The Craziest Trade You Will Ever Hear About

When I started hanging up money from other countries in my car I received an amazing bill of Gandhi from India.  Below is the picture (he's on the top left) and I had it hanging right next to the first bill I got from the South Sudan.(top right) One day a woman was getting in the car and she yelled out, "I LOVE GANDHI-would you trade him for Argentina and Italy. 

I started laughing, because she wanted me to trade foreign currency-I'm just an Uber driver.  It meant a lot to her and I knew I would get another Gandhi bill.  Since I was getting two countries for one, I traded Gandhi.  A couple hours later I told a couple this story and said, "You'll never hear this said again the rest of your life, but, I traded Gandhi."  The husband said to me seriously, "My mom would never have traded Gandhi."

There seems to be always another story that is better and this is it.  A few weeks back I met a very nice couple from Pennsylvania, my favorite state to pick people up from. The husband was a big Philadelphia sports fan and being a big New York fan, we had a great time talking sports.  

However, I showed them some of the bills hanging in my car and he said, "I have a Saddam Hussein bill and if you give me your info, I'll send it to you." It was very nice offer and I gave him my information.  Sure enough, Saddam showed up in my mail today. (Another phrase you'll never hear anyone say or write) 

The bill is torn a little in the middle and it's a good picture of Saddam, although I'm not sure using the word, "good" and Saddam is a great idea.  On the back it says "Central Bank of Iraq" and a big 250 dinars, which looks pretty impressive. I looked it up and the bill is worth nineteen cents. Right now I don't think I can display Saddam in my car, so I'll be showing the back of the bill and say he's on the other side.  Below are the two sides:

I knew immediately that I had to send my Philly friend something, so I pulled out my baseball cards. He's a Philadelphia Phillies fan and I'm sending him a baseball card of one of the best pitchers of all-time, hall of famer, Steve Carlton.  The card is from 1978 which is one year after he won one of his four Cy Young Awards.  The card is not in mint condition, but it's probably worth $2-$5.  I know he's going to like it and I'm sending him this blog so he knows how much I appreciated him doing what he said he would.

HE TRADED SADDAM HUSSEIN AND GOT STEVE CARLTON BACK! WHAT A TRADE!

Have You Seen A Unicorn Lately?

                                  

Supposedly, unicorns are a mythical creature. They look like a beast with one very large, pointed horn coming out of it's head, as is pictured above. However, there used to be unicorns, a very, very long time ago. The earliest accounts come from a Greek writer, Ctesias in the 4th Century BCE. One of the earliest interpretations of unicorns is that it is a, "strong, fierce animal that can be caught only if a virgin maiden is placed before it." I kid you not and I won't tell you more about that interpretation.

However, there are unicorns today in Providence, Rhode Island, in case you didn't hear the news. They are not real, but they really are there.  Someone is leaving 3-D printed unicorns like the one below all over the city and people are enjoying finding them.

It is unknown who is doing it, but it is suspected to be an artist or an art student.  One woman, Betha Wood, was quoted as saying, "In an increasingly stressful world, it's wonderful to see people spreading joy."  Maybe this would be a good idea in every city and town before election day in November?

                                               

                                                          

"NO REPLY"

 

A few weeks ago was the 60^th anniversary of the Beatles performing on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”  Despite what one of my riders said last month, The Kinks were not better than The Beatles. At different points in my life I have found that certain Beatle songs mean a lot more to me.  Here's a few that come to mind:

"YESTERDAY": In 1977/1978 when I was a new Beatle fan, the words, "I believe in yesterday" were very important to me.  I wasn't sure where I was going after high school, what I was going to major in and if I would meet the girl for me. The future was a big question mark and I wasn't looking forward to it.

"IF I FELL": Dating my future wife in the early 1980's, when I drove over to see her I would always sing this song,(badly of course), but I knew I was falling in love with her. Today, when I hear the song in the car I still sing it and think of her.

"HEY JUDE": In the mid-1990's I was working at a business school and sharing an office with an amazing graphic artist, Gary. (He happens to be the only reader of my blog in Highland Park, NJ) The radio was on one day and a high school student heard the song end and liked the song, but didn't know what it was.  At the age of 24/25, I felt very old telling her it was, "Hey Jude."

My oldest daughter made this for me on Father's Day in 2018 with some of the words of The Beatles.

"A HARD DAY'S NIGHT": When I started working very long days, 12, 14,16 and sometimes 19 hours, I thought about this song frequently.  "It's been a hard day's night and I've been working like a dog, it's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log."

"PAPERBACK WRITER": I do remember in high school or college hearing this song and thinking how cool it would be to actually be a paperback writer.  And it was only a few months ago that my book came out and every time I hear this song, I say, "I am a paperback writer."  "Dear Sir or madam will you read my book, it took me years to write, will you take a look?"

"NO REPLY": It's not one of the best known Beatle songs, but it's about a guy trying to reach a girl. In my case I have found over the last several years a different meaning for it.  It seems to happen a lot that I reach out to someone by phone or email and they don't reply.  As my friend, Larry, my only reader in Bridgewater, NJ. said, "It's just common courtesy." Maybe common courtesy like common sense, isn't that common anymore? 

MY MOST MEMORABLE RIDER COMMENTS IN FEBRUARY

I showed the guy who had not been drinking my Queen Elizabeth bill and he said, "Did you ever drive her when she was alive?" I replied seriously, "No I didn't." He said, "I guess she probably wouldn't have ordered an Uber." I answered, "No, probably not."

The couple told me, "The best Uber ride we ever had was a woman in North Carolina who was incredible. On my 50th birthday she gave us Kazoo's and we played them in the car. She called herself KazUber!"

He: "Do you have anything against shooting deer? I shoot them while I sit on my toilet (Going to the bathroom) with a bow and arrow. I've only killed one so far."

Talking about finding a good bathroom on the road, she said, "I can't take dirty bathrooms, I'd pee on myself first and I have a couple times."

He: "I'm a category five screw-up. I decided to change my life by walking for four days to Charleston, South Carolina from Georgia." (He passed out on the second day, but he did change his life)

I picked up "Q". Me: "What is your first name?" She: "Johnson." Me: "Your first name is Johnson?" She: "No, it's (A long name starting with Q), but I go by "Q"-I've been smoking a lot of weed today." She is a part-owner of a pizza place and I dropped her off there and the sign said, "STONERS PIZZA JOINT."

Grandmother of three: "They can do anything they want as long as they don't burn down my house."

"Our Uber driver yesterday had a special Cadillac that he said he put hydrogen in and a full tank would take him 1,200 miles." (?)

The morning after the 60th Anniversary of the legendary performance of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan TV show my rider said, "The Kinks were way better than the Beatles. The Beatles had a few good songs. Their management was better."

She: "I've been a realtor for about five years. "He, (her boyfriend) was my second client and he's bought a bunch of houses from me."

Her friend said, "People in New York are kind, but not nice and people in the South are nice, but not kind."

"My aunt had a client who named all her children Italian ice flavors."

"I work for a company that has people in HR who are called "The People Team", but they have no people skills."

Moving to the South she was told, "You're going to have to take valium to learn how to dial it down here."

"My friend was a passenger in a car that was hit by a train in Charleston.  He was okay but the driver died instantly."

"The woman from Brazil gave me one of the best compliments I've ever had, "Thank you for making a difference in so many lives." Me: "You're a cancer researcher, you're the one who is making a difference in people's lives." She: "I hope so."

                                                                MORE COMMENTS

Young man under a lot of stress: "I live with three people who are "bat-crazy." They have mental health issues and we have 30 pets in the house."

I asked the woman who meeting five friends and driving to Disney World, "What do you like best about Disney?" She replied, "I like everything about it."

Me: "How many grandchildren do you have?" Her: "I think I have 14 and 12 great grandchildren with two on the way." Me: "No wonder I don't have any, you have them all."

Grandmother: "The two year old talks me to death. When she goes to sleep I can finally rest."

"My grandchildren call me OG which stands for, "Original grannie."

She: "I was a fireman in San Francisco for three years and then I got a woman's job as a nurse."

The barber said to me, "I've been cutting hair since I was 13. A robot can't do what I can do."

I told the guy who had just arrived from Italy, "You understand English well." He said, "It depends on how early in the morning it is."

The young realtor after his first house sale, "I sat in the house for an hour and a half, just taking it in."

He: "Comfort is where change first happens."

She: "I call tourists in Minnesota, "Tourons."

The barber said, "You have a King Fisher cut." Me: "I thought I was just bald."

The college student from California was blown away by South Carolina, "They seem to have more appreciation for life here."

She: "It's great to be young and in Charleston."

"I watched a movie where the President of Delta Airlines said, "There are 10,000 things that could go wrong on a flight, but it takes only one thing for a passenger to be disgruntled."

The proud mother of two college graduates (engineer and lawyer) said, "I believe in education first."

"My dad played against Kevin Garnett and he never stops talking about it."

He: "I think France gets a bum rap about not liking Americans."

From New York: "In the offseason I used to play basketball with Patrick Ewing, John Starks and  Anthony Mason when I was a junior in high school."

The woman from Iran loved New York and said, "It's perfect."

"Myrtle Beach looks like a big fair."

Getting off of work and into my car with food from a chicken place at 5 pm., I said, "You don't have chicken in there do you?" Him: "No, it's a burger and fries, but I'd go back in and make you some."

ABOUT LILY MY MANNEQUIN:

"She has great hair."

Getting in my car and going to shut the door, I told him to, "Push it hard," and at the same time I started telling him about my mannequin Lily. Suddenly, he pushed Lily right in the face and I started to laugh.  He said, "I thought if I pushed it something would happen."

ABOUT ME AND MY CAR:

21 year-old male: "Like I said before, 100%, this is a once in a lifetime Uber ride."

She: "That was the most interesting ride I've ever had."

The British Tik-Tockers said, "We're in the coolest Uber ever!"

She: "I love your decor."

The Philly sports fan said a minute after admiring by money museum, "I have a Saddam Hussein bill at home that I'll send you if you give me your information."

The Uber driver said, "That's the best Uber ride I've ever had."

"This was a fun Uber ride."

"This is super-duper cool."

"Orange is your color."

"Thank you for talking to me."

"I wish I had something funny to say to get on your blog. You could go around the block."

MY MOST MEMORABLE RIDERS IN FEBRUARY

 

A CHANGED MAN

The best ride of the month turned out to be a welder/blacksmith in his mid thirties.  Living in Georgia in his late twenties he said, "I was a category five screw-up."  He was hanging around with the wrong crowd, hooked on meth and watching much older people around him barely surviving.  He explained, "No one thought I would make it to 30, I had to change my life." Quitting meth cold turkey, his plan was to walk for four days to Charleston, South Carolina and start over.

On the second day, he passed out and was taken to the hospital. When he was released he was able to somehow get to Charleston and eventually changed his life.  He has marketable skills now and he told me, "I'd like to start my own business one day and earn people's trust back." With a steady job and staying away from drugs he is on his way.  He inspired me and I'll be telling his story to others who need to hear it. I'm rooting for him.

JUST CALL HER O.G.

I had a delightful conversation with a woman who works in two different hotels as a manager and has her own catering business. We were talking about children and grandchildren and she told me, "My grandchildren can do whatever they want as long as they don't burn my house down."

She told me that her grandchildren don't call her grandma, but O.G. which means "original grannie." She is certainly an original and we had some good laughs together. She told me her sister was making a shirt for her that says, "O. G." and I suggested to her to create an online store with O. G. clothing.  She loved the idea and I'm pretty sure she's going to be thinking about that all day long.  So, if you see some clothing that says, "O. G.," it may not be for "Original Gangster" which is a thing, it may be my passenger using my idea.

TOURING THE USA

Two British guys who do "content" and put it on Tik Tok, had a great ride with me. They started filming in my car with one of them saying, "We're in the coolest Uber ever!" They loved the fact that my favorite bill was from the UK with Queen Elizabeth in the middle of my car, with 46 other bills displayed.  They have visited "The States" four times and have been to twenty-six different states filming content and traveling in an RV. 

Their names are Josh & Jase and I looked them up on Tik Tok.  They have a very big following and are very successful.  We had a relatively short ride.  I would have liked to get some of their stories from them, but I did share some of  my British stories with them. My wife and I watched them on Tik Tok and she said, "They are very funny."  No sign yet of the video they took in my car, but I think they got another follower.

HE PLAYED WITH PATRICK EWING

He may have had the funniest entrance to my car ever.  As he got in I was telling him about my mannequin head and that he needed to give the door a push.  It was early in the morning and he thought I said, "Push the mannequin head." He gave a big push to Lily's face and after I started laughing he said, "I thought if I pushed it something would happen." 

We had the best ride of the day when he told me that he was a very good basketball player in high school growing up in New York.  "In the offseason I played with Patrick Ewing, John Starks and Anthony Mason." (Who played for my team, The New York Knicks) He became good friends with them and when he moved to the South to help his sick mom, they used to leave tickets for him when they played in Charlotte.

"I had a great vertical leap and dunked a lot. Ewing dunked a lot, but he didn't do it much in the pros and I asked him why. He said he was saving his knees because he wanted a long career." He got his long career and my passenger has some great memories of playing with professional athletes when he was still in high school.

GOING ON A FIRST DATE

I picked him up and we took an hour ride to pick up his friend. When I asked them how long they had been dating, she said, "Oh, we're not together, this isn't a date." He said, "We're not yet, but this is a date." They got along very well and talked like they were together.  I think he was 21 and she may have been a couple years younger.  The movie they were going to see was 40 minutes away, so I spent a good period of time with them. She seemed to agree that it was their first date and he seemed a little nervous. She asked me for advice on being married forty years and they both liked my answers.  I think they are a good match and they may be dating for awhile, it was fun driving them.

THE YOUNG REALTOR

I had a great conversation with him about his first sale.  The house cost $350,000 and he was happy when he sold it. When he got the $10,000 check, that's when he really got excited.  "I like to live in the moment and so I sat in the house and let it all sink in."  I enjoyed his excitement and enthusiasm about his sale and I'm sure he's going to be soaking up many more moments in the future as he sells more houses.

HE NEEDS SOME HELP

Sometimes I really feel badly for my passenger and this young man definitely got my sympathy.  Living with his girlfriend and her parents, he is overwhelmed.  Heading home from work at the very beginning of his work day, he was stressed out and exhausted from being at home.  All three of the adults in the house are under medication for mental health issues. He's running the house and trying to help a teenager cope in the house and he takes care of thirty pets in the house. 

He's mature for his age, about 21, but said he has no one to help him or talk to. There was only so much I could do or say, since it was a short ride and he was physically and mentally wiped out. I'm hoping he can figure out a solution to his problem.

Are You Saving Money on Gas?

 I've been on the road for work most of my life. One of the things I am always aware of is how much gas costs at different stations. After awhile, you get to learn which stations regularly have the best prices and which ones have the worst prices.

Since moving to South Carolina, the gas prices here have been puzzling.  It's not unusual for prices to jump 20-25 cents in a single day. The most puzzling thing for me is seeing gas stations across the street from each other that are 15, 20, 25 cents apart.

Last week I saw something that is really difficult to understand.  As I drove up Rt. 17 the main highway in Myrtle Beach, I looked over and saw a Murphy's gas station.  They do a great job in keeping prices low, but I was surprised to see their at $2.71, pictured below.

There were only a couple gas stations in the low 2.70's, but they weren't in this area. Exactly .2 tenths of a mile was a 7-11.  I haven't found them to be that great with prices, but I wasn't expecting  a price of $3.09.  Unfortunately the picture did not come out as good, but it really is $3.09. The $3.71 diesel price came out well below it.  How could they sell gas for 38 cents more than Murphy's?

I did fill up at Murphy's, but I never have seen anything like that.  Pay attention to the gas stations in your area or the ones you usually go past.  If you drive a lot you can save some money by paying attention.

Interesting and Unusual Things About Our Presidents

It is President's Day which we celebrate every third Monday in February.  As a political science major, I have loved reading about presidents and I've always been fascinated by their lives.  Here are some things you probably did not know about the men who have served us as President of the United States.

1. Gerald Ford was a model who appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine.  His birth name was Leslie.

2. Theodore Roosevelt had the most pets as president with 48 including a black bear, a hyena, a badger, and a one legged rooster.

3. Herbert Hoover was a humanitarian before he was president. He's responsible for helping millions of Europeans survive after World War 1 by supplying a couple million tons of food through our government. There are streets and squares in Poland and Belgium that are named "Hoover" in his honor.

4. Ulysses S. Grant was pulled over for speeding and fined $20 for speeding on a horse while he was president.

5. Bill Clinton's cat had a video game named after it: "Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill."

6. Richard Nixon proposed to his wife the first day they met and it took her two years to say, "Yes." During those two years he drove her to go on dates with other guys.

7. Warren Harding bet White House china in a poker game and he lost.

8. George H. Bush considered naming actor Clint Eastwood  his running mate.

9. Martin Van Buren wrote his autobiography without mentioning his wife who had six children with him.

10. Lyndon Johnson issued the first medicare card to former President Harry Truman.

11. Before he was president Grover Cleveland was a hangman. As sheriff he hung two people.

12. In his two presidential elections, Ronald Reagan won the electoral vote by a combined 1,014 to 62.

13. Ronald Reagan was offered a part in Back to the Future 3, but he turned it down.

14.Soccer great David Beckham gave Barack Obama fifty pairs of boxer briefs as a gift.

15. Jimmy Carter wrote a children's book- "The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer."

16. Bill Clinton's first job was selling comic books.

17. Andrew Johnson was a tailor and he used to make his suits while he was President.