It wasn’t until we took our seats in the auditorium in Shreveport that it hit me.

We were sitting in the home of the old Louisiana Hayride.

The Hayride was broadcast from the Municipal Auditorium on radio station KWKH from the 1940s until the early 1960s.

Many artists performed at the Hayride as a means of getting noticed by WSM Radio in Nashville – home of The Grand Ole Opry.

Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves, Johnny Horton, and hundreds of others ...

I’m not sure when they started charging for air at gas stations, but I firmly believe that collusion was involved.

When the local filling station was owned by a local family, you were never charged to fill up a low tire, or for that matter, water for the radiator or most anything else besides the gasoline.

And you didn’t even have to buy gasoline to get free air and water. If the service station attendant saw that you were in trouble and ...

The fridge. Frigerator. Some even called it, “The Frigidaire.” A few decades ago it had many names.

Growing up, my family called it the “ice box,” even though it was an old term.

Today most of us refer to the kitchen appliance where we keep cold things as the refrigerator.

But an electrical appliance doesn’t work without electricity. And until the late 1940s, electricity wasn’t an option where my parents were raised. It just wasn’t available.

So, prior to having an electric refrigerator, you ...

I’d hit the wall after hours of moving furniture. I couldn’t go any longer and had to sit down. I’m no spring chicken and my back was letting me know it.

Moving a family member who has over 60 years of stuff takes awhile, so even if you sit a spell you really need to keep the momentum going. If you don’t, it’s likely you’ll decide you’re done for the day. And that wasn’t a luxury I had.

What I needed was ...

I once asked my father how old you have to be before you understand women. His response was, “I give up. How old?”

I have relatives and friends in all parts of the country. But Southern women have a way of doing things that are just baffling to men.

In the South, women clean their house before the housekeeper arrives.

Wife: “Oh, my gosh! I forgot. The cleaning lady is coming today. Quick, get up at help me clean the house!”

Husband: “But she’s ...

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.

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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 ...