The Beatles broke up when I was 8.

Those eight years are the same ones they were together.

So, my life has always included John, Paul, George and Ringo.

From 1963 until 1970, The Beatlesdominated the airwaves, both in radio airplay and in television coverage.

They were also covered in newspapers and magazines. They made movies. They knocked Elvis off his throne. They were a big deal.

They still are.

Continue Reading →

Long before anyone knew who Drew Carey was, there was a fella named Bob who hosted a little game show called, “The Price Is Right.”

My grandmother loved and never missed Bob Barker and his game show. Full disclosure, I was a closet fan of the program.

In the 1970s, it wasn’t very manly to admit that during the summer months and on sick days, I looked forward to playing The Price Is Right from the long, green velour couch in my ...

Canton’s First Monday Trade Days is one of the largest flea markets in the world. And it certainly is one of, if not the oldest in the country.

Its origins date back over a century and a half. In the 1800s, Canton, Texas, was a gathering place to trade horses and livestock.

Today, there’s still some of that, but you can also buy just about anything else.

And I do mean anything. Estimates say the number of vendors covers a total of about ...

The first coins minted by the U.S. Government were struck in 1783. The use of coins as a means of payment dates to the 5^th or 6^th Century BCE.

For over 50 years beginning in the 1960s, coins were a means of connecting with my dad.

“Always check your change. Look for wheat pennies, Indian head pennies, buffalo nickels, and any dimes dated 1964 or before,” my dad would frequently remind me.

Wheat pennies are called that because of the sheaf that appears ...

During my 20-plus years of working in the radio business, I met and interviewed many celebrities. Virtually all of them were promoting something (a new movie, record, book, or something else they were trying to sell), which is why they were spending time with me.

We weren’t hanging out because we were best buds or because they thought I was interesting. I had an audience and they needed to reach them to further their career.

Almost all of the celebrities I met ...

My wife left town to visit relatives, so I had the fridge and TV all to myself.

TV used to be three channels. You watched whatever was on. Choice was not a choice.

Today, we have Netflix, Hulu, and other internet-based streaming services that allow us to watch just about anything we want at anytime we want.

As I ate things I wasn’t supposed to eat, and devoured movies my wife likely wouldn’t have watched, there was a similar message on the TV ...

They used to be as common as sonic booms.

I’m referring to fireflies. Where I grew up, we called them lightning bugs. And for the first time in years (decades, actually), I saw them again. Everywhere.

I went out one evening to our patio to feed our peacock when I noticed a dim light out of the corner of my eye.

I looked and it was gone. But then there it was again. And another near it. Then another.

It clicked as to what ...

There is a bond between a grandfather and his grandchildren that is like no other. He would trade all that he has for that one, single feeling that his grandchildren bring to him each time that they talk, smile, walk into a room, or proudly tell him that they’ve caught more fish than he has.

When you are a child, you love your parents, but there is a bond between you and your grandparents that is unique.

One could speculate that this ...

Before there was Facebook, there was the CB radio. It was how Americans talked to each other.

During a few years in the 1970s, the CB radio, short for citizens band, was about as big as social media is today. We didn’t need the 10 o’clock news to tell us what was going on, we had each other. By purchasing a base radio for your home or a mobile radio for your vehicle, you could key the mic and talk to ...

I was almost home from a very long drive when I saw the first estate sale sign. Exhausted, I paused for a moment trying to decide whether to turn or keep going.

That tells you how tired I was since I almost never pass up an estate sale.

I made the turn and followed the first sign to the second, then the third, finally arriving at the address. But, there was no sign in front of the house. It was 3 in ...