MY FAVORITE RIDERS IN DECEMBER

COULD HIS LIFE BE ANY BETTER?

Sometimes in life you have times that everything is going right and my passenger was in one of those times.  He was returning from a weekend golf trip with some of his friends from college.  On our trip from the airport I found out that he and his wife had graduated from Lehigh University a few years before my son did.  They just celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary and were expecting their first child in March. A month or two before his wife is due they have a friend who is getting married in Hawaii. They are planning to stay there for two weeks.  He was an engineer but now he's in real estate development. To top it off he explained he had just moved into his new house and as I drove into the spectacular neighborhood I wondered what his house looked like.  His house had a view of the mountains and his outside deck looked like there was room for restaurant seating.  These few months could be the best ones of his life, I enjoyed being a very small part of it.

AN ARTIST UNLIKE ANY OTHER

It is not possible in a paragraph to describe this rider.  He was fun and interesting to talk to and he kept surprising me with parts of his life.  He is an original, unlike anyone I've ever driven.  I looked him up and he was described as being an artist, a painter, a fine art bookmaker, an author of 17 books, a spoken word performer of seven albums, a musician, a founder of an art church and he's been a legal priest or reverend in a very unique kind of Church.  He has paintings displayed in Europe, some famous people own his works, he's been on the front page of The New York Times, and in the past he has put a curse on The San Francisco 49ers. He is very controversial, but a really nice guy to meet.  Below is a picture of Steven with my mannequin that he wanted to be hung up in my car with my other riders.

EXTREME GENEROSITY 

I have had many generous riders over the past 7 1/2 years, but this was one of the most unexpected tips I've ever had.  My rider was in my car for six minutes and three miles.  He had a local family business and he enjoyed the foreign money and pictures in my car.  It was a short conversation and when I went to drop him off he said he wanted to tip me on the app before he got out.  He had some difficulty finding it and then he put it in and it wasn't what he wanted to give me.  He handed me a $100 bill and asked if I had any twenties for change.  I was grabbing my wallet and said, "I'm not sure how much I have."  He replied, "That's okay, keep it.  I've been lucky in life."  I thanked him, shook his hand and wished him a Merry Christmas.  I didn't get a chance to tell him I've been lucky in life and as an Uber driver.  And now, his generosity will always be a part of my story.

A BARBER WITH INTEGRITY

I have over the years driven a number of barbers/hair stylists and they usually have a good story or two from talking with their customers.  He was a very nice guy and when I asked if he had a good story, he surprised me with this one which said a lot about himself.

This was the second time he had cut his hair, but his customer was bragging about cheating on his wife and wasn't concerned about telling him, because they had, "Barber confidentiality." He told his customer, "There is no such thing and if your wife came in looking for you I'd probably say you might be with your mistress. He was real quiet until I finished his hair and then he called me, 'An asshole.'" The customer never came back, but it says a lot about this barber and I will tell other barbers that story.

MONICA ENDS THE YEAR WITH GOOD KARMA

My last ride of the year was perfect. I knew it would be good when I saw her name, since my wife's name is Monika.  This Monica was visiting from Ohio and she was going to a concert with friends. She runs a software business and she definitely enjoyed the ride. The fifteen minute ride was filled with some laughs, some stories, and she made my day.  

It was just getting dark as I was dropping her off and she told me how much she appreciated the ride with several nice compliments. She had had had a rough day, which I did not know.  I told her it was my pleasure and a few minutes after I left her, I found a $20 bill on my front seat which I did not see her put there.  What she didn't know was that I had a very rare poor day driving all day and her generous tip was a complete and much appreciated surprise.  How do you beat that? At 11:59 that night on my final day of driving this year, Monica's tip for a couple dollars came through on the app to finish my day.  She told me, "I've never met a Monica I didn't like." She's now my second favorite Monica and hopefully she will read this thank you.

I have had a lot of wonderful riders this year in South Carolina and in Colorado and I've given them my best and many of them have given me their best. Thank you.

Random Thoughts To End The Year

1. Some people think my mannequin looks a little weird, what would they think about this head I spotted in a parking lot?

2. You could win a lifetime of chicken to guess what this picture is. I believe it is the crumbs from chocolate cake that were found after someone(not me, I would have eaten all of it) cleaned themselves off after eating.  Possibly some potato chips too. Maybe it wasn't?

3. When you're babysitting a 16 month old, you're also watching a bunch of other people that are pictured below. Take a look at the socks on that bear:

4. I didn't get a picture of it, but on the car in from of me it said this friendly phrase: "If I passed you on the right, you're an idiot." Who exactly is the idiot? I guess they are saying that you're driving too slow so I have to pass on the right. (which is dangerous and illegal)

5. Have you ever seen a seagull with shoes one? This is your one chance, look carefully.

6. Never, ever did I expect to see gas under $2.00 a gallon, but I paid this and enjoyed doing so.  Murphy USA does it again! I actually saw online that another Murphy USA in Colorado had gas at $1.88! And then it went down further, to $1.71!  I took so many pictures I missed the lowet one.

7. Walking in my neighborhood recently I saw this truck from a distance and I was thinking, "Why would someone put that much tape on a truck?" As I got closer I saw all the lights taped on the truck and I thought, "Why would someone put that much tape on a truck?"

8. Do you know the degree of difficulty to walk by these toy containers piled up early in the morning and in the dark without knocking them over and waking up the sleepers? I didn't want to breathe.

9. How many reminders do we need for a dentist appointment? I have to make my next cleaning appointment, but I don't want all the reminders.  Maybe I'll call them every few weeks to check if the dentist will be available on that day?  Since typing this my doctor canceled the morning of my physical.  Can I charge him?

10. Did anyone else notice that as you get older more people want to tell you what and how to do something? You're probably thinking I shouldn't have typed that out-see what I mean!

11. Now that the penny is gone, could the nickel be next? I read that we lose 9 cents every time a nickel is made and distributed, how ridiculous is that?

The Commercial That Wasn't

We have all watched a lot of commercials in our life.  My dad used to shut the volume off even during Super Bowl commercials which were always better than normal commercials.  There have been many people who became very famous doing commercials, such as Harlan Sanders, Tom Carvel, Dave Thomas, The Tidy Bowl man, and Mr. Whipple. ( I do know Mr. Whipple and the Tidy Bowl man are not real people like the others are.

                     

Have you ever thought about being in a commercial? I haven't either until a couple weeks ago.  When I published my book I did three television interviews on consecutive days.  It was a really fun experience for sure, but being in a commercial is something I never, ever imagined doing once or three times. Could it ever happen again?

A few weeks ago I found out that a company was working with Uber and they were looking for a few drivers to appear in a commercial about their experiences as an Uber driver.  I contacted a public relations person that I spoke with when my book came out and she had someone call me about the commercial.  I had a real shot at doing a commercial, how cool is that? What surprised me was that they were going to pay drivers for a few hours to film the commercial.  I didn't find out what they were paying, because they went with other drivers. I told them to keep me mind, so you never know, I could be the next Mr. Whipple.(with the Charmin)

Being A Left Hand

With my wife recovering from hand surgery I had to play a role I haven't played before-being her left hand.  She's doing well and realizing how valuable a left hand is even when you're righty.  It took a few days but she's using her fingers more on her left hand.  Below is the picture of the bandaged hand.

One of the things I've had difficulty doing is putting her socks on.  I've had plenty of practice recently putting on socks for our 16 month old grandchild, but putting socks on an adult is a different story.  I'm pretty sure I had trouble as a kid putting my socks on also.  Below is the pair of socks that I have struggled with. I'm starting to get the hang of it. I'm just glad I'm not wearing those myself.

In addition to making eggs for the first time in my life, I've been refilling her water bottle, opening up caps on medicine, toothpaste, creams and also putting on a sleeve for the shower and a bathing cap too. Putting on a headband sounds easy, unless it's someone else's head.  I was thinking of practicing on my mannequin's head.

Just when I thought it couldn't get more difficult she wanted to put on earrings.  She put it in her ear, since I would have drawn blood, but I to put the tiny piece to hold it in.  I dropped it a few times and finally was able to do it without drawing blood although I almost got myself.  Below is the best picture of her ear I've ever seen.

One day I'm going to get practice being her right hand.  I can't wait-it should be a lot of fun.

Holiday Giving in 2025

What's new with technology and giving? How about a Giving Machine around the world?  Pictured below is a kiosk that is called a, "Light The World Giving Machine."  It can now be found in 126 cities across 21 countries and 6 continents.  Look at the size of this thing!

It is not brand new because it started in 2017, but I've never heard of it. The organization that started it was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with the theme of  "love one another".  People can pick a dollar amount or an item to donate to a charity.

It gives people a chance to give instead of getting something from a vending machine.  Machines may have different gifts depending on the city, but it's a wide variety of things as you can see below.  Mostly 100% of the gift goes to the charity with little or no overhead.

Has it had success? I think donations of $50 million is a pretty good amount. In 2024, 2 million meals were given to feed people, $500,000 children were provided with polio and measles vaccines, and 25,000 refugees received emergency food boxes.  Once the donation is made it can up to 12 months for it to go through.  Below are a few of the cities that you can find a kiosk:

 Washington D.C., Rome, Italy, Bangkok, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Kansas City, Missouri, Provo, Utah, Buenos Aires, and Nairobi, Kenya.

I Made Eggs Today!

It finally happened. At the age of 65 years, 3 months, and 22 days, I cooked eggs for the first time. Is cooked really the way to say that?  My wife is recovering from hand surgery and today, December 10th was my first lesson in making eggs.

I actually cracked a few eggs and we only found a couple small pieces of shell in the bowl.  She couldn't really do it with one hand and I barely did it with two hands. Below you can't see the egg, but it was there.

Once the yoke was in there I was told to "fold it in." What she really meant was that I should stir them up until it turns white, which I did.  As you can see below it looked pretty good, before it turned white.

Pouring it into the frying pan I was then told to fold the eggs which meant to mix them up or "stir the pan" when they are cooked. I don't have a picture of that, because I was busy cooking them.  Here is the final product which looked good and they tasted good too.

Our dog Odin was waiting for the eggs and he was shocked that I was making them.  You can see the look on his face below.

My wife said I would never be a cook, but on this day, December 10, 2025, I was the cook in the house. I did it the next day too, believe it or not.

Happy 100th Birthday Dick Van Dyke

On December 13th Dick Van Dyke will turn 100 years old.  For over sixty years he has been an American icon, and has starred on Broadway, television, and in the movies.  On December 24th, his new book, "100 Rules for Living to 100" will be released.

His career began in the 1950's and his first big success was in 1961 when he won a Tony award for the Broadway show, "Bye Bye Birdie." He then had a television show, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" for five years with Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam, and Carl Reiner.  He was also in "The Carol Burnett Show in 1967-1968. In 1993 he had a television show, "Diagnosis for Murder" for eight seasons.

In the movies, his biggest performance was in "Mary Poppins" in 1964 and "Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang" in 1968 and appeared in several other movies including "Night at the Museum" in 2006.

I was curious if he had written any books or if this was the first one.  Here are the books he has written:

"My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business"

"Keep Moving and Other Tips and Truths About Aging"

"Faith, Hope, and Hilarity: The Child's Eye View of Religion"

"Those Funny Kids!"

"Altar Egos"

"Mr. Finnegan's Giving Chest"

He is known for his positive attitude and zest for life.  For decades he has promoted the philosophy of "keep moving" as a way of staying young.  He recently said that for as long as children will be singing the songs from his movies, "the most important part of me will always be alive."

When I think of Dick Van Dyke I'll always think of him in "Mary Poppins" dancing on the rooftop or with penguins or singing "I Love to Laugh" in "Mary Poppins."

GANDHI HELPED ME..AGAIN!

A few years ago a woman was getting into my car when she looked up at the Indian bill with Gandhi on it and she shrieked, "Gandhi, I love Gandhi. Would you trade him for Italy and Argentina? I started laughing and after talking with her, I traded Gandhi for two bills. Later that day I told the story to a couple and the man said seriously, "My mother never would have traded Gandhi." I've told people that I may have the only funny story about Gandhi there is.

The bill I no longer have is on the upper left.

I now have a second funny Gandhi story. We had a fly that was terrorizing us for more than a week.  It apparently really liked the kitchen and was always flying very quickly.  I had a good couple shots at killing it, but it was really fast.

Finally, I had enough about a week later.  I needed something solid and I found my weapon, the paperback book I was reading on Gandhi.  I know this bad, but I did use the back cover since he is on the front.  The man who is known for peaceful resistance was going to be part of my violent attack on a harmless fly.  He would have hated this.

I had a few more whacks at it and it would not slow down.  Finally I saw it on our backdoor screen. I quickly shut the inside door and I knew I had it. It was not moving, I may have finally wore it out. 

Holding onto Gandhi, my partner, I gave the fly one last chance.  I reached inside the door and opened the screen, but it would not get out of our house.  With deep regret I swung the book one more time with Gandhi facing me and killed the fly and below is the evidence.

I wiped off the book, but was that really the same fly that was setting records flying in our kitchen? We waited several days and the fly was gone.  I have to say this, because it's true.  Many people will say that Gandhi was so peaceful that he never would have killed a fly.  I was there and I saw him do it.

Sing A Song For Your Health

I have always enjoyed singing.  I have done a lot of singing over the years in the shower, in my car, and other times when I'm alone.  My wife has told me that when it starts to get sunny out that I always sing, "Here Comes The Sun." Always is too strong of a word, but I have done that from to time.  

I have also written a few hundred songs/parodies and I have sung some of them many, many times. I know that I do not sing well, but the most important thing is not how well you sing, but that you sing.  Recent studies have shown that singing is very good for you. They say, "Physiology singing regulates the nervous system through rhythmic breathing and vibration."  Not only does singing feel good it also reduces stress and "strengthens the body and the brain."

So you should up your singing, because it's good for you and you can do it almost anywhere. I am singing right now.

If you happen to be someone who enjoys doing karaoke with friends down the Jersey shore, this is a list of the top ten most popular karaoke songs:

10. "The Boy is Mine" Brandy and Monica  (never heard of it)

9. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Bonnie Tyler (I like this one a lot)

8. "Friends in Low Places" Garth Brooks  (never heard of it)

7. "Super Bass" Nikki Minaj (never heard of it)

6. "You Oughta Know" Alanis Morissette  (I definitely do not know)

5. "Shallow" Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper (Very nice song)

4. "Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen (Love it, one of the classics)

3. "I Will Survive" Gloria Gaynor (Like it, very popular)

2. "I Want it That Way" The Backstreet Boys  (I do know it, but don't like it)

1. "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" Shania Twain ( I know it, but never would have guessed it's number 1)

MY MOST MEMORABLE RIDER COMMENTS IN NOVEMBER

On the way to New Zealand, he said, "I can't wait for the food we're about to have. But, my wife is gonna struggle. You're going to have to open up your palate."  She: "Good thing I brought my anti-diarrhea pills."

I asked the couple how they met and he said, "We met on e-Harmony. One of her pictures was in a Hazmat suit and I said, 'This is interesting.'"

She told me, "Grandpa's Burgers" are the best.  They've been around 50 years and the burgers are as big as my face."

                                                              

As he got in my car he handed me a $3 tip. After thanking him I told him that he was only the fourth rider out of 16,000 to give me a tip before the ride started.  He said, "I try to be a good person. I'm not very good at doing bad things."

She said, "Driving for an hour on the left side of the road (New Zealand) was the most terrifying experience of my life." Her husband added, "Mine too."

He told me, "I have multiple streams of income, managing a liquor store, rental properties and working in finance." I asked him how he manages that and he replied, "I get up and go and keeping going until the Lord tells me to stop."

The engaged couple had very different personalities.  The outgoing woman said, "We bring people out of their shell, or we put them back in it because that's were it belongs."

I asked the guy who has been married thirty-two years what's the secret to his successful marriage and he said, "We've had our ups and downs, but you have to solve the problems.  You have to forgive. My wife is a great woman."

She: "We've always joked about phrases that could be a hit single such as, "You have a half of a cat on your lap."

He: "For the last five years I've had a special holiday party.  I go all out. The first one was a cooking extravaganza. I invite all kinds of people I've met and some people fly in from other countries.  My only request is that you bring something from your culture to share with others."

She was very upset because she just left her assisted living job in tears. She: "They were abusing people. There was a woman lying on the floor covered in her own urine.  I took a picture, look at this." I said, "I'm driving right now."

Me: "This is the kind of ride that I don't want to end." Husband: "You want to drive us to New Zealand? You know it's on an island?" 

She: "When I started working at Amazon, "My hair to my pinky toe hurt."

For twenty years he built and repaired wind turbines and said, "I think I've climbed up 200 miles over the years and climbed down 200 miles. They are incredible machines."

My daughter said, "Compared to Uber drivers, you're funny. But most Uber drivers don't talk."

The creative guy said, "The end goal is not to be better than others, but to be better than you used to be."

He: "I was 46 years old and had no hope. I was a drug addict and I had spent twenty years in jail for three bank robberies." He was inspired at a meeting to change his life. He met his wife at a recovery meeting and at 60 years old he has two young boys.  "I was hired by a company for $12 an hour, was trained, and later became their operations manager supervising fifty people.  I helped two companies become million dollar businesses."

He told me this incredible story: "I should have died when I was 16. I was in a gang shooting and a bullet hit my heart. My doctor said he couldn't believe I was saved and it was a miracle. When I woke up I spoke to a nurse who told me, 'God put his hand over your heart to protect you because you have more to do on this earth.' A couple days later I was looking for that black nurse but I was told that they didn't have any black nurses in the emergency room.  I never saw her again."

MORE COMMENTS

My daughter and son-in-law gave me a rotisserie chicken for their ride to the airport. "We bought it four days ago, it's not going to last long."  I was going to stop over to see more family before eating it at home and she said, "Tell everyone we bought it a week ago, then none of them will eat it."

I told the bartender from Minnesota that he had the best laugh out of any of my riders from Minnesota. He laughed and said, "I'll take it. They can hear my laugh all the way across the casino.  I want people to have a good time."

The couple told me, "Our son plays football for the Colorado School of Mimes." I was confused, maybe they said, "Minds?"  It turns out that it was "The Colorado School of Mines," an elite engineering school.

She: "My friend had just moved to Richmond, Virginia and didn't know anyone. She was jogging and a guy almost ran her over with his bike.  She called him an, "Asshole," and he stopped to talk to her and they've been together ever since."

She: "When women gossip it just shows how miserable they are."

She: "You can tell a Coloridian(really Coloradan) by how accepting they are.  Some people also say by how eccentric they are."

She: "I've been a driver my whole life, with buses and now trucks. I traced my family back to Europe and they were all drivers, transportation-it's in my blood."

I asked what he did for work and he said, "I'm a tattooer.  I'm an unusual person. While I work I can talk about anything I want, I have no HR to stop me."

She: "After college I want to be a Marine corps guard and then a foreign affairs analyst."

She: "Generations ago when my family came here from Europe, they disguised women and girls as men to get them here."

She explained, "I had my real estate license thirty years ago, but it wasn't right for me then so I let the license expire. Earlier this year I studied for twenty days and passed the test and got my license back and I enjoy it."

She: "I love healthcare, it's the best."

He: "I want to be a traveling carpenter and artist."

They taught me this: "In Burmese you say hello by saying "Mingaloba."

He: "I wanted to be a great father, but I turned out to be a great provider."

"If you tell yourself you're going to have a great day, you will."

He is a fanatical reader as I am and he said, "I'll always be reading." I told him it would make a great phrase for a tombstone and we laughed as he got out of my car.

Starting a new career doing taxes, she said, "I'm doing something for myself."

I told the liquor store manager that I don't put my mannequin head up in the car until 9 am, because I found out that if someone was drinking the night before, alcohol and mannequins do not mix well.  He said, "A lot of things don't mix well with alcohol."

He: "My handwriting makes it look like I have Parkinson's."

She: "I wish I had started counting how many times you said chicken when we gave it to you. We need a chicken counter."  She later said, "You've said it so many times that it would take an act of god to take you away from that chicken? I think we're at 72 for the chicken count."

"Despite how funny you two are, it was the chicken that got you to make my blog. She: "That's called bribery."

She: "My mom decided to change her life and personality. She started her own business cleaning houses and is about to become a life coach."

MY 71ST COUNTRY REPRESENTED IN MY CAR: NEPAL

NEW BILLS FROM NEW ZEALAND

On their return trip from their honeymoon, my daughter and son-in-law gave me these two bills.  The back of both bills are spectacular and are displayed in my car.

                           

UNIQUE OCCUPATIONS

She makes twenty wedding veils a day

Builder and climber of wind turbines

She was a former Black Hawk Army pilot

Chemist

Phlebotomist 

Builder earth rover( A luxury expedition vehicle for overlanders)

Business owner of swim instructing

Engineer building solar farms

I DROVE PEOPLE FROM THESE COUNTRIES:

Switzerland, Myanmar, Columbia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Denmark, Honduras.

WHAT MY RIDERS SAID ABOUT ME AND MY CAR

The yoga teacher said, "Thanks for spreading positivity in the world."

"I'll never forget you."

"You're my favorite Uber driver of all time."

After getting a concussion in another Uber that day, he said, "If I tell anyone what I saw here they are going to say, 'Yeah, but you had a concussion.'"

She: "I could sit here all day and look at this."

She: "You've got it all tripped out in here."

"I've got to tell my friends about this."

"I try to be a nice guy, but you may have me beat."

"You made my day."

"This was a great experience."

Giving career advice to a young guy he said, "I appreciate your wisdom."

"You just brightened my day."

Finishing their vacation in my car museum, she said, "Thanks for fulfilling my wish of going to a museum."

"Keep doing what you're doing."

"That's dope."

"You don't meet many interesting Uber drivers."

"You find the good in people."

"Fabulous, this is amazing."

"This is the most unique Uber I've ever seen."

"You made it fun."

"I love it."

"I appreciate you."

"Your car is great."

"This is the coolest Uber I've ever been in."

"We loved talking with you."

"This is dynamic!"

"Amazing, I like it."