Huh? What's Up With That?

a road trip...                                                                 It is doubtful if  Ben and Erin Napier have membership dues or require name tags to bring their HGTV   show, Home-Town , into our family room, but, if they did, Regina would be a card carrying member.    HUH ?  What's up with that ?   The show takes place in Laurel, Mississippi, a small southern town of about 13 thousand people a couple hours north of New Orleans.  Each week of the season, the Napiers remodel a dilapidated home or business in an effort to make their community a better place to live.     Ben is a skilled artisan adept at building furniture from scratch or any other task having to do with wood, while his wife is the decorator, designer and imagination.  They are both ...

pos #7...                                    Regina and I were in Laurel, Mississippi walking up the wooden steps to Ben and Erin Napier's General Store when I spotted a couple sitting on a bench outside the main entrance to the famous HGTV landmark.      Fans flock to this southern town as if it is Graceland or even a national park on a perfect spring day.  They arrive by the busload, car, motorcycle or any other motorized buggy or cart.  And, it is all to pay homage to a man with a hammer and his wife who is an incredible designer.     Regina and I were just two people in the crowd.      Ben and Erin  host Home-Town on HGTV .  Each episode takes place in Laurel and features a home or business remodeled by the creative team.     Regina went into the store as I approached the twosome sitting peacefully as they wat...

pan this...                                                                   There are times when a simple task can become a jumble of mass confusion.    HUH ?  What's up with that ?     Last October, I went to Macy's,  Dillard's, Target and Kohl's Department Stores  to check out a wide range of cookware and it turned into a futile exercise that defies logic.   It wasn't my intent to purchase pots and pans, merely to look into the approximate cost.  I was serving as an advance scout for Regina.    A few days after that pointless excursion, we were in Indianapolis attending a birthday celebration held at Hollyhock Hill on north College Avenue.     Before the platters of chicken, bowls of mashed potatoes, corn, beans and salad with a vinegary dressin...

social media...                          According to Dictionary.com , the definition of social media:   websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts   Four or five media specialists, most of them with AOL, claim the first use of the phrase, Social Media, back in the mid 1990s.  Today, the two words are so integrated into our society, we can't ignore the pros and cons.     Aside from assuming everyone under the age of 30 uses it, I don't have a clue how a 25 year old thinks of social media, but, I found the perfect laboratory.  Among others, my branch bank employs four people under the age of 31 and one in her early 40s.  The five agreed to be interviewed.     My subjects could be more conservative or liberal in their use of social media compared to the...

oddities, observations, & ?'s...#11                                                                 24      Regina and I ventured south to see our grandson, Leo, play the part of the Scarecrow as never before portrayed in the classic,  The Wizard of Oz .  Of course, he was the star of the show.  But, there were a lot of grandparents in the audience, so, I imagine Leo was not a unanimous choice for  Best Actor .      Driving south, we stopped at a McDonald's for a cup of coffee in Calhoun, Georgia. A large sign on the cash stand said, Please order at the kiosk.      I wanted to pay cash, so, we stood at the cash register waiting for service.  Several workers standing at the drive up window looked at us, looked away, looked at us once more, then, dispers...

  allan's mom...                      I met Allan's mom 16 years ago when she was a high school sophomore in my Mass Media class at Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana.     The following semester, Allan's mom would become a staff member of the school's educational broadcast facility,  WRFT-FM  , as well as FCTV, the school's in-house television connection.  By the end of her senior year in college, she would be talented enough to be seated at the news anchor desk of many commercial television stations.   Allan's mom is also known as Kayla Marie Sullivan.   HUH ?  What's up with that ?    Lights, camera, action! are part of Kayla's DNA.  Her high school stage career included the part of, Reno Sweeney , in the musical, Anything Goes , and,  Mrs. Peacock  in Clue .   Awards that speak of her talent and ability have followed Kayla...

thought of a legacy?...                                                                       I thought it would be off putting or invasive to coax strangers into revealing how they want to be remembered after spinning off the mortal coil, but, the opposite proved to be more accurate.   HUH ?  What's up with that ?    It seemed each person I approached returned my greeting with a positive attitude and willingness to share their thoughts by offering something like, Oh, sure, what do you want to know ?      Carl George, one of my brothers, said he thought legacies would make an interesting subject.  He was right.    Many of my interviewees had put considerable thought into my question long before I came along.  I posed the same question to each person: ...