A Perfect Father's Day Story

This week is Father's Day and this is about as great as a story that you can read.  It's about a father and son from Norwich, Norfolk in the UK. They returned home two weeks ago from an 18,000 mile bike ride around the world and they set three world records on the ride. 

They had left their home 400 days ago in March 2025. The father, George Kohler, 57 and his son, Josh Kohler, 23 accomplished this feat together traveling through South America, Australia, Asia and Europe.

Josh was inspired in high school when he heard a talk from a guy who cycled through North America. He suggested to his dad that they should do it. They had never cycled and did not have bikes.  In 2021 they cycled for charity and the following year they cycled over 3,700 miles from New York City to San Francisco.

They had many great experiences together and above are holding the three world records they set: the fastest bicycle circumnavigation of the world by a father and son, the longest bicycle journey by a father and son and the most countries visited in a continuous bicycle journey by a father and son.

Their final 15 miles they were joined by 70 cyclists who road with them as they arrived home to cheering crowds.

The Tuna Fish Battle Continues

A couple years ago my wife and I had a serious conversation-about tuna fish. I like tuna fish a lot and she likes it but doesn't like to make it. When she makes it she puts egg in it and I said I'm fine without egg, just make the tuna. (She likes egg in it) I suggested that she show me how to make it and I'll make it when I want it and she doesn't have to. This wasn't the first time I suggested this, but finally she agreed to show me.

I took notes and this happened about two or three years ago. I think she let me make it once, but I didn't clean up the sink well enough so we were back to her making it.

Last month she was dog sitting for a week for our daughter and son-in-law and when I opened the pantry door I saw two cans of tuna. I really wanted to eat some tuna and she was thirty miles away and there's no way she was going to smell the tuna from there.

I got my supplies ready: Febreze spray and "The Kitchen Mama" can opener are pictured below.

I liked the color of the "Kitchen Mama" and it matched well with the spray, but how do you get the opener to open the can of tuna? I knew what the top of the can was and I turned it on and I saw the sharp part of it, but how do you get it to open? I thought of asking the robot that cleans the floors, but I doubted even she knew the answer.

I thought of getting a hammer and smushing the tuna out into a bowl, because I was now craving tuna fish. Instead, I went to Mr. Google and asked, "How does this work?" I watched a video and surprisingly to me, it was very simple and I got most of the can open to rescue the tuna.

I still have my notes on how to make tuna, but after moving it could be anywhere. I knew mayo was involved, but I just guessed how much. Below is the picture of the tuna and I'm going to enjoy eating this.

When I'm finished with the bowl I'm going to clean it three times and sit it outside for it to air out. I waited to post this blog until 30 days after so I know I'm in the clear when she sees what I have done.

We may have another serious conversation about tuna fish, maybe I'll write a song about it? There was a great ballad in the 70's called, "Make it With You." What about, "Make it Without You?"

Postscript: I had two great tuna sandwiches without egg and they were terrific and I found the below notes, but I had trouble reading them.

What Does A Doctor Do To Make Extra Money?

A doctor wants to make extra money, really? My experience has been that most people are always looking for another opportunity and that's been going on for decades.

As a young doctor, Brandon Axelrod, owes $400,000 in student loans and he works and lives in New York. He performs oral surgery as a dentist.  He's 27 years old and he became fascinated by magic when his dentist did balloon tricks when he was a patient. He said, "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen."

The dentist taught him magic and took him under his wing. For years, as he went to school he built up a good sized business. He said, "Even at an early age I told myself, 'I'm never going to say not to any balloon request that comes his way."

He's a first year resident at a major Manhattan hospital with very little time now for side events.  He's been making videos at home with all the creative things he does. In the future he plans on entertaining his patients and making them laugh. He'll also be paying off his loans for quite awhile.

A Few Short May Stories

MAKING MONEY AT THE GAS STATION

At the very beginning of May I was out Ubering and after dropping someone off I checked my app and saw I had just gotten two nice tips. I was heading to a gas station for a break and as I pulled into the station and headed to park at the pump I saw it on the ground. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was definitely money. I pulled in right over it, opened the door and picked up this $20 bill. I couldn't believe I got tipped at the gas station. I did feel guilty I didn't need gas and I wasn't buying anything, but it was a lot of fun picking up an easy $20. It wasn't the first time I found a twenty dollar bill. Eight or nine years ago I found a $20 bill in New Jersey as I walked with my oldest daughter.

CALLING FOR BACKUP

I was babysitting my almost two-year-old granddaughter. She hasn't been potty trained yet, but she does tell us when she's pooping. She gets into a crouching position and it usually takes a few minutes.  Lately, she's been delaying getting changed by saying, "More poop." This time, the delay was over thirty minutes and it was obvious she was just pretending.  Finally, I blurted out to her, "Riley, if you've been pooping this whole time I'm going to need backup." She replied immediately, "Backup." It wasn't bad at all, but I got a good laugh about it.

FINDING A SUIT

I had a suit at the end of May last year and I wore it to my daughter's wedding. Since then I've lost 40 pounds. In this current picture I am wearing the shirt I wore with the suit.

My wife and I went to Men's Warehouse and tried on a nice suit and it fit well. It was $500.  I need a suit for a wedding but not everyday wear! I'll get a different suit.

WHO ATE MY SANDWICH?

Driving around and picking up passengers on the last Sunday of the month, I reached into my lunch bag and pulled out my sandwich.  This is what I found:

Either someone ate what was inside or I forgot to put something between the bread.

MARY POPPINS

A month of two ago I showed my almost two-year granddaughter a video on my computer of The Beatles singing "Yellow Submarine" with an animated cartoon.  She loved it and we play it regularly with her sitting on my desk. This month I played "Let's Go Fly A Kite" from "Mary Poppins" and she loved it. I showed here a few animated scenes which she liked, but "Mary Poppins" is still a great movie and even an almost two-year-old knows it.  Wait till I get to watch the movie with her!

MY FAVORITE RIDER COMMENTS FROM MAY 2026

"My boyfriend bought me a $500 derby hat and then bought a full mannequin for maybe $100 so I could put the hat on top of her head."

He: "I breed reptiles. I can buy a $500 reptile and turn it into 20 reptiles worth $500 each."

I asked the couple married 16 years how they met and she said, "We met in kindergarten." I asked what line he used and then asked, "What do you remember from kindergarten?"  He said, "We sat around on the floor reading books and we all got the chicken pox so we had a chicken pox party."

She loves this quote: "Home is where you find people who love you." She added, "When I go back to Chicago, people love me who don't even know me."

The owner of a health insurance business said, "I'm the first one in in the morning and the last one out at night. When I get those $10-20,000 weekly checks, I don't mind the hours."

He asked me what's the secret of a successful marriage and I said one of the things is, "Your partner is going to be better than you at some things and you have to let them win."  The former athlete said with a half smile and his wife next to him, "That ain't happening."

I asked the 77 year-old from Italy how she keeps young. She said," I play tennis every day of the week and I don't look at the body, I look at the spirit."

From Kenya he asked me, "What is your sunshine?" I told him it was my wife of 42 years."

The truck driver said about Uber drivers: "Thank you for the hard work you guys do."

He: "The former King of Thailand was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and he used to play the saxophone."

She: "Jackson Hole, Wyoming is the only airport in the country that is in a national park."

She said, "A guy from the UK. told me, 'The Great Lakes in Michigan are inland oceans with fake ID's.'

She: "My friends sent me a cushion cover with a picture of me on it for my birthday, but I'll probably never use it."

Giving me a bill from Qatar for my money museum, she said, "I've had it for eight years and I traded for it with a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos."

He was married twenty years and lost his wife to cancer 17 years ago and he's still mourning her. He said, "I'm completely lost. I've tried everything. She was my best friend, I try to forget, but I can't."

"When we went to Dubai we had two rooms in a hotel and there was a butler serving us. It was a whole different world."

The woman in her 50's was in California a few years back and changed her life. "I was in a very bad abusive relationship and I called up my sister who no one in the family talked to.  She was a director for AA and I asked her for help. She saved my life and a neighbor helped me escape. A few years later my sister had breast cancer and I sent her all the money I had, but I lost her three months later. I still miss her."

         

                                    MORE RIDER COMMENTS

I asked the two accountants how they met and they said, "We met in an accounting class in the UK."

He: "I moved from Alaska to Florida to get as far away as I could from a woman."

From Ukraine he said, "We have to be friendly there."

She told me, "My copywriting business in Minnesota is called, "Freshly Brewed Copy."

He told me, "My two daughters, 9 and 11 have been to 30 countries."

The accomplished woman told me several times, "I'm proud of myself," and she had every reason to be. Her boss said that she makes the people around her better.

His name is Jose Posada and he told me, "My uncle was the former Yankee catcher, Jorge Posada." He was just kidding.

"I was an Uber driver for awhile because I just wanted to talk to people."

I asked her how she got the name Autumn and she said, "My mom didn't know anyone with that name."

I asked the two Red Sox fans a couple questions and one said, "Do you want to know my blood type?"

She: "I've ghost written a book, but I can't tell you about it."

"Eli Manning is the greatest Manning."

He said, "When we went to Disneyland Japan there was one line that the wait time was four hours."

He: "When I worked for an airline I met Timothy Dalton and Michael Jordan."

He: "Bella's Bagels in Colorado Springs recently won "Smear of the Year," and Governor Polis visited them to congratulate them."

I asked how she met her boyfriend and she said, "We met playing intramural kickball."

He: "When the Japanese invaded the Philippines the money they created was also called, "Mickey Mouse money."

"My first football game was a playoff game between the Broncos and the Jets. It was so cold that when I bought hot chocolate by the time I got back to my seat it wasn't hot anymore."

"My son was on the Michigan football championship team. He's an offensive lineman and he's on the draft board and if he has a good year this year he has a chance at the pros."

The Church Bishop said, "We're all brothers and sisters and children of God."

"My insurance business is in 33 states and has 4,5000 agents."

She told me, "Black people are moving from the south to Chicago and Michigan because of racism."

Young woman at a local supermarket who brings groceries out to the car for people said, "We all pool our tips and by Red Bull because we need it getting up this early."

UNIQUE OCCUPATIONS:

Clinical Research Coordinator

Strength and conditioning coaches from Italy

Eye Surgeon from the United Kingdom

Reptile Breeder

Bishop in Church

Former FAA Administrator

Master tennis player from Italy

THANK YOU to the woman who gave me the below bill from Ghana where she's from.  She gave me all three of these bills and Ghana is my 75th country represented in my car.

THIS MONTH I PICKED UP PEOPLE FROM:

Italy, Mexico, Kenya, Eastern Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Senegal, Guatemala, Venezuela, Ukraine, Burkina-Faso.

THANK YOU to the couple from Minnesota who gave me the most unusual gifts below from The Four Seasons Hotel- spring water and two butter toffee candies. They were being, "Minnesota Nice."

THANK YOU to the rider who gave me this bill from the country of Laos.

WHAT RIDERS SAID ABOUT ME AND MY CAR

"This is refreshing.  We need more people connecting like this and having your energy."

She was almost completely blind and said, "This ride is wasted on me." When I told her a story about me and my car was published in India, she said, "Are you gobsmacked? I am."

"I've taken a lot of Ubers in my life and this is the best ride I've ever had."

"You have a fulfilling life. Thanks for making sunshine."

"Impressive experience, you look at life differently seeing this."

"This is a one in a million Uber."

"I'm enamored by this."

"I thoroughly enjoyed this."

"This is hilarious."

The older man got out of the car and said, "Love your F'N outfit here."

Getting out of my car the woman told my next riders, "Get ready for an adventure."

He: "I'm usually looking at my phone, but I got some history on this ride."

"You're living your best life."

Young guy, "This is pretty sick. Keep collecting stuff."

"I love your museum."

"Thanks you for making this ride so nice."

The 19-year-old said, "This awesome, awesome. I have to stop saying that. This was a treat."

"I've never seen anything like this."

"You made this fun."

"This is a positive way to live your life."

Picking them up for an hour ride, he said, "You are our angel."

"Thanks, you got my night off to a great start."

"You're one of the most interesting people I've ever met."

"You're showing people the world, how big it is."

"You should do stand-up."

"You are the most awesome Uber driver."

"Are you an angel?"

"This is crazy."

"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"Thank you for the great ride."

"This is the best ride I've ever had."

"I really needed this today."

"We need more people like you."

Looking at the pictures of riders in my car he said, "Are these all your family?"

"This is the most interesting Uber I've ever had."

"Very cool."

"That's crazy."

MY FAVORITE RIDERS IN MAY 2026

 

AN INSPIRING ITALIAN WOMAN

On a very short ride, the vivacious woman visiting from Italy was inspiring  At 77 years young, she was a master tennis player in Italy and Peru. She actively plays in tournaments and I'm pretty sure she's very good.  I asked her how she keeps young and she said, "I don't look at the body, I look at the spirit." She also plays tennis five days a week. She gave me a new bill from Peru which appropriately has a woman on the front pictured below and I replaced the Peru bill with a man on the front. I would have loved to have driven her further, but we ran out of time.

THREE NEW MEXICAN DOCTORS

I had a delightful ride with three women from Mexico who recently graduated from medical school.  They were in town for the very large vision conference.  They were all friends and at times answered questions all at once.  The enjoyed the ride and one of them said it was, "refreshing."  I asked to get a picture of them for my car and they wanted a picture of me.  I'll be putting their picture with my Mexican display which will inspire other young people-congratulations to all of you!

One of the doctors was named Lily, the same name as my mannequin.  She's only the second Lily to be in my car in three years and she was happy to take a picture with my mannequin. The caption reads: "Dr. Lily and My Lily."

THE DOUBLE BIRTHDAY RIDE

It's always fun to drive a family celebrity a birthday, but this ride had two birthdays to celebrate and they were originally from Massachusetts.  A mom, her two adult children, and her daughter-in-law were going to a very nice restaurant and I was their before dinner entertainment.  They loved my stories and I even got to play "The Boston Seagull" recording for them.  A woman from Boston two years ago this May did an incredible seagull impression that I recorded.

The daughter generously gave me a bill from Qatar, which became the 77th country represented in my car. She told me, "I've had it for eight years and I traded a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos with a college friend." It was another great ride from the state of Massachusetts, one of my favorite states to pick people up from.

A HAIR STYLIST FOR PORN STARS

When he lived in Las Vegas he worked for three years doing hair, make-up and wardrobe in the porn industry.  He says that, "Now I'm working for a boring salon," but there's nothing boring about this guy.  He has a lot of personality and he said, "I'm married to my career." He told me he used to scare his little cousins with mannequin heads in the past.  He wanted the below picture with my mannequin and he took his glasses off and gave Lily a new look. This picture will be in my car.  

THE ITALIAN COACHES

When I picked them up early in the morning for an hour ride, one of them said, "You're our angel." They were here from Italy and were about to become master coaches. They are strength and conditioning coaches with private clients and they've been in school for eight years.  They told me that training here is far ahead of their training in Italy. They hadn't slept and they were about to take the final part of their test and they were very confident they were going to succeed.  This picture below will be hanging in my car and it will say Italian Master Coaches.

HE LOVES EVERYTHING HE DOES

I was impressed with his energy.  I picked him up on the weekend where he had been coaching two different teams that morning.  He told me that we was teaching leadership in a middle school and he was an entrepreneur.  He has his own aquarium business and he's a reptile breeder.  He said that, "I can take a $500 reptile and turn it into twenty $500 reptiles." When I asked him how he manages his time with all his activities, he explained that the key thing was, "I love everything I do." He has a great future ahead of him and he's a great role model for the kids he works with.

HE'S STILL IN MOURNING

I've only had a few rides like this over eight years of driving, but this was a difficult ride. The man was probably in his late 50's or early 60's. He was married for twenty years, but he lost his wife to cancer-17 years ago.  I spent a lot of time listening to him and he told me, "I'm completely lost. The only thing left for me is death. I try to forget, but I can't." He has ten grandchildren and I think eight children who live close by. He said he has tried everything and he cried some on the ride. I wished him well and to keep in mind that his wife would want him to get through this.

Where Do You Live?

It's a very simple question, but I'm sure that some people would rather not answer it, or they have a lot of fun doing it.  Confused? I don't blame you. What if you lived in a town with a very unusual name? There are some towns in the United States that have very unique names.

HELL, MICHIGAN: How do you name a town hell? Can't you just hear the conversation.  Someone asks, "What are you doing today?" Answer: "I'm going to hell." They do have devilish attractions in the town for tourists if you're planning a trip.

CHICKEN, ALASKA: Now you're talking, I could get into that. They named it after the animal, not the food. It might not make a difference to you, but it does to me since chicken is my favorite food.

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, NEW MEXICO: There used to be a television show with that name.  The TV host of that show announced that he would broadcast the show from the first town to name themselves after the show and he did.

ROUGH AND READY, CALIFORNIA: This town was named after former President of the United States and General, Zachary Taylor. They came up with the name because of his reputation.

DING DONG, TEXAS: The name came from the words, "Ding Dong" and the picture of two bells on the front door of a general store.

WHY, ARIZONA: They named the town due to a "Y" intersection where the town was founded.

WHYNOT, NORTH CAROLINA: If after reading about Why, Arizona, you may have thought Whynot  could be a name of town also.  That is exactly how it was named, almost. They were trying to come up with a good name and someone say, "Why not this one?" It stuck, why not?

ACCIDENT, MARYLAND: Two land surveyors were working on the same property and came up with the same results, accidentally of course. It became called, "The accident tract," and then they shortened it intentionally.

PECULIAR, MISSOURI: They couldn't come up with a name and someone suggested they choose something...peculiar. I am not making these up.

NO NAME, COLORADO: The town was settled as Rt. 70 was being built and since they didn't have a name...

I grew up in Edison, New Jersey, named after Thomas Edison and I'm glad I did.

"I Don't Resent Bezos, I'm Rooting For Him"

That was the headline of a USA TODAY column by Nicole Russell.  She is a columnist in the paper who has four kids and she lives in Texas.  I've read many of her columns and this one like many of them, is right on the money.

I have rarely posted on something like this but back in 1989 I sent a letter to the editor of a paper after reading a column by Richard Cohen, who was a columnist for The Washington Post for 43 years. The article was titled, "Lee Iacocca, Truly a Man For Our Time." Iacocca was an author, engineer, and executive working at Ford Corporation and he revived Chrysler Corporation.  He also raised hundreds of millions of dollars to refurbish The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Cohen criticized Iacocca for becoming rich and supposedly lacking in performance. It was a typical hit piece on how bad rich people supposedly are. I wrote, "In this age of critics and knocking achievement instead of recognizing and praising it, perhaps your next article, Mr. Cohen should be, 'Richard Cohen, truly a man for our times.' I look forward to reading that article and comparing it with Lee Iacocca's achievements." 

Russell praised Jeff Bezos and other very successful people by saying, "Billionaires aren't the villains people often imagine.  They're one reason a busy mom like me can order household essentials or school supplies in minutes and spend more time with my kids."

She said that close to 80% of households in our country buy from Amazon and nearly 200 million people have PRIME memberships. In her column she explained, "Many of America's billionaires have built products and services millions of us willingly use because they make life easier, faster or better. Amazon didn't force its way into American households; consumers invited it in because it solved problems and delivered value."

It's not just the value of their products and efforts, but millionaires and billionaires also employ millions of people in their businesses.  I enjoyed reading another defense of successful people, there should be more columns and articles written like this.

One more thing: a few weeks later Nicole Russell posted another column and said this, "For days, my inbox filled with seething email, and I was tagged in social media posts full of personal and professional smears-all for defending Bezos and the company millions of Americans use every day."

She double-downed on what she originally said and she is absolutely right. There are way too many misconceptions on how people create wealth.  I sent her an email telling her I wrote this blog and I hope she takes a look at this.

A LITTLE BIT OF KINDNESS

It's a bit early for World Kindness Day which is on November 13, but every day should be kindness day. I just read that Florida Gulf Coast University just held the first ever K20 Kindness Without Borders Summit in may to inspire world kindness.  The event brought together 20 thought leaders from all areas of life.

The below very short  two-minute documentary was played at the conference where fifty people were given $30,000 to be a "Kindness Ambassador" and use it how they wanted to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp1vmnrdJj4

In 1998 World Kindness Day was created to  inspire people and bring nations together around the world.  They wanted to highlight good deeds and emphasize that kindness is for everyone throughout the world.

The organization lists six different ways that people can improve their community through kindness:

1. Donate money.

2. Help your local food pantry.

3. Give blood if you can.

4. Volunteer your time.

5. Check on neighbors and family members.

6. Support local businesses, schools and child care centers.

My favorite "kindness" quote comes from Scott Adams who was the creator of the "Dilbert" cartoon.  He said, "Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end."

Below are some other "kindness" quotes. It's not November 13th yet, but do something kind today.

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."  Unknown

"No act of kindness no matter how small, is ever wasted." Aesop

"Always try to be a little kinder than necessary." J.M. Barrie

"Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows." Robert Green Ingersoll

"Where there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness." Seneca

"Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change." Bob Kerrey

"Kindness is spreading sunshine into other people's lives regardless of the weather."  Unknown

"You can always give something, even if it's always kindness."  Anne Frank

What Makes People Happy?

I recently read an interesting article on happiness and some of the personal comments that people said make them happy. It's no surprise that close relationships with family and friends was the number one response, but some people did say that animals in the order of dogs, birds and cats make them happy.

Some of the other responses were 27% involved things with nature and 18% mentioned things relating to food.  Also mentioned were individual experiences people had, one being a good cup of coffee.  But, what about some of the unique comments that were made?  Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Sandi from Florida said, "Soap bubbles. They make everyone happy that sees them. I've gotten stuck on the 405 in LA with traffic at a standstill, frustrated honking all around and one wand of wedding bubbles change the whole attitude of the people around me. If you drive 3 miles an hour and stick the wand out of your sunroof, you can bubble a whole area with hundreds of bubbles in just a few seconds, then just watch the magic happen."

                                  

2. Carole from Chile said, "Conversations with random people that I meet around the world of different cultures, nationalities, and backgrounds. Sharing and laughing together is a beautiful reminder that we have so much more in common as human beings than we do differences that polarize us."

3. Alex from Philadelphia said, "Big puppets! I know.  It sounds weird, but human performers inside large puppets on movie sets, Broadway, or lion dancers give me a sense of awe. The art of the puppet meets the art of the performance and you can forget what you're seeing is just human dressed up."

4. Francine from Texas said, "Waking up next to my smiling husband every morning every morning of our 36 years of marriage."

5. Dannon from Maryland said, "Laughing babies, toddlers, children, teens, adults. All the laughter. When people are happy it spreads naturally." 

Call Your Friend During Work?

I had to read this story twice, because it seemed so odd.  It comes from Sweden.  A pharmacy chain is giving their employees 15 minutes a week to call or text a friend during work. They are calling it "Friendship hour.(For the month)  It's supposed to help loneliness and safeguard relationships.  It appears that they are paying employees to make these calls or texts.  They also give a $100 stipend for social activities.

A couple things came to mind: how lonely could they be in a pharmacy? They are paying people to call their friends, does that really sound okay? Do you tell your friend why you're calling? Would it sound like this: "I am at work, but they want me to call friends so I'm calling you."

It is a test program, but it would be even more interesting to see what they find out.  Giving employees an extra one hour a month as a break is nice, but I think it's really odd they are telling them what to do during that time.  Maybe it's just me, but it's an unusual story.  

Can you imagine heading to work trying to figure out what friend you're going to call at work?  There were very few pictures to post below where someone was on the phone at work, but it's unlikely they are calling a friend, but you never know.

"And the Sign Says..."

In 1971, a Canadian group had a hit with a song called, "Signs".  Les Emmerson, one of the singers in the group, was traveling to Los Angeles from Canada when he noticed all the signs along the road.  I had that same feeling as I drove to and from California, but I did not write a hit song, yet.  I am writing this blog about some of the signs I saw:

1. WATCH FALLING ROCK: Is that what I should be doing while I'm driving, watch falling rock? I don't think there was any rock falling, although there was one rock in a lane that probably did fall when I wasn't looking.  My mannequin was with me and I told her to watch the falling rock, but she never said she saw any.

2. LOW FLYING AIRCRAFT: So, if I see a low flying plane I know now that I shouldn't be alarmed, it happens a lot? I did not see any, but I was not looking either...still driving.

                                

3. PRISON AREA HITCHIKING PROHIBITED: Good to know, I think.  I didn't see any hitchhikers and I did not see any prisons, but I'm sure the prisons were there.

4.  YELLOW CAT: Is that really the name of a town? If you live there, do you ever get used to it? Can you visit somewhere else and when asked where you live, you say, "Yellow Cat?"

5. The sign said, TRAIL THROUGH TIME, in Colorado.  It's actually a 1.5 mile hiking tour that show off dinosaur fossils and natural rock settings.  How about a picture on the sign?

6. LEAVING COLORFUL COLORADO: Why is Colorado colorful? It's vibrant landscapes, red sandstone rocks, blue skies and white capped mountains.  It came from the Spanish word for "colored red," due to spectacular sunsets.

7. SNOW COLLEGE: It's a community college in Ephraim, Utah and it has nothing to do with snow.

8. RAINFALL COULD CAUSE FLASH FLOODS: Anything can happen on these mountain roads. At least it didn't say, "Watch for flash floods."

9. ROAD MAY BE FLOODED-10 MILES: Anywhere in the next ten miles the road could be flooded? Not very encouraging, but the road was clear.

10. WATCH FOR SNOW   SLIPPERY: I always think of ice as slippery, but maybe snow is too. I left a space before slippery, because it was written that way.

11. FREQUENTLY WILDLIFE CROSSING: I didn't see any, but is this really the best way of saying it? How about "Wildlife Crosses Frequently," or just "Wildlife Crossing?' Give them credit though, they did not say, "Watch For Wildlife Crossing."

Random April Thoughts

 1.  When I say butter, what do you think of? For me, I immediately think: melting.  So, when I walk past our kitchen counter at any time of the day and see the butter sitting on the counter, I think I hear the butter yelling out, "Help me, I'm melting." It's still there. Does this look good?  (About ten days after I wrote this, the butter started appearing in the refrigerator because it didn't taste that good.)

2. I was in the park with my almost 20 month old grand daughter.  She was at the top of a small slide and she counted..."1,2, free", and then she said, "Go Riley."  She went down the slide and I was thinking we should all do that.  When you're about to go into an interview or dig up some bushes, or sitting down to a big chicken meal- "1,2, free, Go Jeff."

3. You know how they send you these invitations for free seminars at these nice restaurants? It's usually on retirement, investing, or something like that.  My friend Larry has been to many of them for the food.  I got this below in the mail inviting me to a pizza place.  First, I really don't like pizza.  I can eat it a few times a year and I'm good. Secondly, what happened to the prime rib dinner? I'm not going.

4. When was the last time you saw a man in a suit and tie riding on a motorcycle? I saw him, could that really be comfortable?

5. Do you think someone could invent a little robot that you can put on your front windshield that would clean off all the bugs and stuff that get your window dirty? You can't always go to a car wash.

6. Have you ever seen a car towing a helicopter? You can't make this stuff up, it really was a car and a helicopter. It was too fast to get a picture.

7. If you were a landscaper, wouldn't you want the account for just one of these mountains that has thousands of trees and bushes on it? Imagine the time it would take to trim them.

8. Did you know that if you're an adult the most difficult thing to do in going down a small slide is not going down the slide? Here's a picture of my legs dangling after I struggled to get onto the slide.

9. When does something fake look incredibly real? It doesn't happen often but take a look at how beautiful these fake flowers are that my wife bought.

10. And, last but not least to wind up the month is this true story. My wife bought a bunch of red grapes which she likes and I don't. I don't know how long they have been in our refrigerator, but I went through them to see what I could eat instead of throwing them out. Most seemed to be pretty good, but as I got to the last bunch of grapes I found something else: money.  In the plastic container pictured below is a dime and a penny. They say that money doesn't grow on trees, but how do you explain this:

The Walt Disney Museum

As a huge Disney fan for decades I wasn't going to miss out on going to The Walt Disney Museum which was located a couple miles from The Golden State Bridge.  As soon as you walked into the lobby past the entrance you see all around you trophies, plaques, and tributes to Walt Disney throughout his almost fifty year career.

Walking around there were endless stories and pictures of his life including his first successful cartoon character, Oswald the Rabbit. When he wanted more money from the guy he was working for in New York he was told no and that he could leave with nothing since he didn't own the character.  He left with nothing and on the train home to California he drew a picture of the mouse below.

Imagine, buy a loaf of bread and get a picture card of Mickey Mouse!  He was involved in a bunch of different projects his whole life.  "The story of Disneyland" was a special movie they were presenting that day and it talked about his struggles to get funded.  One story I never heard was that he needed more trees for The Jungle Cruise ride and so he put ads in the paper for anyone who wanted to get ride of their tree. They came to your house and took your tree and it wound up in Disneyland.

This was the layout for Disneyland or Disney World or both.  I was too busy taking pictures to read what it was, still it was pretty cool.  After walking through endless exhibits on several floors, it was the last small section about Walt Disney's death which was the most moving.

He had been sick, but no one knew how sick he was.  Ten days after his 65th birthday he passed away from lung cancer.  His list of accomplishments are endless, but he still holds the record for most Academy Awards by an individual, 22 and the most nominations by an individual, 59.

Below are two moving pictures that I had to photograph and one incredible tribute by CBS's Evening News, Eric Severeid, which is worth reading.  The best line in his tribute was, "He probably did more to heal-or at least soothe- troubled human spirits than all the psychiatrists in the world." He died sixty years ago this December-imagine his impact since then.

It was an inspiring few hours even for someone who has read a lot about Walt Disney.

The Golden Gate Bridge

It is not listed as one of the wonders of the world, but the Golden Gate Bridge is incredible and impressive in person.  It opened in 1937 and at that time was the longest and tallest bridge in the world. It is a symbol of California and one of the most recognizable landmarks in our country.

Thirty-nine years ago Monika and I were on a boat that went underneath the bridge, but this time I was going to walk on the bridge. My friend Rob and I took about an hour walk to the bridge and this is what it looked like from the ground level.

As we got closer to the bridge the view of course got better and better.  Finally reaching the top there were people walking, biking and lots of cars going both ways over the bridge.  The bike lane was also the walking lane.  I'm not very good with heights and so I took some pictures and we walked a few minutes before turning around.

Our walk back to the car was only 45 minutes and if it wasn't for the high price we would have taken a Waymo, a driverless car.  Rob took the above selfie and the below picture of the bridge I took from The Walt Disney Museum the day before.

My Favorite Rider Comments for April 2026

I asked the couple how long they've been together and he said, "7,632 years."  She said, "We're celebrating our 32nd anniversary at the end of the month."

Picking him up on Easter he said, "I stopped celebrating holidays when I was eight. I'd rather be low-key, but I faked it for a few years."

After telling me he had four kids I said, "That is a handful." He said, "My dad has 19 kids with two wives."

She: "Our girls are both big planners and Disney fans. One time we were in Disney and we said we need a bathroom break and one of them said, "It's not on the schedule."

He: "In Japan they have bowing deer. They look for crackers and try to take them out of your pockets."

I showed him the yellow ducky a plumber gave me from the place he works.  I said that it was like Ernie's yellow duckie on Sesame Street and when I sing Ernie's rubber duckie song to my granddaughter I try to sound like Ernie.  He said, "You  kind of sound a little like Ernie, but grown up."

I asked, "How did your wife get her name "Clover?" He said, "Her parents were hippies and they came up with it when they were lying in a field."

She said, "Everyone in the world is delusional."

Truck driver: "A few years ago I was driving in Utah on some snow and my tractor trailer went over a cliff with me in it. I just had a cut from the seatbelt. When they took me to the ER I found out I only had one kidney, maybe that's why God had me in the accident."

The young Korean just came back from his first trip to Japan and his first trip to Korea. He said, "I actually liked Japan better."

She and her boyfriend have been dating for five years and are close to being engaged.  They are about to take a trip and she said, "I am packing something cute just in case."

I asked the accountant if she liked numbers and she said, "I'm not good with numbers." When I asked how long she had been married, it took her a little bit to answer and she had trouble coming up with their anniversary day.

MORE DRIVER COMMENTS

I told her that my business name is "The Sunshine Man" and she told me, "I call my boyfriend, "sunshine."

She told me, "I'm a full-blooded Alaskan Athabascan." They are descendants of the original inhabitants in Alaska.

Her name is Divine and her last name is Blessings. She: "I didn't like my last name so I changed it."

Her mom has eleven kids and grandchildren from ten of them. She said, "I'm the only one who hasn't given her one."

He told me his mom had many talents and was, "A master of doing."

I asked, "How do you like working in finance?" He said, "I have my days of fulfillment."

I asked the couple how they met and she said, "We were both in line at a club and he wanted to use my friends and I to get in."  Me: "Did it work?" He said, "It did."

She's been in over 15 countries and told me that if people want to travel more, "They should skip going out to eat for a month."

She: "I was chef in Paris for three years, a manager of a health care facility, a pharmacy tech, and now I'm a flight attendant."

He: "I had a friend of mine who was so black, we said he was purple."

He said, "I'm in the twilight of my 20's."

The young officer explained what he was doing, "It just police work."

What was it like moving from Alaska to Atlanta I asked. He said, "It was quite hot."

The truck driver told me he was just out of the hospital after five days.  He said, "I had carbon monoxide poisoning which was in my truck."

MUCH THANKS TO ALI WHO IS ORIGNALLY FROM KUWAIT AND HE GAVE THIS BILL WHICH IS MY 74TH COUNTRY IN MY CAR.

Thanks also to the two riders who gave me the Alaskan polar bear refrigerator magnet and also the "J" which I'm going to pin on one of my Elvis socks in front of my car.(How's that for a ridiculous sentence?)

UNIQUE OCCUPATIONS

Climate Scientist for Texas Tech

Operations Manager for Australian Fitness Company

Content Creator

Former Production Assistant in the film industry

Underground Utility Locator

Builds Cancer Research Centers around the world.

I PICKED PEOPLE UP FROM THESE PLACES

Guatemala, Vietnam, India, Kuwait, Honduras, Somalia, The Congo,

WHAT MY RIDERS SAID ABOUT ME AND MY CAR

Accountant: "I want to stay in here all day. You're a beautiful soul, keep spreading your positivity."

The ride was only three minutes long and she handed me the second largest tip I've ever received and said, "I want you to have this, you're making a difference."

"This was the greatest Uber ride we've ever had."

The scientist said, "This is totally new for me."

"I love the car and the ride. Have an excellent day."

"This is crazy."

"I hope I get you again."

"Best Uber ride we've ever had."

"This was the most pleasant ride we've ever had."

"Thanks so much, it's been a great ride."

"I really enjoyed this ride."

MY FAVORITE RIDERS IN APRIL 2026

PEOPLE IN INDIA KNOW ABOUT ME 

Last month I posted about a scientist from Seattle, Washington who loved the ride I was giving him.  He told me that his dad was an independent journalist in India and that he would love to interview me.  My rider took pictures and video of me and a couple weeks later he sent me this message:

"Hi Jeff! I took an Uber ride with you one month back.  Here is the article in gujarati (language of mahatma Gandhi in a Gujarati newspaper loksatta. Hope you enjoy it." It was about eight or nine paragraphs in another language.  Below is the picture of the article and a couple pictures of me and my car.

My youngest daughter figured out how to translate it and his father did a very nice job in capturing the spirit of my museum.  After sending him this picture he told me that another newspaper picked up the story and they printed it also.  The article is dated April 11th and my riders have really enjoyed the story.

THEY MET WALKING DOWN THE AISLE?

That is very close to the real story. They each had a friend who was getting married-to each other.  They were both in the wedding party. They were matched up to walk down the aisle together which they did. Six years later they walked down the aisle together for their wedding and I'm pretty sure their friends were in the wedding party. After I dropped her off I was thinking about what she said to me, "I'm about 5 ft. tall and my husband is 6 ft. 4." How did they get matched up?

They just celebrated their third year anniversary and they have a 21-month-old daughter, the same age as our granddaughter.  They also live in the same development we were supposed to move into last year.

A UNIQUE EDUCATION

The young man who will be turning 18 soon told me that he had been in 48 states in his life. His parents took him and his older sister across the country since he was nine years old. They wanted their children to see the country and they spent a lot of time in an RV doing it.  His parents were multi-talented and they were able to pick up work wherever they traveled to. When I asked him what the best part of all the traveling was, he quickly replied, "Spending a lot of time with my family." What does his mom do now? She helps build wind turbines. He had quite and education and we had a great conversation.

A FULL-TIME TRAVELER?

I had one of those rides I did not want to end.  I actually told her when there was 11 minutes left in the ride that I wasn't going to drop her off immediately and her best friend who was celebrating her 40th birthday would have to wait.  My rider was very outgoing and has had a fascinating life.  She's been in at least 15 different countries, including living on a kibbutz in Israel for a year.  By profession she is a massage therapist and a doula, a trained professional who provides support before, during, and after a woman gives birth. She has a six-year-old son who gets most of her attention and has given her lots of challenges and a lot of joy.  I needed at least another ten minutes in the car with her, but I am certain that her life has been an incredible journey and it will continue to be so in the future. 

THE DYNAMIC DATING DUO

They were smiling the whole ride. She was from Hong Kong and he is Japanese and from California.  They were on a vacation in Colorado and hadn't seen each other in a number of months.  One of them is in marketing and the other is in finance.  How did they meet? She said, "We were in line at a club and he wanted to use my friends and I to get in." It worked out better than he planned.  You never know with relationships, but my gut feeling is that they could be together for quite a long time.

HIS DAD WAS JAMES BOND?

One of the most interesting conversation of the month was the young guy who had lived all across the world. Hid dad was in the Air Force, but his dad was a pretty special guy since he retired as a one-star general  He didn't operate as James Bond would on the ground, but he was involved for many years in a lot of special assignments around the world that were top secret.  My rider enjoyed living for some time in Japan which I've heard before from riders.  He's studying finance and is more interested in the international side which is not surprising.  I'm sure he has some great things ahead of him in his future and I very much enjoyed talking with him.

California Road Trip Highlights

It took 39 years for me to get back to California and after 41 hours of driving and 2,700 miles I have returned.  I had a lot to do and a bunch of things to see.  It's important to have plans and also to make adjustments when they are necessary.

The Golden Gate bridge and the Walt Disney museum I will blog about separately since I have plenty to say and a number of pictures also.  Here are the other highlights:

SCENERY:  Some spectacular mountain and valley views and I stopped a few times to take pictures. Frequently, mountains were different colors on both sides of the road.  Every mountain had hundreds or thousands of bushes and trees. I did drive a few hours in the dark on a few mornings and I missed some of the majestic views.

I did get to drive on the highway early one morning through Las Vegas with the hotels and casinos glittering in the darkness.  I did see some of the west coast ocean views mixed in with some of the mountain scenery.

FRIENDS: Thirty-nine years ago our friends Rob and Jill were married and our trip out to California included their wedding and an incredible ride down the coast to Disneyland and San Diego. I've know Rob since grammar school and we played tennis and worked a summer job together in high school. We haven't seen each other in fifteen years and we got to hang our for a couple days this past week.

We went to a beer garden and I had a sip of beer. We ate at a Mexican Restaurant and I ate Mexican food which was pretty good since it was chicken.  We spent both days taking a long hike with great conversation.  

ENTERTAINMENT: I drove with Sirius X radio on and heard a lot of great music, some comedy, some baseball and also basketball.  Rob and Jill took me to see my first Alfred Hitchcock movie, "North by Northwest which was made in 1959. I thought the plot was pretty complicated and I had to look up a synopsis of it when I got home. It played in a beautiful refurbished cinema and the crowd really enjoyed it.

GAS STATIONS: One of the things that really stood out 39 years ago was that California has a lot less gas stations than I'm used to seeing.  That has not changed and it was still very surprising that they were not all over. Pictured below is the one near their house with gas prices close to $8.  I did not buy any gas there, but there were some others over $8 per gallon.  The most I paid on the trip was $5.99.

                                           

ICE CREAM AND SODA DIET: I decided at the end of last year I would go one hundred days without soda and ice cream and I broke my diet on the trip.  It was 103 days without soda and 108 days without ice cream.  I got a small cone for $1 and it tasted pretty good.

MY CAR: Rob and Jill had both read my book and she gave the book to her dad who enjoyed reading it also. I suggested we go over and give her mom and dad a tour of the car which turned out to be a lot of fun. Her dad is 95 and I told him he's the oldest person to ride in my car and offered to put his picture up in the car, He loved the idea and it's in the car already.