One thing I’ve learned about having fun is it’s best to risk one’s life to achieve it, and it must be preceded by excruciating toil. So, Jody, Jim Bob, my wife, and I all bought full suspension aluminum mountain bikes recently, and I met my 2 friends from childhood just […]
Atlanta
Molars and Milestones
A few days ago, I got to do something I only do twice a year but enjoy immensely: I saw my dentist…or, more accurately, my dental hygienist. We laughed about how when I last saw him in late May, we took a selfie together while covered in PPE. I told […]
Camping near Atlanta
When you can’t fly across an ocean, you seek recreation in more pedestrian pursuits, so this Spring and Summer, we’ve gone camping more than we did in the prior 10 years combined. A friend from undergrad named Charles invited my family to join his at Stone Mountain’s campgrounds, so we […]
the outbreak
It happened when we were standing in line to see Pee-wee Herman. My mother-in-law’s Christmas present was VIP tickets to Pee-wee’s Big Adventure on its 35th anniversary plus a photo opportunity with Paul Reubens at Atlanta’s Tabernacle. The push notifications started: Fulton County schools, cancelled; the NCAA basketball tournament (that […]
our episode of Somebody Feed Phil!
Remember the post about our lunch with Phil Rosenthal? Here’s the episode!
We were the “Somebody” to feed Phil!
Shortly before we went to Italy for spring break, we watched Phil Rosenthal’s travel/dining episodes for Florence and Venice so that we could visit some of the portrayed restaurants, and I also started following his instagram page. A few days after we got back, we saw this post, inviting followers […]
my 18.5-hour day at the College Football National Championship
When you shut the door to my office, you see 3 framed University of Alabama degrees on the wall that I didn’t earn. One from 1939 for Jamie Waid; one from 1941 for Prentice Thomas; one from 1967 for Janice Thomas. When the first 2 were being pursued, the Tide […]
Jimmy Carter taught my daughter about sex, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
We got The Note that schools send when they’re about to delve into “sex ed” a few months ago. Do you know The Note? The Note can make an otherwise good day awkward; I was afraid of The Note. In any event, we decided we should have a series of […]
Prince – a piano and a microphone
Last week, I saw 2 acts I’ve wanted to see live for 30 years in back to back shows: Prince and Duran Duran. A week later, we learned Prince died and that his Atlanta shows were his last live performances. (photo from Amiee Stubbs, who was 2 rows in front […]
How I came to love concerts
Last weekend, I saw Yacht Rock Revue cover The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album at Variety Playhouse, at it was awesome. Before they did that album, they did Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” with “The Wizard of Oz” playing on a screen behind them, so we could all see […]