I ran across one of my favorite movies, “The Natural,” the other night, and as usual, got sucked in and watched the whole thing. I’ve probably seen it 35 times. As I found myself wiping away tears at the end, I landed on the idea to write this post.
Last weekend, upon the suggestions of trek member Luis, we brazenly decided to tackle the Fiery Gizzard Trail, known as one of the Top 25 hikes in the nation. The full trail is around 12.5 miles long and is rated “strenuous,” which in Latin, means “certa mors,” which then translated back into English, means “certain death.” Not knowing this, I just assumed it actually meant “strenuous,” which is kind of a nebulous word and not to be taken too seriously.
Regarding Nepal, I’ve been getting the WTH question a lot lately, so I thought I’d answer it here. Actually, to be more specific, the question is twofold: 1) Why do you want to go trekking in Nepal, and 2) Why did you want to start a business sending people there? Let’s start with #1, but let’s […]
Christmas is my favorite time of year for a variety of reasons. I love the music, the TV shows and movies, the general feeling of good will, and all that other gooey stuff. However, it may be the family traditions surrounding Christmas that make it so … Christmasy. If you look at them from an objective perspective, most traditions are meaningless. But the meaning WE attach to them is all that really matters, right? It’s fun to do the same thing year after year as if the order of the cosmos somehow depends on it.
People have all kinds of excuses for not working out. I mean, there are thousands of them, take your pick. They are usually weak, baseless, transparent, laughable, and just plain ol’ lame. In fact, I wrote a blog about them a while back. (Read it here, but wait until you’re done with this one.) I, […]
Quite simply, the white-tailed deer is the face of Tennessee wildlife. The poster child, the golden boy, the leading man, and all those other clichés. If you had to pick one species to represent all that is majestic, exciting, and beautiful about wildlife in our state, you would choose the white-tailed deer.
And oh, how mistaken you would be.
For more than 80 years, this species has pulled one of the great con games of modern times on humans, making us out to be chumps. It’s a scam of monumental proportions, making famous scandals like Watergate and, um, (hang on, quick Google search…) The One-Piece Swimsuit Affair of 1907 seem like schoolboy hijinks.
(Author’s note: This shocking new series reveals the raw, unedited, back-alley stories behind the seemingly harmonious wildlife of southern Cheatham County, Tennessee.) Ahh, the lowly ‘possum. This animal is feared, hunted, eaten, shunned, and run over, all with equal enthusiasm. It receives respect from neither humans nor even its woodland neighbors. In fact, the ‘possum is so thoroughly marginalized that its […]
Careful not to slip on the mossy rocks, I stepped into the water of the Bighorn River. “Dang. This is cold.” My guide, Jerry Smalley, scoffed as he walked past me, his hands full of fly rods and gear. “That water ain’t cold,” he said. “That water is pleasant. You’re just used to hot Tennessee […]
Well, doofusdad.com readers, this is a tale of the unexpected. Late last week, I uploaded the little video I made of our Disney trip to YouTube simply so I could embed it into my recent post, The Top 9 Tips/Observations from a Disney First-Timer. I had no expectations that anyone would see it or care at […]
On Feb. 21, 2016, my family embarked on an earth-shattering, mind-bending, week-long, first-time-ever vacation at the Happiest Place on Earth: Disney World. It is now about a week and a half since we returned, and I’m writing the blog that I promised myself I would write. It has taken me this long to wrap my head […]