MY FAVORITE RIDERS IN NOVEMBER

THE THIRD JOSE WAS THE CHARM

What are the odds that THREE of the first six rides Sunday morning were all named Jose? Not very good, but this Jose was unlike any other.  As he got in the car he immediately gave me a $3 TIP which is something only three other riders out of 16,000 have done. He explained, "I try to be a good person.  I'm not very good at doing bad things." I knew this was going to be a great ride, but I wasn't ready for what he gave me.

Married almost 33 years, I asked him what the secret of a successful marriage was.  "We've had our ups and downs, but you have to solve problems.  You have to forgive. My wife is a great woman."  Then, he told me one of the best stories I've heard in seven years.

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

At the end of the ride he tipped me another $3.  He also had three stops instead of the normal one. I didn't get a chance to ask him what his lucky number was, but on this day, my lucky number was three.

HE CHANGED HIS LIFE

The Florida man shared his amazing story with me. He said, "I was 46 years old and had no hope. I was collecting money from the government for a mental disability. I was a drug addict and had spent 20 years in jail for three different bank robberies." (One he escaped from)  You never know the impact you can have on someone. At a meeting he was inspired to change his life.

He met his wife at a recovery meeting and they have two young boys. He got a job with a tech company to earn $12 an hour.  They trained him and he wound up being their operations manager managing fifty people.  He helped two businesses become million-dollar operations.

At sixty years old he's a very different man than he was.  He was in town to give a motivational speech in a church about his life and at the same time he inspired me.  The below picture is his favorite hat that his kids gave him. He insisted I take it and I'll be telling his story to other riders for years to come.  

DOCTOR POSITIVE

I spent over ninety minutes with her and she inspired me.  I told her a bunch of stories that she enjoyed, but she is quite a success story herself.  She overcame a very negative family situation between her parents and was mainly raised by her grandparents.  She explained, "My grandmother inspired me because she puts everyone first. I had to separate myself from all the negativity."  She was working in healthcare and decided to be a doctor. "Healthcare, it's the best, but as a doctor I can help more people." By the end of this year she will be a doctor and on her way to succeed and be a role model for many people.  

I think "Dr. Positive" is the perfect nickname for her.  Does she connect well with others? She told me, "Everyone has a beautiful story," and I know when I hear one and she's it.

HE WAS THERE WHEN UBER BEGAN

He was one of the most interesting and successful riders I've ever had.  In the beginning of the ride I knew he was an entrepreneur and involved in many businesses including being a successful trader which gave him a lot of flexibility.  He spends his time between Colorado and Florida and owns several houses in Palm Beach, Florida.  His big break came when he had his own mobile automotive business and he outbid many known companies to get the first Uber hub in Colorado over ten years ago.

He told me that his income went from $60,000 a year to $60,000 a month.  He was responsible for getting all the new drivers signed up and most importantly their car inspections done.  He said that Uber really was a technology company and had no idea how to handle the many people who were signing up from other countries and also the people who had criminal records and were handicapped.  For over three years he was getting thousands of drivers started each month in the state of Colorado.  I could have talked with him for hours.  We did sit in the car for an extra 15-20 minutes after his ride was over-he was very generous with his time and I'm sure he will enjoy reading my book.

THE "SAGE" IN MY CAR

He had me laughing immediately. When I asked what kind of work he did, he said, "I'm a tattooer." It really is a word, but he added, "I have no HR department, I can say anything I want to my customers." He admitted, "I'm an unusual person," and he really was.  Although he went to school for art, he did very well in English classes.  I knew that because he kept using words that I don't here very often.  I knew he was a big reader and we had fun talking about books. He said, "I'll always be reading," and I said it would make a great line for a tombstone and we both laughed.  Married almost ten years I am certain he keeps his wife laughing and guessing what he's going to say next.  We could have talked for hours.

MY FAMILY CHICKEN RIDE

I have had a number of funny "chicken" rides over the years and usually I am attempting to get the rider to give me some chicken. This is the first ride and probably the last, that I actually had a chicken in the car that the riders gave me.  I was driving my youngest daughter and her husband to the airport for their honeymoon trip to New Zealand.  As a I pulled out of their development, they remembered the chicken they were going to give me.  Since chicken is my favorite food, I turned around to get it.

The "chicken talk" began when my son-in-law said, "I can't wait for the food we're about to have, but my wife is going to struggle. You're going to have to open up your palate." My daughter replied, "It's a good thing I brought my anti-diarrhea pills." It was just afterwards he told me, "We bought the chicken four days ago, it's not going to last long." I was going to visit the rest of our family in Colorado after dropping them off and she added, "Tell everyone we bought it a week ago, no one will eat it."

It did not end there. Here are the rest of some of the other comments: 

She: "I wish I had started counting how many times you said chicken when we gave it to you. We need a chicken counter." Me: "Despite how funny you two are, it was the chicken that is getting you on my blog." She: "That's called bribery. Compared to Uber drivers you're funny, but most Uber drivers don't talk." Me: "Do you know why I made that turn quickly? The chicken is running out of time."

She: "You've said chicken so many times that it would take an act of god to take you away from it. I think we're at 72 for the chicken count." Me: "This is the kind of ride that I never want to end." Son-in-law: "You want to drive us to New Zealand?  You know it's on an island?" My daughter laughed and snorted and I said, "I'm going be too busy eating chicken."

Pictured below is you know who arriving at my son's house.  Two hours later I was devouring that chicken and it was real and it was spectacular. I left a couple small pieces for a salad the next day and that is the longest chicken ride I've ever had and the most delicious one too.

A Year to be Thankful For

I wasn't going to do a Thanksgiving blog, but I was thinking about turkey and cranberry bread and more turkey and thought this would be a good time to be thankful for 2025.  Included in this blog are various Thanksgiving food from 2021 so you can enjoy them before you eat turkey in 2025. I am thankful for:

In the first few months of 2025 we were able to sell our home and pack up everything for our big move.

In April and May I had two of the best months driving Uber and my passengers were very generous. I could not have asked for a better ending to driving in South Carolina.

In the first week of May I drove 27 hours to Colorado twice in five days getting both are cars to our new state.

We lived for a few weeks or so with our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter and it was challenging and fun.

We found and bought a house and moved in by the end of May which was quite an experience and it was a good choice.

We were able to celebrate our youngest daughter's wedding with our family and Memorial Day Weekend was a perfect time for the celebration.  

We had a very small window for the ceremony on a rainy, sleety day in the mountains and the sun even came out for us during the dry outdoor ceremony.

The past six months we are very thankful for our health which has been good and improved from 2024.

We have spent a bunch of fun family dinners this year and although we've been here for Thanksgiving before, we'll be here for Thanksgiving and the holiday season next month.

We've had some terrific work done outside our house getting our backyard where we want it to be.

We have enjoyed babysitting our granddaughter for many, many hours and it's been so much fun helping out and playing with her.

Our oldest daughter published her first book, "The Great Tree of Iris," and we were able to enjoy her success by flying to New Jersey for her book party.

Our niece Marci was engaged and we are looking forward to her wedding to Alex next summer.

We have enjoyed the amazing and breathtaking scenery in Colorado and living among farms has been a terrific experience.

Lastly, I've been able to continue Ubering and although it's not the same as in South Carolina, it's been pretty good.

GIFTS FROM STRANGERS

October was easily the most unusual month I've had when it came to my passengers giving me gifts for my car museum. For the last few years I've regularly had riders give me things other than foreign money and I thought I would attempt to put them all together for one blog and try to explain them.

The main thing is that people wanted to be part of my museum, they wanted to give me something to be part of this spectacle that I have in my car and I didn't discourage them.  Unfortunately, there are a few things that have fallen through the cracks or are hidden in my car, but almost all of them are here.

1. The three hats from riders: The Green Bay Packer Fan, the guy who help start Hoop Tea with his friend and it's now owned by Anheuser Busch and the boat equipment hat that the young woman gave me who also gave me a beautiful bill from Australia.

2. The mannequin, "Lily", given to me by JenKelly from Kansas four years ago has provided more laughs and pictures and stories that I ever would of have thought possible.  There is a green necklace given to me for St. Patrick's Day  for Lily and there were green ears I had too which is MIA. The red hat was given to me for Lily, but it just wasn't a good look for her.

3. The sergeant's patch from Maryland I believe, the silver ball bearing, the rubber duckie from a plumber who worked for that company, a tiny Christmas tree leaning on the duck, a wooden chess piece from a guy whose dad was a rock n' roll singer, the Berlin zoo coin, and the handmade chain which you can see better in the next picture.  Also, a "Winner's Circle" card from a casino in Colorado and three US bills. 

The $2 bill from an 18-year old I told my dad worked for the Federal Reserve Bank and gave out $2 bills, a $1 bill from a big Yankee fan who said that 2024 was their year.  Lastly the $1 bill from two college students who were upset they had nothing to give and wrote on the bill, "Thank you so much George,' which would have been great if my name was George.  I asked her if she mixed me up with George Washington since we look so much alike. Her name is on it and she lives off exit 109 of The Garden State Parkway.

 The green key chain is made out of something, maybe green beans? The blue thing holds a work badge on it.  The jar is the guava jam from Hawaii from a cancer researcher when he was on his honeymoon. It did taste good and it's a very unusual item.  The rock on top of it is a beautiful rock  My wife loves rocks of all kinds and she would probably want it, but it's staying with my collection.

On my last day of driving in South Carolina, a young woman told me that she wears funny socks to make people laugh. Then she said, "I have an extra pair of Elvis socks I want you to have." I hung one on each side of the inside of my car and it looks great with my orange car.  My very last ride in South Carolina, (around midnight the morning we left for Colorado), was  a woman I have driven many times.  She was returning from Italy and she bought me a very nice pin which I pinned on the Elvis sock.

 Lastly this is a better picture of a handmade key chain I received recently.

The smaller things I have now put in a plastic bag so people can see them, because there's no way to display them without losing them.  Many thanks to all those and others for the gifts they've given me.  Who knows, maybe one day they will be in a real museum?

You Can Laugh About Getting Older

I recently read a bunch of quotes about getting older and I thought I'd share my favorite ones and comment on them since we are all getting older. 

"You know you've reached middle age when you're cautioned by your doctor instead of the police."

Joan Rivers

The legendary comedian, pictured below, was a lot of fun to listen to. She was also a writer, actress, and television host.  She was very talented and was successful in many ways.

"Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better."

Actress Ingrid Bergman

There are some older people who climb mountains, but I am not one of them and I probably will not be one in the future.  You can see a lot of great views without climbing a mountain.  That would be a last resort for me.

"The idea is to die young as later as possible."

Ashley Montagu

I had to look him up, I thought it sounded a lot like Yogi Berra. Ashley studied race and gender as an anthropologist. He sounds pretty smart or witty, but he could not hit a baseball like Yogi Berra, the Yankee great.

"The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age."

Lucille Ball

This definitely sounds like Lucille Ball.  I can see her right now in that famous conveyer belt with the candy. I think she ate some of those candies, but she did live until she was 78 years old.  She more frequently was seen in black and white pictures, so this picture may look a little odd.

"No one is as old as those who have outlived enthusiasm."

Henry David Thoreau

The author and naturalist lived a simple life and was famous for doing it.

"My mother always used to say, "The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana."

Betty White

Another talented woman who was in television for seventy years.  She lived to be 99 years old and was liked by just about everyone.

"I don't feel old, I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap."

Bob Hope

The comedian, actor, producer and entertainer beat out Betty White since he lived to 100 years old.  He entertained people for eighty years and he was terrific.

Am I A Gym Guy?

For most of my life I have joked about that I was not a "gym guy."  It's not really funny to others, but I could never picture myself actually walking into a gym and working out. My new health plan through, Humana, gave me the choice of free membership to a local fitness place and for the first time in my life I went to a gym.

My first visit to the Brighton Recreation Center pictured above, I wasn't sure what to wear or what to do.  I showed up very early in the morning after an easy ten minute drive.  I had my identification card and I wore shorts and a light jacket over a t-shirt.  I pretended that this was very normal, but I'm sure I looked like a fish out of water.                                    

I got on a bicycle and a guy sat down next to me.  He started the conversation and I told him it was my first time in a gym.  He told me he was 91 and had been going to a gym for fifty years, which made me feel really comfortable.  I then got on a treadmill and walked for twenty minutes as I looked through the window at the large pool below.

                                                         

And if you really wonder if my feet were moving, this is the action shot I took.  It doesn't look exciting, but my legs were moving.

                                                  

My second visit I had trouble starting the machines, hitting start did not work.  I also noticed everyone was cleaning the machines, don't they have any workers cleaning? People who were exercising were cleaning everything.  They didn't seem to be sweating much, maybe they were working out their hands?

So, I was sitting on the bike and watching television which are two things I rarely do.  I thought, could I do a third thing that I don't usually do?  My youngest daughter and her husband are learning Spanish with an  app on their phone. I had them put it on mine, so I started taking a five minute lesson.  I had trouble understanding the English, but I did learn that man in Spanish is "le hombre."  I'm on my way!  They wanted me to repeat words and I couldn't do it at the gym.

My wife told me that I wasn't working out at the gym, I was warming up.  My legs were loosening up, but I didn't feel warm or break a sweat.  Maybe one day I will work out there, but I'm not sure what year it will be.  

It was free and I did get something out of it, so that's a good thing.

The Top Tourist Destinations in The U.S.?

Trip advisor just came out with a list of the top ten tourist destinations in the country and I was surprised at some of them. These are supposed to be the best places to visit in the country, what do you think?

1. NASA Kennedy Space Center- Did we deprive our kids by never taking them here? This is one of three places in Florida and none of them are Disney World! I'm a big Disney fan, I can't believe it is not on this list.

2. Empire State Building- One of three places in New York and they did not list Ground Zero or Rockefeller Center on the list.

3. Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee- I had to look this up. Elvis Pressley recorded his first song and it's known as the, "Birth of Rock N' Roll." I'll have to ask the next person I drive from Memphis.  This one is surprising.

4. Central Park in New York- This makes sense because it's free and it's pretty awesome. Below is the dedication to John Lennon in an area they call "Strawberry Fields." 

5. Stetson Mansion in DeLand, Florida- No clue on this and I had to look it up. This is a pretty amazing house built in the 1800's by John B. Stetson, who created the Stetson hat.  I had never heard of it, but it is awesome.

6. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo,Florida- I had to look this one up also, but I get it.  It's in Key Largo and I'm sure it's beautiful. What about the Grand Canyon?  Mt. Rushmore?

7. The Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, New York- Is it better than the Golden Gate Bridge? How about The Statue of Liberty? 

8. The National Museum of World War 11 Aviation-Colorado Springs, Colorado- I'll have to check this one out since I live in Colorado, but is it better than the Rocky Mountains? 

9.The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York- This one makes sense although I'm not an art guy, I'm sure it's very good.

10. Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California- The ferry ride over with the Golden Gate Bridge there was definitely worth seeing.

I think I've only been to four of these ten sites, how many have you been to?

Flying Twice in One Week

A couple weeks ago I was in an airplane to and from New Jersey. It was my second and third flight this year which is pretty unusual for me.  My wife and I are pictured above. Here are some of my adventures in the air:

Having just read about Orville and Wilbur Wright I could not help but think of them as I was packed into a front row seat.  I imagined what a sardine must feel like in a can, but this had to be easier than the Wright Brothers trying to adjust their wings as the wind hit them in the face.  I did not feel any wind, but was very grateful for the air I could breathe above me.

On both trips we sat in the front row for more leg room.  Both planes were Allegiant, but the leg room was much better on the flight home. If you've ever complained about a car door or a door in your house banging, you have to get a front row seat to hear the bathroom door slam frequently throughout the flight.  I thought sitting up front was nosier, especially with the flight attendants right in front of us.

What can you really do on a plane? I slept a little and read a little and I found myself looking at my hands, which I don't do that often.  Somehow, all the hair on my hands were standing up? Does that happen to everyone on a plane? I wanted to stand up, but instead my hair was!

When we were leaving Denver Airport I was bracing for takeoff. I'm not afraid of them, but it feels better flying straight than upwards.  I closed my eyes and relaxed and waited and waited and waited.  Did I fall asleep during takeoff as I did on my first flight forty plus years ago? It took forever, but finally we did make it into the air.  I was told that the runways in Denver are so long that it takes an unusually long time to get off the ground.

I haven't flown much in my life, maybe 15-20 times at most.  I'm pretty sure I've had some very smooth landings, but neither trip would fit that description.  I was told that it is also common for landings to be a little rough.

Conclusion: Flying is efficient and they are organized, but I'd rather be driving.  I get the sense that despite the cost and the drive to airports, flying by plane will be around for a lot more years. I'll fly again next year for a family wedding.