Burt Reynolds made 94 movies. One of those is not one of his best-known films, but it was the first Reynolds movie that got my attention and made me want to know who he was.
W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings was no Citizen Kane, but neither was Smokey and the Bandit. But, boy, were they really fun movies.
And they were fun because of Burt Reynolds.
Dancekings was a story about a country music group trying to make it, and a man (Reynolds) ...
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In the summer of 1975, I was still riding bikes to get around. My 10-speed was my main mode of transportation.
I had saved my earnings from the entire previous summer to buy that bike. It was $100. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $442.89 now.
Today, some people have a different approach when they need money. They ask other people to give them some of theirs. A Go Fund Me account is something people set up when they want cash. How it works ...
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Years ago during lunch, a friend who had moved to Texas from another part of the country, which will remain nameless (Maryland), began talking about something called “Scrapple.”
I had just sawed through and devoured another bite of my chicken fried steak with gravy when I told him that Scrapple was one of my favorite games.
“No, not Scrabble,” he said. “It’s Scrapple. Scrapple is a food,” he added.
I took a bite of my mashed potatoes and gravy and raised an eyebrow.
“If ...
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The first time I saw a Polaroid camera in the 1960s, it was one of the most impressive things I’d seen. Of course, when you’re a little kid, you’re seeing many things for the first time, so lots of things are impressive.
But the Polaroid camera was different. The photo was self-developing.
Instead of mailing a roll of film and waiting weeks for the pictures to be developed, turned into prints, and mailed back to you, Polaroid pictures were ready almost instantly. ...
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Y’all ever heard of a colloquialism?
According to the folks at Merrimack-Webster, a colloquialism is “…a local or regional dialect expression.”
Another definition is using language that could be considered, “unacceptably informal.”
I have been accused of both. Being unacceptable and informal – sometimes separately, but most often in combination.
Yankees often make fun of Southerners for the way we talk, by trying to imitate us. Truth is, there isn’t much else that’s funnier than someone with a thick Northern accent muddling through ...
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If I asked you to guess the most prolific Hollywood director, who has made the largest number of films that have turned a profit, who would you pick?
Ron Howard? James Cameron? Francis Ford Coppola? Martin Scorsese?
If any of these men were your choice, you’d be incorrect. But, each of these men once worked for the man who is the correct answer: Roger Corman.
Who?
Yes, Roger Corman.
Roger has produced, directed, written, acted in (or all of the above) many films you’ve likely ...
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“Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” – Albert Einstein
When I was very young, around 6 or 7, my dad would take my sister and me to Mr. Stephens’ farm. Mr. Stephens was a successful real estate man who loved the country and animals.
His property was located outside of my hometown in the rural part of the county. It was a ...
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There are only seven films in which John Wayne dies on screen. One of those movies is an especially great resource for living life.
There’s a scene in ”The Cowboys” where one of the eleven boys (a stutterer) hired for a cattle drive, curses out The Duke.
Another character in the film was drowning, and the boy who stuttered couldn’t get the words out to tell what was happening. Wayne provokes the boy until he curses him out, and in the process, ...
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“Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.” – Anthony Bourdain
Barbecue is a versatile word. It can refer to an outdoor place to cook meat; to cooking meat; and can also reference a gathering of people for the purpose of serving meat cooked outdoors.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines barbecue as:
barbecue (bärˈbĭ-kyo͞oˌ)►
| n. | A grill, pit, or outdoor fireplace for roasting meat. |
| n. | A whole animal carcass or section thereof roasted ... |
This space is normally relegated to discussing Green Stamps, cashing in pop bottles found on the side of the road, or other memories from my youth.
All of the topics addressed here are presented for a couple of reasons. One, in my opinion, Americans are the most nostalgic bunch on the planet. Two, talking about shared experiences brings a respite from today’s stressors.
A common thread in the stories I tell (and I didn’t think about it until I sat down to ...
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