My girlfriend and I recently went to Disney World, and I definitely felt the magic. I’m not talking about witches, warlocks, and incantations but about Disney’s wonderful theme parks. And in case you don’t know (Yeah, right!) Disney’s wonderful theme parks are Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. We went to EPCOT and…
The 2nd Ever Todd of the Month Is
Many excellent and unique things have already happened and are planned for February 2024. So far this month, I went to Disney World. Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow, which means an early spring. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, 25 to 22. We watched Usher bring out…
The Girl from the Brown Mountain Lights (a story from The Shadow Elm Memoir)
A story from the Shadow Elm Memoir. The Pisgah National Forest is over 500,000 acres of ancient trees, peaks, secrets, and mysteries in Western North Carolina. The ghost lights above Brown Mountains are one of the many enigmas that are impossible to explain outside of folklore and supernatural reasons. The Lights first decided to reveal…
First Ever Todd of the Month
Many great people out there share the first common name, Todd. According to Ancestory.com, Todd is a “nickname for someone thought to resemble a fox for example in cunning or slyness or perhaps more obviously in having red hair from northern Middle English.” I’m sure some Todds possess these attributes, but that’s not what makes…
One of my 2024 goals is to begin a Couch to 5K
Welcome everyone to the New Year! I can’t believe we’re already three weeks into 2024. It seems like yesterday we watched the Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings 33 to 10 and rattled off our next year’s resolutions and goals before the shiny silver ball dropped at midnight. For the record, I’m not a…
Prelude to The Shadow Elm Memoir (a story from The Shadow Elm Memoir)
I can’t repeat it enough. North Carolina is the strangest and most remarkable state I’ve ever lived in. Those western mountains, the eastern flat coast, and every crevice in between, is charged with fascinating and unusual things that confirm this. These things aren’t the lions, tigers, and bears from the Wizard of Oz. Oh my!…
It took Jonathan Frakes and the Biltmore House for me to watch a Hallmark Channel movie
It’s the summer of 1997. You’re watching your favorite new show, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. The theme song starts. The narrator says, “Beyond belief, fact or fiction, hosted by Jonathan Frakes.” Then, the narrator says more about a world of truth or deception. The song eventually fades out. Frakes emerges from the hallway of…
A Hike, Burrito, and Beer in Hendersonville, North Carolina
The office was closed, so I headed to Hendersonville in the North Carolina mountains. My soul needed some elevation, along with a hike, a burrito, and a beer. SUMMARY -Dupont State Recreational Forest is very rich in waterfalls. -Mary’s Burrito is a scrumptious spot. -D9 Brewing might no longer manufacture Into the White beer. Let’s…
I’m either 297 days early or 68 days late for Bad Poetry Day
I wrote a poem. I call it “I’m a lousy poet, and this poem knows it.”
My girlfriend and I went to Blowing Rock during peak leaf season, and here are three things I wished you had told us beforehand
A fall trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains should be on every North Carolian’s to-do list. The Blue Ridge Mountains are large, natural, magnificent, and breathtaking. The Blue Ridge Mountains are magnificent and breathtaking when covered in vibrant yellow, orange, red, and purple leaves. Peak fall foliage can be a moving target since deciduous…