I Don't Do Cocaine, I Just Like The Way It Smells

Ever wondered what stories people carry with them as they navigate through life? The rideshare vehicle becomes more than just transportation in this episode—it transforms into a confessional booth where strangers connect through shared experiences, heritage, and unexpected commonalities.

Two passengers from Maine open up about their journey finding a coastal home in Kittery after falling in love with Ogunquit's unique charm. What begins as casual conversation evolves into a rich exploration of Italian heritage, citizenship pursuits, and the universal desire for connection to our ancestral roots.

Connect:

team@fdmvideo.com | 877 260 6445

RSRT Instagram

RSRT Facebook 

Foundation Digital Media 

Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Speaker 1 0:12

Welcome to another episode of Rideshare Road Talk Conversations in Motion, a podcast where we create unfiltered talk space that examines the meaningful lives of my passengers while engaging in personal and topical discussions. The meaningful lives of my passengers while engaging in personal and topical discussions. I'm your host and driver, john Foddus, and we're cruising the streets of Washington DC. Buckle up, let's drive. Hi, ladies, how are you? I'm Samantha. Yep, yep, Come on in, thank you. How are you, ladies?

Speaker 2 0:39

Good, how are you?

Meeting Maine Residents in DC

Speaker 1 0:40

I'm okay. Anything fun and exciting going on for you, oh no, just going home, that's. That's fun and exciting in my book anyways and it is good.

Speaker 2 0:50

Good, how do you like the expedition?

Speaker 1 0:53

uh, it's cool you know I um, I was like a suburban and a tahoe guy forever for my, my regular business that I do, which is like a production company. So I need space for gear and equipment and things. And you know the byproduct of this crazy economy the residual values were such that I couldn't lease it the way I would normally do. Okay, the GM was basically being a bunch of you know a-holes about it Okay.

Speaker 2 1:22

So you got a better deal from Tori, I mean yeah, I mean, I mean literally.

Speaker 1 1:26

It's just I wash everything through my llc and yep lease everything. It's a payment, not an investment done, and uh they, it's great no complaints.

Speaker 2 1:38

My husband is a uh general manager of a ford dealership up in. We live in maine.

Speaker 1 1:43

My daughter lives here, but we live up in maine.

Speaker 2 1:45

Okay, where whereabouts in maine uh well, he, you know, I say he actually works in massachusetts we live in maine. Sorry that's okay, he'll, it's only 20 minutes, but he it's salisbury, massachusetts. It's an old family ford dealership. Family owned, owned. Cool yeah, not our family Wish we owned it.

Speaker 1 2:05

Yeah.

Speaker 2 2:05

But he is the GM.

Speaker 1 2:07

I love Maine.

Speaker 2 2:08

Oh, Maine is wonderful. We're right at the beginning. We're in Kittery. Have you been up there?

Speaker 1 2:12

I have. Where do you go? Well, I had a friend of mine years ago and his aunt owned a really beautiful house in Sorrento which was across from Bar Harbor.

Speaker 2 2:25

Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 2:25

And we used to go up and spend summers up there as kids.

Speaker 2 2:27

Oh wow, like teenagers, that's nice. Well, yeah.

Speaker 1 2:31

I mean, we were a bunch of knuckleheads, you know, drinking and partying. We go up there and it's such a downshift. Yes, we really grew up in hindsight, isn't that funny?

Speaker 2 2:45

We look back and go, wow, that was really special. And you know there is a lot about Maine that is still like that which is really nice yeah. It can be a little boring, though, yeah boring's fine, I don't mind boring.

Speaker 1 2:57

I did a great two-week trip with my family this was years ago and drove up Every name drop town you could think of, turn, turned around to Bar Harbor, and then came back home and accidentally walked into Ogonquit, which I just absolutely fell in love with Like oh my God.

Speaker 2 3:15

That's what brought it. My husband's from New York and I'm from Connecticut and we were living in Connecticut and we went to Ogonquit. Somebody told us to go there on vacation. We used to go to the Cape okay very common if you live in. Connecticut to go to the Cape and um, they said, why don't you try Ogunquit? Yeah that is what sold us on wanting to be there. And then we found ourselves.

Speaker 2 3:38

We hated going home from our vacation every year, so Massachusetts happening northwest we sped up our plan and moved up there and we both started over careers and everything but it's actually been really good to us. That's cool. Good for you, yeah that's great.

Speaker 1 3:53

I found there's something about it, um, I think it's the. It was like this blending of like there's there's a large gay population there and but there's also the family component and everyone's there kind of in harmony, very similar to kind of like Rehoboth Beach here.

Speaker 2 4:08

Oh yeah, I've been there, actually With a lot more charm, yeah.

Life in Maine and Ogunquit

Speaker 1 4:14

But it just worked. And then the little beachfront area. I don't know not to be like romantically corny, but like the combination of the smells, like this pine tar, boardwalk smell with like the clams being cooked. And like it was like oh my God, like I need to write this down and you could just. It was amazing. Yeah, such a great memory, such a great memory.

Speaker 2 4:38

We're very lucky.

Speaker 1 4:39

Yeah.

Speaker 2 4:39

The town that we live in has something called Fort Foster, and it's just this really incredible beach area with it's. It's just got so many trails to walk you can half of it. You can walk your dog on too yeah part of its woods, part of it's the ocean. Sure, it's just, and it's, you know, as residents, we can just go there anytime we want.

Speaker 1 5:04

Yeah, I'm sure the conversation turns a bit in the dead of February perhaps.

Speaker 2 5:09

Let me tell you this was a rough winter, so much so that I'm not sure we're going to stay there long term. You know when we get, because we're 60 and 64, and it's getting tougher to do these winters. I mean, we had snow a week ago, saturday no kidding.

Speaker 1 5:26

And I'm not talking about flurries it covered everything enough to go, enough to get to work.

Speaker 2 5:32

Basically, right to start shoveling it's just in freezing, it's been absolutely freezing, yeah, so I don't know.

Speaker 1 5:40

I always hedge that game. God, if I could just do like my summers in maine.

Speaker 2 5:43

Well, that's what we're talking about, like Hilton Head or something. We just don't have the money to do that yeah. It would be nice.

Speaker 1 5:48

Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 2 5:50

Do you live in Virginia or do you live in?

Speaker 1 5:52

I live in Maryland, maryland, you know what part of Maryland do you live in?

Speaker 2 5:56

Just because we are literally looking.

Speaker 1 5:57

That's one of the oh sure which is great schools up there in northern Montgomery County like Olney, brookville, sandy, spring area.

Speaker 2 6:06

Okay, so how far? How long does it take you to get into DC?

Speaker 1 6:12

I come down I do this just for a podcast, by the way. I come down twice a week, I get my content and I go back home. That's cool. It is cool. I run a video production company in the real world and it was a happy accident where I had a client who needed. He was a rideshare like sedan company owner and we produced a video for his website, like marketing kind of a thing.

Speaker 2 6:39

Yeah.

Speaker 1 6:40

And during the edit process I was listening to these conversations that he was having with you know, passengers and I was like, oh, there's something here, and so I went back out. I left one important part out. Prior to producing that piece, I needed to know what it was like to be him, because I can't drive with him. He's driving people.

Speaker 1 7:00

So, before we put cameras in the car. I needed to get an understanding of what it was like, so I signed up to do it for one night with my assistant. My assistant lasted two hours and said I'm never doing this again and I don't know if in a past life I was like a Manhattan cab driver. I don't know. It's something resonated with me.

Speaker 2 7:20

Something worked for you.

Speaker 1 7:22

And so it just clicked, and anyway, so the idea was spawned from there. And now it just clicked, and anyway, so the idea was spawned from there, and now it's evolved into this. It's almost like half DC tourism, half talk, space therapy, that's great.

Speaker 2 7:33

It's crazy. What's the name of it? I'm a huge podcast listener. She's a big podcast listener.

Speaker 1 7:39

Scan that so you know what you're getting yourself into. Okay, and if you want to be on the podcast, just say yes and we'll just keep talking.

Speaker 2 7:46

Oh my God, that's, great.

Speaker 1 7:47

But that'll give you a sense of what you're getting yourself into, oh my, God, that's so funny.

Speaker 1 8:01

Oh, wow, look at that Right Share Road Talk. Yeah, I'm following you and so you know it's not going to well I shouldn't say not going to change my life because it's had monetary value in a way that I never would have thought of, which is the way I have it set up. Is the podcast shares a link with my main business website, so the first three or four days I had downloads, which is pretty good. Yeah, so when I have 200 people that are on my website and each one of them stays between four and ten minutes, google sees that and says wait, there's some authority with the site and I get way high up in the organic rankings. And then my phone rings and I've always relied on inbound marketing, right, and in my I've been doing it for 15 years like my business is great, but now it's like I could track the metrics, see where the funnels are coming from, and it's coming from those landing pages.

The Podcast Origin Story

Speaker 2 8:48

So yeah, yay me, it's really it's fascinating and um. I don't know. I like people, if you know. What am I asking? What's your ethnic background? I?

Speaker 1 8:58

am a mix of Greek, italian and Russian.

Speaker 2 9:03

Russian.

Speaker 1 9:04

Jew from Ukraine. I picked up on the Greek yeah.

Speaker 2 9:09

Italian thing yeah.

Speaker 1 9:10

I knew it had to be one or the other you're very outgoing, I can cook and you know the whole thing.

Speaker 2 9:17

Sure you can talk about a lot of things with people.

Speaker 1 9:19

You know no really, if you can talk about food, people love that yeah, for sure I um, it's so funny and russian jew, yeah, I mean, and I married an egyptian woman, so our kids are gorgeous and, oh my god, we celebrate everything that's funny because we celebrate everything too.

Speaker 2 9:36

Because I'm italian, yeah, my husband's jewish, yeah, perfect.

Speaker 1 9:40

So yeah, yeah, right ukrainian jew. We think so you get it. You know, once upon a time, you know my, my grandparents, you know they. They were in brooklyn and they fell in love and they were basically excommunicated by their families equally, because that's not what you do in the 30s and 40s in brooklyn. Yeah, that's right, and they were basically excommunicated by their families equally, because that's not what you do in the 30s and 40s in brooklyn.

Speaker 1 9:59

Yeah, that's right and they're like screw you. And they went off and my mom converted and married a greek guy. Good for them. And so who am I to deny oh, that's amazing. My, my, my part in that when I married my wife, yeah, so no, that's fabulous yeah here we are. Where in uh, italy, is your family from? Do you know?

Speaker 2 10:20

uh, yes, from southern italy. Not too far from naples, there's a small town called avalino.

Speaker 1 10:26

I'm familiar, you're familiar uh, my uh grandfather was from caserta oh yeah, which is right there? Yeah, right there by the palace I think I think they we traced it back to my great great grandfather was the gardener that did the rose gardens there. Oh my gosh yeah something like that, something like that yeah, avalino, for sure.

Speaker 2 10:48

My grandmother's from a trani, which is a very small village right next to amalfi, and there's a movie what was it? Are you familiar Ripley? Yeah, ripley, that took place.

Speaker 1 11:03

Why are you here? Why are you here? You have family in Amalfi, roots in Amalfi, oh my god.

Speaker 2 11:09

Well, what's funny is a week ago I had an exploratory phone call with a citizenship company. They help you get citizenship.

Speaker 1 11:20

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2 11:21

And I've got to do some homework and then they'll help you get some of the documents, Because I don't have birth certificates.

Speaker 1 11:29

Mm.

Speaker 2 11:30

Because back then they were kept in the churches, right, correct?

Speaker 1 11:32

There's not like a town hall, you know, correct, correct.

Speaker 2 11:34

So, but they'll help you do all this, Obviously for a fur fee. That's what they do yeah but before italy changes their mind, because they already put in as of march 28th, it has to be your grandparents, it can't be your great grandparents anymore right yeah, because they have had it's up 40 percent in the last five years the number of people become dual. So I'm sure, and I think, it's obviously gonna only get worse, you know.

Speaker 1 12:02

I'm actually doing that with my Greek, so you are entitled through through descent and I have all my dad's paperwork you do, and it's literally that I just go right. That's key to the consulate and it literally costs $100.

Speaker 2 12:16

Oh see, you're going to be, that's great. Well, it passed Right now. If they stay this, If this law goes through, it won't pass to you currently, but they don't know what things are going to be like down the road, so it could revert back to and then you would be able to.

Speaker 1 12:35

I just think, sorry, I got distracted. I thought that was a coke zero, no it's orange, no wonder it tasted so damn good orange it's the orange cream yes, it's green I just saw it in the store.

Speaker 2 12:49

God damn, I thought it was a zero ago.

Speaker 1 12:54

Now I was like making that it's really delicious for a diet soda Apparently not Smoking crack, without even knowing it.

Speaker 2 13:01

There you go oh my God. Oh, I'm very happy for you that you have that all in place.

Speaker 1 13:07

Who doesn't want universal health care for free? Yep, I could just go there.

Speaker 2 13:10

I live in Greece. That would be amazing that would be amazing.

Speaker 1 13:13

Well, sure, hello. Also Hello, I'm 500 pounds, but sure.

Speaker 2 13:18

Who knows what's going to go on there.

Speaker 1 13:19

It's going to ruin my diet.

Speaker 2 13:21

The way things are going here, I think it's great to have an escape plan.

Speaker 1 13:25

It is, and again, it's almost just like. Like you said, it's an escape plan, it's an insurance policy. It's a chess move, whatever it is. I have some family that's um in athens proper and they have like a little beach house, kind of like an hour away, and it's like, oh, come, just stay here, no big deal. I'm like, okay, I'm going to be that guy. That's not sure I would ever leave, I know, I know you're gonna be the guy on the couch sam where did you go crete and you loved it.

Italian Heritage and Citizenship

Speaker 2 13:58

Oh my god, the picture she had from being in crete, oh yeah I saw crete from the air flying over it, yeah it was a little tiny speck very just very, very distinguishable, for sure she studied in london for a whole year so smarty pants, I like it yeah, she is actually, she like that. I said that, but she is I try, yeah Cool, but you know it's much easier to get to from over there because everything's easier.

Speaker 1 14:22

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 14:27

Well, I had my first trip to Italy a year and a half ago. We went to Milan, mm-hmm. And then we went over to Switzerland, because her godson and her best friend live in Switzerland and that was amazing. We went to Geneva and I love London so I could easily I keep saying Pick up and go.

Speaker 1 14:45

Yeah, whenever we're going to Florence. I've never been to Switzerland, but I hear it's just spectacular clean the people, everything Just like. Oh my God, it's like freakishly clean.

Speaker 2 14:57

I would also tell you that Milan was wonderful in a way that I didn't expect, because Northern Italy didn't necessarily have the same. You know meaning for me.

Speaker 1 15:08

It's like industrial right.

Speaker 2 15:09

Well, that's what they say, but yet really what it is is because it's also their financial capital and the fashion capital, but it's fashion from the perspective of that's where all the businesses are. When you're dining, you're dining with italian people yeah you're not dining, like in florence, with tourists. You're dying. Someone from europe coming to dc it's like, very like right, you know we also work here and live here right right, it was it, didn't you? You loved it. Yeah, I loved it. And then we took the train to Geneva and let me tell you, spectacular Absolutely.

Speaker 2 15:44

I would highly recommend it and Geneva's beautiful.

Speaker 1 15:46

I mean you went right over through the Alps? Then obviously, yes, it is unbelievable Beautiful train ride.

Speaker 2 15:52

What was it? Three hours.

Speaker 1 15:55

Did you have any altitude issue?

Speaker 2 16:00

Pardon train ride, what was it three hours? Do you have any altitude issue? Pardon me, any altitude issue with no going through there? No, is it that high there? I mean, I know there's some really serious, no, but not, I mean not I don't know why.

Speaker 1 16:05

I think we went skiing perhaps. Yeah, we're not really outdoorsy, okay, no we don't ski, but jessica skis. Just I wonder if she's ever no, when I was younger I'd go ski in colorado and never had any issue at all. Oh, interesting 10,000, 11,000 feet, but now I just think just by the fact that I'm older.

Speaker 2 16:24

Oh, everything changes, doesn't it yeah? I don't even want to risk it, because my husband used to be able to go on the rides and stuff if we would go to Disney.

Speaker 1 16:32

He can't do any of that anymore.

Speaker 2 16:33

It's changed. You know, Certain things bother you more, I guess.

Speaker 1 16:40

Yeah, for sure, for sure, there was. This was a few weeks ago. I drove a young lady and she was Italian. She was a business person here in the city Thick, gorgeous Italian accent.

Speaker 2 16:58

And I literally fell in love with this woman.

Stories from Behind the Wheel

Speaker 1 16:59

Just listening minutes yeah it was so fun and we had a very nice conversation and we're talking about food and Italy and all this stuff and uh, it was just really cute the way that it was kind of produced and I put this like Italian kind of cafe music under it and at the end I said something. You know, I addressed something to my wife going sorry if that was obvious or something. It was really cute, really cute she doing in DC she was a finance person.

Speaker 1 17:29

I think, um, self-admittedly not very good at it, which I found pretty funny, interesting, but anyways, it was really cute.

Speaker 2 17:41

You must meet some interesting people Well.

Speaker 1 17:44

I have, and I think my career is such that it's just kind of a byproduct of what I did Like in a past life. I was a photojournalist for Fox and CNN and AP. Oh, that's cool. I worked at the White House for three years. Really, I traveled.

Speaker 2 18:02

Was it a Cameraman? Cameraman, yeah, Hurricanes earthquakes. Oh my God, you get to see it all. I get to see everything, OJ all of it oh, wow, so, cool so by by default.

Speaker 1 18:14

Yes, I've.

Speaker 2 18:15

I've met lots of interesting people and see you could also talk about anything with that experience. Yeah, and I've seen so much. I think that's what translates even here in in the podcast there's always a connection point with some, you also have a great radio voice.

Speaker 1 18:29

Well, you know, you do you know I, I hate my voice, no, and everybody hates. And not to sound like an asshole, but there's two things that always happen in this car. Number one people panic because they can't find the door handle when they want to leave. They think I'm kidnapping and I'm like no, no Free will Pinch the handle and you can leave.

Speaker 2 18:50

Oh God, that's funny.

Speaker 1 18:51

And the other one is people always seem to comment how nice my voice is.

Speaker 2 18:56

And I'm like, okay, I appreciate it, yeah, he hates me. Sound of their own. I know You're right, because you don't really hear it the way other people hear it Of course, yeah, no, I think you have a great and I listen to a lot of podcasts. She's a big podcaster. I do I am. Have you ever listened to Dax Shepard from Armchair Expert?

Speaker 1 19:13

I've heard the name Dax Shepard.

Speaker 2 19:15

I know who that person is but I've never listened. He's an actor. He's married to Kristen Bell, who's very famous.

Speaker 1 19:21

Yeah, yeah sure.

Speaker 2 19:22

But what a lot of people don't realize. He has a degree in anthropology from UCLA. He's a self-admitted former drug addict, wow, and he is a one. He gives a wonderful interview, okay, really interesting.

Speaker 1 19:40

You're not suggesting I do drugs, are you?

Speaker 2 19:42

No, yeah, I mean for the experience only. But he, I don't do cocaine.

Speaker 1 19:47

I just like the way it smells.

Speaker 2 19:48

Yeah, there you go, there you go. Yeah, no, I think he's. He's really interesting to listen to.

Speaker 1 19:54

Yeah, that's cool, that's cool. You know, what I've found is that we all just like good stories and narratives, right, and it doesn't matter if it's coming from Netflix or a piece of art or music. If it's told organically, in an appealing way, people seem to be interested.

Speaker 2 20:16

That's true, that's true. And that's certainly evident. The organic part is very important, isn't it?

Speaker 1 20:21

Yeah, I mean some of the episodes I've done. They're a little flat, they're like whatever. But there's some that are just like oh my God, did that really just happen? A guy gets in the car the other day with a kidney, delivering a kidney, oh, my god to a hospital and he was. He's the uber of kidney delivery, apparently, oh my god, and so normally I ask people if they want to do the podcast. I pretty much told him he was doing it.

Speaker 2 20:46

Yeah, I don't blame him. That's wild, he's from texas.

Speaker 1 20:50

They pay him like five hundred dollars a pop. They pay for his air. He flies, flies in, he drops it off and he leaves. He goes home.

Speaker 2 20:55

Where is he bringing the?

Speaker 1 20:56

kidney.

Speaker 2 20:58

Where To one of the hospitals. Walter Reed Just wanted to know where the kidney was being delivered.

Speaker 1 21:06

That was the latest one I just dropped on the.

Speaker 2 21:09

Okay, I have to listen. Yeah, that's very cool.

The Kidney Delivery Story

Speaker 1 21:14

Yeah, it was very cool and like the really funny part was like you know there's, there's a movie script there where if you follow a proper beat sheet, you know and just do like the antics and escapades part. It's like you go back to the hospital when there's a good outcome and it's like, hey, we're the guys that you know made this all happen. You know I drove him, but he came here in a cooler. Yeah, someone tried to give him a hand sandwich, but it was really the kidney you needed.

Speaker 2 21:41

There's something there.

Speaker 1 21:41

That's so funny, right Something there.

Speaker 2 21:43

I really just thought it was a little more streamlined to deliver a kidney.

Speaker 1 21:47

Well, that's what I thought.

Speaker 2 21:49

Yeah.

Speaker 1 21:49

That's what I mean. Listen to the podcast, you'll see.

Speaker 2 21:52

But I don't know everybody I would trust to drive my kidney.

Speaker 1 21:55

Right and again there's another page for the script.

Speaker 2 21:59

You're right.

Speaker 1 22:01

He leaves it in.

Speaker 2 22:02

He leaves it in and then you know and then you hold it hostage and let's just play the stereotype game.

Speaker 1 22:09

You know, and Mahmoud now has the kidney driving through northeast DC. Yep, I've got to go pick it up and there's maybe a language barrier and he can't understand that you're telling him there's a kidney in the car and he's like no, no, no, it's my scent, it's my lunch.

Speaker 2 22:24

Oh my God, that's so true. Well see, maybe you should be writing too, while you're doing this.

Speaker 1 22:29

You know Well, I don't know.

Speaker 2 22:30

I gotta work on the kidney movie.

Speaker 1 22:31

Yeah.

Speaker 2 22:39

Spitballing is fun. We've met some very interesting drivers over the years. Yeah, very interesting yeah, I like to hear their stories too.

Speaker 1 22:46

Yeah for sure he was a.

Speaker 2 22:49

He was a French patisserie chef.

Speaker 1 22:55

I do not yeah, it's very interesting everyone's got a story. That's for sure, that's true whether or not they can convey it properly is the other thing, but they all have stories so you're gonna turn right at this light on half.

Speaker 2 23:17

Yeah, so you're going to turn right at this light On half.

Speaker 1 23:18

Half Cool. Thank you. I know DC like the back of my hand.

Speaker 2 23:22

Do you.

Speaker 1 23:22

These dummy boxes are ridiculous. Like I have to use it. It's Lyft's version. Oh, I know, I'm not really sure why it's like. It's like it's for safety. You'll get a notification if I deviate. Oh really, I'll get one to make sure I'm okay. Okay, they just want to make sure no one winds up on a milk carton.

Speaker 2 23:40

I think that's fair. Right behind this car is actually fine. Okay cool, you can get out over here.

Speaker 1 23:44

Ladies, it was lovely chatting with you. It was lovely chatting with you too. I look forward to listening to the podcast.

Speaker 2 23:51

This is great, I have new material to listen to.

Speaker 1 23:54

She loves that. Please stay. Here is the handle. I found it. I told you.

Speaker 2 23:59

It's a beautiful car.

Speaker 1 24:00

Have some blueberry pie for me when you're in Maine.

Speaker 2 24:02

I will One of my favorites Take care. You did it Okay. Now I see why people struggle. I made fun of them and now I get it.

Speaker 1 24:11

It's a trap. Thank you for listening to this episode of Rideshare Road Talk. If you've enjoyed what you've heard, we'd love for you to review the podcast on your favorite listening platform, like Apple or Spotify. Your support helps us so much, and don't forget to reach out on Instagram with your feedback or topic suggestions. Until next time, let's drive.