Let me do something different—Ride Share! I have been doing this for over five years. Here I will share some interesting stories.
On a Tuesday about 2 am in Olney. I picked up a gentleman outside a townhouse. He got in the car… wearing a house robe and no shoes. First thing he says to me was “my wife most not know about this.” (I nodded, totally confused about this statement.) It was a short, two-mile trip. As we got to his destination, he made me stop a few houses away, he thanked me, and he exited my vehicle. Oh, he had me turn off the car lights. It was a cul-de-sac, so I proceeded to go and turn around. By the time I turned around, he was wheeling his garbage bin up his driveway as if he had woken up in the early morning to do that. I leave the rest to your imagination.
Craziest experience was in Baltimore County on a weekday, I picked up a gentleman in the early hours of the morning from a building that is not a restaurant. He was heavily intoxicated. We tried to have light conversation, and as I drove him home. It was a test of my patience. He started talking about how he was going to kill me and then hurt his wife. I was concerned but not scared because he was drunk. I kept asking him why he would say that (stalling for time as we approached his home).
We got to his home, and he was now sprawled across the back seat. He refused to come out. I pleaded with him, offering to help him to the door. He declined and kept insisting I call the police, which I eventually had to do. Two Baltimore County officers responded, I repeated everything to them, and they tried to coax him out the vehicle. He refused. They went to the house door and had to wake up the lady inside to come and coax him out. He refused to come out, and all this while he was hurling verbal threats at the police, who were extremely patient with him and understood he was heavily intoxicated. They eventually called for backup, and a huge officer showed up. It took three officers to lift one man out of the car, and then I was able to leave.
An airline landed a flight at BWI in 2018. The time was almost 11 pm when I got the ride request. I picked up a couple and their daughter. Destination was Manhattan…I was in disbelief. They told me the flight had to divert from its intended destination of New York because of thunderstorms…dropped them off at their destination at 3:27 am and headed right back down I-95 to Maryland, before traffic. We never had any bad weather along the way, and the skies in New York appeared okay, so we wonder why the airline did that. My passengers were doctors and had to see patients the next day. That was my longest trip.
My shortest trip: a Saturday night, picked up a lady on Bladensburg Road from her parked car, and drove 2/10 of a mile to a club—she said she just did not feel like walking.
I will end on this note. In Dallas in January, I picked up a huge guy. Drove him 30 miles to his destination. He was going to celebrate his birthday. We got talking football and he could not understand why I love the Pittsburgh Steelers (been a fan since I was 12). He told me he was hoping to get drafted in the NFL. Congratulations to my new friend Kirk Merritt who has joined the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted rookie/free agent. His jersey is #83. I told him I will get one. On that note, I will end.