I seem to have a recent streak of riding in cars with strangers.

The first was a holocaust survivor that I had to pick up to speak at the college I work at. She said the trees on the Santa Cruz mountains reminded her of her native Czechoslavakia (that's much easier to spell now that it's two countries). She also got to provoke a Nazi doctor by asking "With all of those experiments you did on women during the war, how could you go home every night and make love to your wife?" and "How could you read bedtime stories to your children?" Makes you think.

The second was an older gentleman who was driving the Courtesy shuttle for the Toyota dealership. He was talking about what he'd do if he won the lottery. He wants to retire his family and take a motorhome across to the East Coast. He'd never been there. He doubts it'll happen. He also informed me that the people who won the latest jackpot had not only won the pot, but since they sold the ticket, they also get an additional 240,000. Makes you want to own a 7-11. Food for thought.