The Wall Street Journal Called Me?

My dad worked for The Federal Reserve Bank in New York City in public information.  He used to give weekly press conferences to the media when the financial numbers came out each week.  He would have been amused to hear that I received a phone call today from a journalist with The Wall Street Journal.

The woman was doing an article on The Rideshare business and she has spoken many times with Sergio who has interviewed me twice on YouTube and writes articles as I do for The Rideshare Guy.  She asked him for a few names of drivers she could contact to ask about the rating system that Uber and Lyft has for drivers and riders.

I had a very nice half hour conversation with her and answered a few questions, although I'm not sure I was very helpful with my comments.  She is working on a "fun" article on how we rate things in society, but I'm not sure it's much of a fun topic.  I have read a few articles she's written and it will be interesting to see how creative she can be to make the topic fun.

She did ask if she could contact me in the future on topics and I of course agreed to that.  Does that make me a "source" for The Wall Street Journal? Who would have ever thought driving around some strangers could lead to YouTube and The Wall Street Journal? Maybe someday I'll get a call from The White House for advice?

How Old Is Really Old?

 One of the things I love reading about is politics and there's been a lot written already about President Biden's age, 80, and former President Trump's age, 76.  We will be reading a lot more about whether they are too old to be in one of the most difficult and important jobs, leading our country.

However, I want to talk about two other men who I read about recently, Johnnie Bell of Oklahoma City who is 93 years old and 109 year-old Victor Dransfield who lives in Little Falls, New Jersey.

 Johnnie Bell is the longest working United States Postal worker.  He has worked for them for 70 years. (I worked full-time for only 38 years) He still sorts and delivers mail in Oklahoma City as he has for seven decades.  He said, "This is just something I do, because I enjoy it." One co-worker said, "If there were more Johnnie Bell's around, then the Post Office would be a better place.  The world would be a better place because of who he is." Sometimes you can just look at someone's face and know that the person is someone special and his picture below says exactly that.  Congratulations Johnnie.

But 93 is really a young age to someone who is 109 years old. This guy, Victor Dransfield, is healthy and doesn't get the aches and pains that people half his age get. He said, "I've been very, very, very, lucky in my lifetime, I feel perfect. He spent 80 years as a member of the local fire department.  He worked for 60 years mostly as an auto parts manager.

When asked, "What brought you happiness and kept you going in life?" He said, "The fire department, I met so many friends. His wife of 54 years passed away 31 years ago. His granddaughter said, "He always had such a positive upbeat attitude, even when my grandmother passed away.  He lived for her, but he was determined to keep on living."

He drives his car every day, goes shopping, and is still living independently. He said, "I keep positive. I never think any other way when something's wrong." 

Are you really too old to do something you want to do? 

Happy 5th Birthday House

Two weeks ago we did NOT celebrate our five year anniversary in our house in Myrtle Beach.  However, I thought I'd blog about it and show off some of our favorite places in our house.  Below are a couple pictures of our house as it looked five years ago.

My wife has repainted all the rooms in the house once and probably a couple of them twice.  She's done an amazing job of decorating and redecorating and redecorating. We've added several bigger things in the house, one of them is our treadmill which is in our front hallway.  Along the wall on the left we have an endless amount of family pictures, mostly of our kids over the years.(22 frames of pictures)

My wife recently changed the laundry room and here's a current picture of her laundry room.  The washer is either on the right or the left.

We still do not have a television, but we continue to talk about it.  This is the wall that might have a television on it one day, or maybe not.

The central part of my office in the front of the house is my library of books.  I came down here with about 300 books and I estimate I have 400-500 today. The books are about politics, comedy, history, biography, self-help and sports. You can also see Eli Manning above the lamp celebrating winning the Super Bowl, quotes from John and Robert Kennedy on a white plaque on the far left, (no pun intended) and a couple of Frosted Flakes boxes on top of the bookshelf saluting Derek Jeter and The New York Rangers winning the Stanley Cup in 1994.

Outside the house, the plants and flowers are always being changed.  Below are a couple pictures of the fenced in backyard with some of the plants and flowers we currently have and of course the fountain of water that our dog checks on every day to make sure it is still there.

The porch picture below looks like the side of our neighbor's house, but you can see the large windchimes on the left and some more plants.  There are purple lights that go on at night which is a pretty cool color in the evening.

Finally, the house in the front today has a palm tree that has grown pretty well and a bunch of flowers and plants too.  Happy birthday house!

Things You Usually Don't See

This is my final blog about our trip to Florida and I have to include a picture from this weekend.  I was driving in Charleston and there was an accident on the Ravenel Bridge which separates Mt. Pleasant and downtown Charleston. I was in the middle of the bridge and looked up and saw some of the 128 cables on the bridge. It turned out to be a great picture, truly something that you don't see since you have to be right on the road to take this.

In Florida, we were in a gift shop and I spotted this game? I want to know where there is a truck selling hot chicken? They sell everything else, but a big drumstick like this would be perfect.

Speaking of trees, how about colorful trees that are lit up, have you ever looked straight up at them? These were at the country club where the rehearsal dinner and wedding took place.

Have you seen any coconuts in a tree lately?  This tree was near the beach.

We had a very good lunch at a New York deli.  This model of New York has probably been here for awhile. The World Trade Center towers have black ribbons around them near the top.

Recently I blogged about the opening of Yankee Stadium and that Fenway Park in Boston opened the week that the Titanic sank.  We had another lunch in a Boston pub that had a picture of Fenway Park on opening day in 1912 and a large wall mural of the outfield and "Green Monster" wall in Fenway Park today. I've never been to Fenway, but this looked very real.

DOG PREACHING ON THE STREET

In the old days, and maybe somewhere still today, there used to be something called, "Street preaching." People would stand on the corner and preach the gospel or whatever religion they believed in.  A lot of things have changed over the years and today, there is something new: "Dog preaching."

Our first morning in Delray Beach, Florida, my wife and I took a walk on a beautiful morning in the downtown area. About two blocks away, a woman was walking towards us walking her dog. My wife very quickly struck up a conversation with her by commenting about her dog.  She was from Boston and the dog had a Boston Celtics insignia on his/her collar.

In a very short time, my wife had her phone in her hand and was showing the woman a picture of our dog, Odin, who was home with a sitter.  I was standing behind my wife and as the conversation went on and on and on and on, I knew I had to have some fun.  My wife explained that Odin was my first pet and how much I enjoyed playing with him.  Out of sight from my wife, I smiled and shook my head no several times and the woman laughed.  When my wife turned of course I was not shaking my head.  I did this a couple more times which helped me really enjoy the conversation.

One hour later, we headed back to the hotel.  A couple blocks from the hotel, outside a cafe, was a man sitting at a table.  His wife was standing near the table holding a cute dog.  Once again, "Dog preaching" was about to begin. The woman was a breeder and the dog was for sale.  My wife said that we were thinking of getting another dog and I stood behind her grinning and shaking my head no.  My wife asked a lot of questions and took her phone number and at some point the "Dog preaching" was over and we were on our way.

Below is a picture of the dog that cost "only $5,000." It's a special breed. If you are interested in buying the dog it may still be for sale and we could probably get a commission on the sale. However, as we walked away there was another woman who started to talk to the breeder. I wonder, did the breeder just happen to be there, or was she really "Dog preaching" and selling?

Four Minutes on The Beach

For those of you who don't know, going to the beach is not one of my favorite activities.  It's probably not in my top hundred favorite activities.  I do live in Myrtle Beach and when I'm asked why I moved here, I always say, "We were downsizing and my wife loves the beach and I love her, so we are at the beach."

Travelling to Delray Beach in Florida recently, I brought two bathing suits-one for the beach and one for the pool. I came home with two clean and very dry bathing suits.  However, I did go to the beach with my wife and my brother.  My brother and I have many things in common, one being that we don't like the sun on us.  I like the beach before the sun comes up and after the sun goes down.

We spent about four minutes on the beach-I was doing inventory: sand, check, water, check, blue skies, check, blazing sun, check, people, check, shells, check, and exit, check.  It was very nice and I even had the time to take a few pictures as proof that I was there.  It was a beautiful day and it was better when we left the beach and found some shade.  I know-you wish you were there.

MY FAVORITE RIDER COMMENTS FROM APRIL

The two bartenders had too much to drink on their day off. I put their white cooler, which looked like a medical container, in the trunk. Halfway home, one of them yelled out, "I forgot the cooler." I replied, "No, it's in the trunk.  I have it and you're going to get it as long as there's no chicken in it." (My favorite) He answered immediately, "There's a human kidney and four Coors Light."

Me: "How did you two meet?" Him: "It's a funny story.  She ran a stop sign and drove into me. We talked about the damage to my car for a couple weeks and I finally said, "How about I drop everything if you let me take you out to dinner." (Together 6 years, married one)

The IRS agent from Virginia said, "There's a lot more attention on Uber drivers these days." Me: "It's only a 3 1/2 mile walk to your hotel."

The retired Navy guy who was in law enforcement said, "I built two very large grills and did street fairs grilling barbecue. I named the grills "Old Smokey" after the electric chair in Nashville."

The 83-year-old woman left her 27-year-old car in the junk yard after the engine died. She said, "My children will be happy that I won't be driving anymore, but I'm not going to tell them for awhile."

Me: "I asked the realtor, "How did you get to own a rental property? She: "A cousin owned a lot of properties and taught me. I bought my first house when I was 18, I saved my money. I own 18 rental properties in Myrtle Beach and 8 in Maryland."

Me: "You look very familiar." Him: "I'm just really good looking."

He: "When I tell people I inspect nuclear power plants, they frequently say I'm like Homer Simpson."

Her favorite saying is, "Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know."

She: "I asked my 3- year-old niece, "Is there anyone who knows more than you? She said, 'No.'"

She said, "My fiancee and I went to 13 weddings last year and he was best man in two of them.  He's a popular guy."

About to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, he said, "We're going black bear hunting in Canada and it was her idea to go hunting." I asked her, "Why did you suggest going hunting? She: "We went hunting on our honeymoon."

He: "My wife works in ICU and she turns chicken nuggets into babies."

I asked him, "Do you have any plans for the holiday weekend?" He said, "I'm going to be lazy." Me: "Are you any good at it?" He: "I'm the best."

She: "Some people have trouble understanding my southern accent, like when I say, "Oh." Me: "Oh? O...H?" She said, "Oh, O..I..L?" Me: "You say oil and it sounds like Oh?"

She: "When I had my first child she slept through the night because I put in some breakfast food before she went to bed. I was told I had to wake her up in the middle of the night to feed her and I said, 'Hell no, I'm not waking her up."

The husband said when his wife uses the bathroom, "Even if she just pees, it's 25 minutes."

He: "I'm a millwright and sometimes I get 54 hours of overtime in a week."

From New York, he was trying to adjust to the South.  He said, "When someone would approach me with a big smile and say, 'hello,' I would first think where is my wallet and phone because I didn't want to get robbed."

She: "When me moved from New York to South Carolina it was an adjustment.  My son went to Publix the first time and told me, 'It was like Disneyland.'"

Woman from Wyoming in the first weekend of April: "We're expected a foot and a half of snow today. We've had 700% of the snow we normally get in the winter."

He got in the car in a good mood and told me he just took his name off the credit card that he shared with his wife of three years. "She bought a $9,500 Prada purse to get back at me, it's her responsibility now."

When I told the woman about the lawyer last week who was also a Danish Knight, she said, "I want to be knighted."

The woman's name was Carol and she said, "I tell people to remember me as, "Christmas Carol", and some people call me that."

Proud mom of two college graduates: "When my kids were in a crib I used to whisper to them, 'You're going to college."

She: "I left Boeing because I was tired of working with all the men."

He loves to keep busy as I do, so I could really relate to this. He said he likes to fish and I said, "How can you enjoy fishing?" He: "I have 3 or 4 poles in the water at the same time or I would have to reorganize my tackle box three times."

He: "I hate locking doors so my wife locked me out of the house twice and I kicked in the door and repaired it. The third time I sat outside and waited."

Young guy: "My boss is paying me $40 a week to go ten minutes in an Uber and drop off another employee's check." Me: "Laughing I said, since I'm driving you, I should get a cut of that." At the end of the ride he tipped me $20.

She: "We found out that the bar in our hotel is a "swinger bar." We had no idea."

If you have someone in your car who speaks Thai, my rider taught me how to say thank you in Thai-it sounds like "cop-kun-crop." You spell it, Khob Khun Khrup.

The local woman told me that, "Publix tried to buy out Lowes, but they said no, so almost everywhere you see a Lowes you'll see a Publix."

The young speech pathologist travels to different states to work remotely. "I look for a state that I don't know anyone. Right now I'm thinking about moving to Alabama."

I was told on the show, "Sister Wives" there is, "A guy who is a stay at home thinker, he reads a book a day and then tells his wives what it was about."

She: "New Yorker's are friendly, we just don't have the time to talk a lot."

Looking at the sky he said, "Something's brewing in the atmosphere." I said, "That's the kind of sentence that you start a chapter of a book with."

Him: "I love retirement more than I loved accounting."

Trying to adjust to the south from New York, he had someone here say, "Have a great day and be kind." He couldn't understand why they said that.

Manager: When it came down to cutting personnel, attitude and effort were most important."

She said, "Life is one big test."

I asked the musician what kind of music he played and he said, "I'm a mixture of John Mayer and Jackson Brown."

She: "I was once Teacher of the Year. The students knew that I cared."

Female recruiter: "Hospitals can't afford the wages they have been paying because they don't have the extra money they had coming in from COVID."

She: "We're going to a wedding here in Charleston for the son of friends we saw get married here forty years ago. The wedding is in the same church."

He watches the television show. "Blue's Clues," with his daughter. "The theme song is so catchy I find myself singing along and I can't get it out of my head for hours."

She asked me, "Do you like speed bumps?"

ABOUT ME AND MY CAR

Walking into my car she immediately said, "I've never seen anything like this."

Saying goodbye he said, "Enjoy your life."

She: "You're the nicest Uber driver I've ever had."

The very successful guy got out of my car and said, "I like being in the happy car."

Looking at my 4.99 rating, he asked, "Who didn't give you a 5 rating?"

His girlfriend had just broken up with him and at the end of the ride he said, "You just don't get people to their destination, you take care of people."

Woman: "I feel like I'm getting out of cash cab."

"That was the best Uber ride we've ever had."