MY MOST MEMORABLE RIDERS IN AUGUST

It was a very short month for me, but I met some incredible people in just over one hundred rides.

 FOUR NIGERIANS MAKE MY DAY

My passengers really made my day with a very interesting ride about their home country, Nigeria.  I'm not sure I've had Nigerians in my car before, but they were great to talk with.  Three of them lived in Minnesota and the other in Thornton, Colorado, ironically the place my wife and I left at the beginning of the week while we visited family.  They had a family reunion of twenty plus people in Myrtle Beach, with some coming from Texas.

I learned that the weather in Nigeria is almost always between 80-90 degrees and it is hot.  The most popular rice in the country is Jollof rice which is a mixture of rice, tomato-based sauce, vegetables and spices. They are very proud of the rice that Nigeria produces. Nigeria is located on the west coast of Africa and it has the most populous black people in the world with around 230,000 black men. They were really nice guys and wanted me to take a picture of them to put up in my car and post here.  Thanks guys-keep smiling.

THE INSPIRING ATTORNEY

I've driven many attorneys over the past six years, but she is of the most impressive ones I've met.  Growing up in a family of accountants, she became an attorney for an unusual reason. She met a retired Harvard lawyer who was working for free for a non-profit and she was inspired.  She said, "I became a lawyer so I could work for a non-profit."  She helps people keep their homes due to a lack of money or the correct paperwork.  She told me that it was very rewarding and I have no doubt she will have a very successful career. Is she good with numbers? Absolutely, but I can tell she's very good with people too.

A VERY TALENTED YOUNG MAN

"In college, I made $100,000 working in marketing," which is extremely unusual. He has 125,000 followers on Instagram and the 27-year-old from North Carolina explained how he was able to turn that into a very profitable career at a young age.  He made me laugh when he said, "I made a lot of money and then I decided to be a rapper." I told him that I thought it worked the other way.  In his music business, he is working with four other artists and is planning on personally doing a tour in three cities.  If you're not impressed, he also wrote a children's book which sold very well on Amazon.  Who knows what he will accomplish in the future; he was very impressive.

YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD

It took me a long time to get to her, but it was worth the wait.  She is a Leo and like myself, she just turned 64 years old.  She does very well as a server locally in Myrtle Beach and it is obviously due to her outgoing personality.  She has worked as an interior designer for many years, but she wanted a certificate or degree.  She's been going to college online in New York City and she is about to graduate.  She is a no-nonsense person and put in the time to make her dream come true-a true inspiration.

A TRUMPET LEADS TO HAPPINESS

When I asked him what kind of work he did, I was surprised when he said, "I'm a trumpet player."  He has one more year as a graduate student studying music, but his passion is his trumpet.  He's the only one in his family with musical talent.  I asked him, "What are you going to do when you graduate?" His answer was simple, "I'm going to enjoy my life."  He may wind up teaching music for a university, but I could tell that music was in his soul and he will reach his goal of enjoying his life.  He made my ride with him enjoyable and he didn't even have his trumpet!

AN UNUSUAL AND INTERSTING JOB

He had just moved from Massachusetts and I could have talked to him for a few hours.  He had a couple degrees including a masters in Clinical Sociology.  He was working with an organization called, "Turning Point USA," which I have heard about.  They are a non-profit organization that is dedicated to identify, organize, train and educate students on the subject of freedom.  He himself is a libertarian and he was very passionate about what he did. I am sure he will be successful at whatever he does in Myrtle  Beach.