GOING BACK TO A SIMPLER TIME
My first ride of the month will rank as one of the most unique and interesting rides I've ever had. I drove the couple for two hours to Savannah to get their flight home to British Columbia and I had plenty of time to get the whole story. From Colorado, he graduated college in the late 70's or early 80's, and he and his friends wanted to buy a lot of land to build build their own community of houses.
After touring western states, they found a remote piece of land around 200 acres in British Columbia. It was on a dirt road, with no electricity or indoor plumbing and they had a well and a stream for water. They eventually developed a pond for the area and they built six houses by themselves. They were ninety minutes from the closest gas station. His wife said, "When we got electricity after 13 years, it was a hallelujah moment-I was a happy woman."
After being together for around twenty years, they got married in Vegas by a black Elvis and told me, "There were a lot of pregnant women in line." They have lived a much simpler life, growing their own food and living in a house that looked like a castle from the outside. They have moved to a small city and are adjusting to civilization and don't have to come face to face with a bear or a large squirrel breaking into their house. I could tell that they were very close and they enjoyed a lifetime of experiences that most of us will never experience. (Pictured below is NOT their house)
LAUGHTER WAS HIS BEST MEDICINE
The retired finance guy from New England was not having a very good day. I picked him up from a hospital where he was diagnosed with a very bad cold.(not COVID) He was wearing a mask and he was concerned about some other conditions he had being affected by the cold. I was his first Uber ride and he will never forget how bad he felt and how much he laughed. We both laughed a lot and our ride ended with him saying, "You should be a respiratory specialist, because you make people laugh their asses off." I was a little concerned I was making him laugh too much, but since he was a Boston Red Sox fan he got to hear some of the funniest stories I have ever heard in my car. I'm guessing that his stomach hurt when he exited the car and I know he felt a little better riding with me.
One of the most inspirational rides I've ever had was a very mature speaking 27-year-old from Pennsylvania. He had moved here to, "Recover from my addictions." His mom and dad have suffered from serious addictions and at the same time had very successful careers. He grew up with it and alcohol and drugs were leading him to a terrible ending. He spent thirteen months in jail for a D.U.I. and his mom wanted him to move back in with her, because, "If I died she wanted to find the body instead of someone else. He has been eleven months sober and drug free and looks at his life as someone who can help others overcome their demons. He goes to music concerts to, "See his old self" and reach out to others to help them change their life. His past life is filled with a lot of struggles, but he's looking forward to his much brighter future.
MR. "WOW"
The family was from New York and as soon as I started showing them my museum, the husband said, "Wow." Once he started he could not stop. He may have said it 10-15 times and at one point I joked with him that I would have to charge him for each, "Wow." He really liked the car and could not come up with much else to say about it, but he really liked it. Whenever I hear the word, "Wow" in the future, I'll think of him.
MS. "I LOVE THAT"
The young professional woman was a joy to talk with. She's in the right field as an account executive helping companies use all the modern computer technologies that I struggle with. She is definitely a people person and as I shared my museum with her she repeatedly said, "I love that." I teased her about her favorite phrase and she genuinely loved being in my car. We had a great ride and when I said that she could sell anything, even medical devices, she told me, "My dad did that, I'll keep that in mind." She gave me a small, crystal rock from Costa Rica that I'll display somehow in my car and her very generous tip on the app for a very expensive ride showed that she enjoyed the ride as much as I did. I said goodbye and told her, "I'd wish you luck, but you don't need it."
THIS CHEF LOVES TO TRAVEL
I had a lot in common with this guy, except the cooking part. When he was in the military he would jump in his car and drive in any direction to get away and see things. "I'm really a speed demon." He loves moving and without any planning he still jumps in his car and picks a direction. He stops when he feels like stopping and he returns when he wants to. On the road he feels like himself and just takes everything in that he sees. He had a great comment about the difference of being a cook or a chef when he said, "A cook knows how to cook, but a chef knows why you cook it that way." He doesn't know when he will get in his car to go, but it will be soon. Maybe, I'll see him on road?
SHE TALKS GIBBERISH TOO!
A young family from Tampa with their nine-year-old daughter were a lot of fun driving. The baby said some gibberish and some, "Da-Da's,' and then the husband told me, "My wife talks gibberish too with her brother." The brother is thirty-one and they have a secret language together. When the wife took gymnastics years ago, her girlfriends created a different language which was like gibberish and she taught it to her brother so they could have private conversations. She read the title of my book, "Driving on The Sunny Side With 10,000 Strangers" in gibberish and I could not understand a single word. I recorded it and now the Tampa Gibberisher, (probably not a word), joins the "Boston Seagull" and the "Arizona Dolphin Caller" as women who have recordings played in my museum. I cannot even imagine what I'll be recording next time.
