027: My Top 12 Reasons Why I Hate CrossFit, Version 2.0

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This is the podcast version of my most popular blog post to date, written seven years ago this month. I've updated it to reflect my current situation, but all the good stuff is still there. If you either love CrossFit, love to make fun of CrossFit, or just love to make fun of anything, you'll enjoy it.

026: My Top 10 Areas Where American Common Sense has Gone AWOL

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The Meriam-Webster dictionary defines common sense as, quote, “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts” unquote. OK. That’s pretty good but let me amend that with an even simpler definition: Common sense means not being a dumbass. Not being a dumbass is in short supply these days. Here's what your Great-Grandpa and I think about things.

025: My Top 6 Reasons Why Sending Your Kid to College is Weird and Unsettling

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Of the many milestones in the life of a parent, sending your kid to college ranks high in terms of both pride and angst. In other words, it will freak you the hell out. Here are my top 6 reasons why.

024: 11 awesome reasons why you should embark on an adventure travel trip as soon as possible

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I wrote the following blog in 2019, back before traveling anywhere further away than your mailbox wasn’t viewed as high-risk activity, and the inside of an airplane wasn’t viewed as the setting of a horror movie where everybody gets eaten by giant bugs.

023: The Year 2020 so far

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The year 2020 has been an epic disaster and it is still going. It will probably be a year that will live in infamy for the rest of our lives. But there has been some stuff good, too, and even some funny stuff.

022: Find your carnival ride

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Carnivals, fairs, and amusement parks are some of the more interesting and enigmatic curiosities devised by the human brain. What do we do? We go through the grueling process of loading up young kids with all their various accouterments for the 30 to 40-minute trip to the fairgrounds on a steamy August day. Then, we brave excruciating lines, crazy cutbacks, stomach-churning dips and valleys, wade through the pickpockets and hawkers, and navigate a crushing, sweating, sea of humanity with its nauseating array of organic odors. And that’s just in the parking lot.

021: The Whip-poor-will Story

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This is the podcast version of a story I've been telling for the past 39 years and counting. It happened to me at the foot of "Booger Mountain," a small peak located in the foothills of Western North Carolina, near Taylorsville. The mountain was named after the spooks, boogers, and haints that were reputed to occupy the area, possibly due to the mysterious disappearance of a 19th-century farm family and/or the sacred Cherokee Indian grave site situated near the peak. I spent many summers in the old, barnwood farm house, and yes, spooky things DID happen. This was one of them, and my favorite.

020: The Top 10 Movie Moments That Make This Tough Guy Weep

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I'll admit it. The older I get, the more weepy at movies I get, and you may be surprised at some of the ones that get me the most. I bet they get you, too, Big Tough Dad. If I touch a nerve, you've gotta let me know in the comments...

019: Bigfooters — Don't Stop Believin'!

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Bigfoot believers are eternal optimists in a cynical world. We like to believe in unbelievable things because...well...it's fun. And life is too short.

018: The Top 10 things I'm offended, shocked, and/or outraged by 2.0

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It seems that the way we're supposed to live in the 21st century is in a perpetual state of offense, shock, and outrage. So here are my pet peeves, mister!