do you do?" He said, "I'm just a doctor and I can't wait to stop."

She works for a HOA and said, "A guy came in upset that he was fined. He was away for a long time and his grass wasn't cut. He said to me, ' How come my neighbor didn't cut it?" Then he asked, "Why didn't you cut it?"

She: "My dad is very good friends with Mike Tomlin, the Steeler's head coach. He sent my dad a real Super Bowl ring."

From Pennsylvania, he told me how he deals with his HOA, "I don't ask for permission, I ask for forgiveness."

He looked 17, but was 29 years old.  I said, "You have Dick Clark genes." He said he had, "Vampire genes."

She: "My name is Wysteria, but it was supposed to be Marie.  My mom was on heavy drugs when she was giving birth and she was looking at a pillow case when she came up with the name."

The young mother had an almost two year old son with her.  She: "When he was one, my sister and I used to scare him with a mannequin." (He was not afraid of my mannequin)

Server in an upscale restaurant, "I was asked, 'Does your burger have meat on it?"

"My wife and mother-in-law both work at the same school I do.  I'm the assistant principal so I'm their boss."

Me: "Why did you move to South Carolina?" She: "It was spontaneous, our house was being shot up in Chicago."

My first rider to ask, "Do you have any scotch tape?" Another girl asked her, "Are you taping your dress or your knees together?" Another comment was, "She's closed for business."

Ricky was a nice guy and he runs bars in Charleston.  He said, "Tell people that you met me, because I'm a legend here."

"Is the town of Charleston haunted?"                     

She: "I had a pretty new female driver and her son was in the front seating eating breakfast and he kept looking back at me.  She was swerving and yelling on the phone that her husband had cheated on her. I just wanted to get out of the car."

MORE RIDER COMMENTS

He: "I have 1,200 cousins in this area and our family reunion takes a whole week."

He: "When I was a teenager I went with my mom to New York.  I told her I wanted to go to Mickey Mantle's steak place. I saw him sitting at the bar and I went over and asked him for an autograph.  He took a picture off the wall and signed it for me and I still have it."

She: "I named my son, "Unique" after a gangster in my favorite TV show." Me: "Can I be there when you explain that to him when he's older?"

From Kenya she said, "The thing I like most about my country is their are no extreme temperatures. It's always 50-80 degrees."

Server: "There are a lot of rich, prissy, mean people where I work."

Manager of a barbecue place, "Everyone has their own shit here, it's important to smile and say something nice."

He: "My dad Michael Moorer, was a four-time boxing champion who beat Evander Holyfield and lost to George Foreman."

He works at Hardees and told me, "The busiest time at Hardees is breakfast. They have a great breakfast."

He: "I was so drunk once that when a cop pulled me over I gave him my debit card."

"When my sister was visiting the south for the first time we were in a Publix and the guy started pushing our cart out the door and she yelled for him to stop.  She thought he was stealing our cart."

I asked the couple married 16 years, "How did you meet?" He said, "We have the same aunt and uncle, but on different sides of the family. My cousin is her half cousin and she's her best friend." 

From Texas she said, "My son won a raffle for a hotel and airline tickets to come here to Myrtle Beach."

Her mom named her "Beaches", because she loved the beach and Beaches was raised in Florida."

He has six Turo cars he rents out of the Charleston Airport and he said, "There are thousands of them available there."

She: "I got to see The Beatles in person at The Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. My friend's father got us tickets and he drove us and picked us up."(Tickets were as high as $6.50

She: "When my son was two he wanted to be a landscaper."

After showing the picture of the four professional cornhole players, two cheerleaders said, "We're famous cheerleaders."

The three guys from China were excited to see my Chinese bill and told me how it pronounce thank you in Chinese: "Xiexie sound like she she."

Due to his wife's leg injury, he's had to give his wife a bath.  He: "It's not as sexy as it used to be."

He: "I come from a place where everything in the water wants to kill you." (Florida)

She: "At our timeshare presentations we get one out of five people to buy something."

She: "I have drivers tell me they hate coming to Mt. Pleasant, hate the people and hate having to go to the islands." (It's my favorite place to drive)

I asked, "Have you ever gotten a gift from an Uber driver?" He said, "Yes, a pillow. It was in the car and I was using it because my back hurt and the driver said I could have it."

The auto mechanic of 35 years is now retired and said, "I fixed my Uber's car in five minutes this morning by getting the brake switch light to shut off."

She: "I miss nothing about living in New Jersey."

"Sometimes in the South I get my New York guard up-what do they want from me?"

She: "I'm a blood mobile bus driver."

He: "I'm a TLL, a Thought Leader Liaison, I educate doctors about medical problems by representing my company."

Young male server: "I like to see people smiling and having a good time. The money doesn't mean as much to me."

She: "I named my daughter a Japanese word that means seven seas.  When I was pregnant with her, the only thing that calmed me down was sitting in a shower each day for twenty minutes."

"My great aunt cooked for the Wrigley's." (Wealthy owners of  The Chicago Cubs.)

She: "I'm a bus coordinator for a county in New York with 600 buses."

He: "I'm a waiter in fine dining."

The traveling nurse told me, "I worked for 11 months in the Carribbean and I'm leaving in a couple month to work in Hawaii for three months. I'm going to be there December 7th to see the events at Pearl Harbor that day."

She: "My name "Ng" is pronounced, "Nuh."

The European dancer said, "I love dancing and I love that I can do it anywhere in the world."

He: "The Cowboys won't win until Jerry Jones dies."

He: "I write for a college football website and I'm a sports announcer too."

The husband said about he and his kids, "We have fun when we are away from mom, she's more serious."

COMMENTS ABOUT MY MANNEQUIN LILY

She: "I had a mannequin head from cosmetology school. I took it to all my parties in college and it was a big hit. People shaved her head and put cosmetics on her."

She: "You should write a book from how Lily sees this."

"Can I touch it?"

She: "I think it's kind of goofy."

She: "Do you live with this?"

"Your wife doesn't mind this?"

She: I have many mannequins at cosmetology school, but one of them gives me a hard time." (the hair)

She: "We bought a mannequin for our daughter because she liked to do hair. Now, the mannequin is on a stick in front of the window."

COMMENTS ABOUT ME AND MY CAR: (How can this be so rewarding? I gave 343 rides this month and this is what my terrific passengers said.)

He: "This ride was the best part of the end of our vacation."

He: "If I could give you 10 stars I'd give you 12. This has been the best Uber ride of my life."

She: "You're not a normal Uber driver, you're interesting."

He: "You've been changing lives by what you do in your car."

He: "Keep doing what you're doing, you're such a joy."

"Thank you for all your help and wise words."

The woman from Kenya said, "Awesome trip, thank you my darling."

"I feel very blessed to have met you today."

I asked, "Have you ever gotten a gift from an Uber driver?"  He said,"You gave us the gift of information."

The recent college graduate said, "Thank you for talking to me, you really made my day."

The female restauranter said about the ride, "I'm pretty impressed."

"Thanks for making our ride delightful."

"This ride made my day."

Looking at all the money, she said, "You're a rich man."

"You're wonderful, best Uber ride ever."

"I enjoyed your museum very much."

"This was the most interesting Uber ride ever."

"I can tell you're a good fella."

"This was such a pleasure."

"This is so interesting."

"What an Uber!"

"This is a great collection."

"This is fantastic."

Getting out of the car, the young man said, "May your collection ever grow."

"This was an experience."

"I love your passion!"

"This was really a good ride, thank you so much."

As I told her the story of how I got 54 bills from different countries, she kept saying, "Get out of here!" and "No way!"

"I love the museum."

"I'm glad I decided to get an Uber today."

"We appreciate the conversation."

"Good luck on your journey."

"I like your car."

"You're a nice guy."

"I hope I get you again soon."

"This is very unique."

"That was a very nice ride."

"This is beautiful, it's super unique."

"That's crazy."

"One of the best rides I've ever had, I enjoyed it very much."

"Far out!"

"I really enjoyed the ride."

"I really like you."

"This was a great ride."

He lives in Mexico and said, "Your Mexican bill is fake."

He wanted to give me something for my car, so the manager of bars gave me very large bottle opener.

JUNE'S MOST MEMORABLE RIDERS

 

A STINGRAY COULD NOT STOP HER

One of my last rides of the month turned out to be one of the most inspirational rides in my six years of driving. I was driving two young women from a bachelorette weekend in Charleston. One woman from New York, had a crutch and a very challenging weekend experience.

Walking in the ocean she stepped on a stingray and it stung her in the calf and went right through her.  It was extremely painful, but she was able to get good medical attention.  Apparently, in the ocean you're not supposed to walk, but instead you should "shuffle" your feet because it warns the stingrays and they stay away from you.  Also, you need to put hot water on the wound which draws the venom out, if you ever need that info.

She was walking with a crutch and although I didn't get a good look at it, she may have had some kind of boot on her leg. She needs to have it looked at when she gets home, but she was in very good spirits. She enjoyed what she could on her trip and was looking forward to heading home.  I'm sure she'll be back to Charleston one day to enjoy more of the town.

She is in the computer field, but it's more important who she is.  On the ride to the airport, she was smiling and laughing and her attitude was very positive.  My impression was that this was just a bump in the road and she was moving past it.  Years ago, I drove a young woman who had just had her car totaled and she lost two teeth.  She was an orphan and was working at four different jobs and she made sure that I knew who she was. She said, "I believe in being the victor, not the victim."

I have no doubt that this is one tough New Yorker who has a very bright future ahead of her. With her personality and attitude, that stingray was no match for a "victor." I'm sending my best wishes for a speedy recovery.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

It was a short, but remarkable ride. He told he has been married four years and he and his wife have had an awful May.  He listed a number of things that had happened and one that was so awful I said, "I may have to take a shower after this ride is over. I need to drop you off soon." He replied, "A lightning bolt could strike you at any time."

But the most shocking thing he said was this, "We met in a bar on September 25th and got married on October 5th. We knew we were right for each other, she was perfect." How does it happen a couple in 2024 can get married ten days after they meet in a bar? His wife badly turned her ankle in May and she's unable to take a shower, so he's been giving her a sponge bath sitting on a shower stool. The funny guy said, "It's not as sexy as it used to be." I told him his luck will change this month. 

THE BOXING CHAMPION'S SON

I was having a very nice conversation with an accounting recruiter and then he mentioned that his dad (pictured above), was a four time boxing champion between 1988-2008. His professional record was 52-4, beating Evander Holyfield and losing to George Foreman.  His son told me that his dad, Michael Moorer, "Had his worst fight against Foreman and it still bothers him."  His dad lives in Florida and has opened a gym with Evander Holyfield.

 A STEWARDESS FROM SOUTH AFRICA

It's only the second time I have driven someone from South Africa, and the young woman was very excited to see the South African bill with Nelson Mandela on it in my car. She was delightful to drive and had one of the biggest laughs when I told her what the retired British race car driver said to me a few years ago, "Our wives have something very much in common, they have abominably poor taste in men." Her laugh was so loud she startled me.

After high school she took a month or so course in being a stewardess on a yacht and she really enjoys what she's doing.  She has visited a number of countries in her short career and is saving a good amount of money also.  There's less than ten people usually on the yacht and they are good people to work with. I loved her accent and we ended the ride with her saying, "This was an awesome trip, thank you my darling." I may tell some future riders about her farewell and try to copy her beautiful accent!

NOT JUST A DOCTOR

He was easily one of the most impressive riders of the year and I am so glad I got to meet him.  I drove 21 minutes to pick him up which is much longer than most people I pick up.  From North Carolina, I asked him what he did for a living and he replied, "I'm just a doctor and I can't wait to stop."  I didn't realize until later that he may have gotten this line from the television show, "Star Trek."  The doctor,  Leonard McCoy, used to say to Captain Kirk, "I'm just a country doctor, Jim."  This doctor was more like "Dr. Marcus Welby, MD, " a television show from the eighties.

Outgoing, relaxed, funny, and easy going, this is the kind of doctor everyone would want.  He's been upset at how the medical profession has been ruined by corporations.  He explained it is much harder for a doctor these days to have their own practice and everything about the profession has been corporatized. He explained that they are measuring things that should not be measured. He's looking to retire as an internist over the next few years.

ALMOST KISSING COUSINS

It took most of the day, but I knew this would be the best ride of the day almost immediately.  The couple had been married 16 years and they were with a friend heading to The Country Music Festival.  The wife said to me, "When I saw you had a Transit van, I wondered if there was a stripper pole." I can't explain where that came from, but she is the only one to ever bring that subject up.

I asked them how they met and it's a good thing we had thirty minutes left in the ride. They told me they knew each other all their life since they had the same aunt and uncle, but on the other side of the family. Her best friend is her cousin or half cousin. The cousin is also a cousin or half cousin of her husband. I was driving and I'm not 100% sure which it was.

Their relationship changed when the cousin and the wife were going to camp out in a yard, but heavy winds blew the tent away.  She did mention that he gave them a hay ride and she was not dressed properly in a mini-skirt. (Not for camping either) He told them they could stay over, but his place had no electricity, so he lit candles. She thought he was being romantic.  He also had to explain how they needed a bucket of water to use the bathroom, which probably did not sound romantic at all.

The cousin did not want to stay in a separate room, so the three of them went to sleep in the same bed.  Since the cousin was on one side giggling, the new relationship did not go very far that night, but it was quite a story.

LEARNING CHINESE

The three men from China were excited to see the Chinese bill I have hanging in my car. They were docked in Charleston and had come in on a freighter. The word for thank you is spelled, "Xiexide." They taught me that it's pronounced, "She she." As they got out I said, "She she, " and they laughed. It was a short ride and I made the most of it.  When do you ever get to talk to three men on a slow boat to China?