por Storytime with GamerDude
This week's "Best of" episode includes stories from early in Season 1 that GamerDude has re-edited and re-mastered to clean up some of the "noise interference" some of the Season 1 episodes had. GamerDude talks about visiting his aunt when he was 11 years old, and driving a car for the first time. He also talks about his grandfathers and shares the very few memories he has about them. He talks about playing outside after school when he was a kid, and how the world for kids was very different when he was young. He also talks about the power of music, and how just a few notes of a song can trigger memories for you. *Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS*
This week, GamerDude's stories only go back to 2020, and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He wants to preserve the stories of how life was like just as COVID was becoming a reality in our world, and how it changed life so drastically. He remembers first reading about COVID and the impact it was having throughout the world. He talks about how and why he decided to shop for face masks in early 2020, only to discover they were all mostly sold out. He talks about why he decided to start stocking up on staples like rice, pasta, and canned goods. He also discusses how the lockdown impacted life, both at work and at home, and talks about how COVID has created permanent changes in our lifestyles, and in how we do things.
Long-time listeners know that GamerDude is not a fan of winter. But when he was a kid, it was a different story. He used to love to play in the snow, mostly because his mom left him no choice; he HAD to go out and play in the snow. But getting ready to go outside was always a process. There was no going outside without the full complement of winter clothes. It started with long underwear, with that old waffle-weave. It also included snow pants, sweatshirts, heavy parkas, mittens, hats and hoods. GamerDude remembers the "getting ready" process, and what a chore it often was. He remember always losing a mitten as a kid, and struggling to get into snow boots every time he went out. He also remembers the eternal struggle with hats, and how he always took his off as soon as he was out of sight of the house. GamerDude also remembers the snow forts and snowmen he built as a kid, and trying to ride a toboggan while standing up. He also remembers his almost epic toboggan ride down the giant hill near his elementary school,
Long-time listeners know about the variety of jobs GamerDude had over the years, and how he "tried on" different things to see how they'd fit. This week, GamerDude talks about how those early jobs eventually led to his decision to apply to law school. He talks about how a letter he wrote to his store manager when he was 19, when his store manager told him he should be a "Philadelphia lawyer," to the the interview process for internal corporate jobs at Newsweek magazine, led him to consider other career possibilities. He talks about why he considered law school, and what the process was like, from attending "law school fairs" to deciding where to go to school.
This week, GamerDude passes on some more tips that he's found helpful over the course of his life. He talks about the importance of being open to new ideas, and being open to trying new things. He talks about time, and how our views of things, and events, change over time. He talks about the value of making good memories, the kinds that won't fade over time, and that will stay with you for years. GamerDude also talks about the importance of staying active and doing things so that you can enjoy your life, and make memories, even as you get older. He explains that even a simple walk around the block every day can be enough to get the blood pumping, and to "blow the stink off you," as his grandmother used to say. And he talks about the importance of kindness in these days where anger, and disharmony, seem to be all around us.
With the winter months upon us, and people hunkering down against the cold (and the pandemic), GamerDude started thinking about his favorite disaster movies, and why he enjoys them. He talks about the different disaster movie tropes that are generally common to all disaster movies, from the huge, all-star casts, to the amazing special effects, to the destruction of landmarks, to the uncertainty of who is going to survive to the end. You never know who is going to make it to the final reel of a disaster movie, which is part of the fun. GamerDude explains that, in his opinion, the disaster movie genre truly started in the 1970s, with movies like The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, and Earthquake. He also talks about the sub-genres of disaster movies that have developed, and explains why his own definition is so specific. He differentiates "disease" disaster movies, like Contagion and Outbreak, from "alien" disaster movies, like Independence Day and Cloverfield. He also explains why his favorite disaster movies involve natural disasters, like climate change (The Day After Tomorrow), earthquakes (San Andreas) or problems with the earth's core (2012). No spoilers here, though; you'll have to listen to the episode to get the full list!
To start Season 5 of the podcast (and thanks for your years of support!), GamerDude talks about his decision to take early retirement. No spoilers in this description, but after many years in the "professional world," GamerDude had the opportunity to take early retirement at the end of 2021. He talks about his thought process in deciding to do so, and his discussions with Mrs. GamerDude about whether it made sense, and was financially feasible. He talks about the factors that led to his decision, which included the changes in the professional world caused by the pandemic, and explains why he finally made the decision to "pull the plug."
As 2021 and Season 4 of the podcast draw to a close, GamerDude talks about that week between Christmas and New Years, when no one really wants to be working, and where nothing ever really seems to get done. He also talks about the post-Christmas shopping he did with his dad after Christmas, and remembers game night on New Year's Eve with his mom. GamerDude also talks about some of the superstitions involving food to eat as the New Year begins. He talks about green peas, lentil and pork as the "good luck" meals, and why crab, lobster, chicken and turkey are bad luck. He also talks about the 12 Lucky Grapes of the new year. Finally, GamerDude shares some observations about the New Year from the early 1800s, from a Scottish traveler's observations about what New Year's Day in New York was like back in 1830, to some timeless words of wisdom to carry into the New Year.
When GamerDude was a kid, having "Christams spirit" was easy. You watched the Christmas specials on TV (Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown), you went shopping at the mall, and you finished up all your school projects before winter break. GamerDude talks about how it's more difficult these days to have the "Christmas spirit" we knew as kids, or even the spirit we knew before COVID. But, this week, he talks about the little aspects of Christmas spirit that we can all enjoy today, even in the midst of COVID fatigue. He talks about the nostalgia of watching the old Christmas specials, and valuing the time we do get to spend with family, friends, and those close to us. GamerDude also breaks down the Christmas specials he grew up with, and questions whether Frosty, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and Rudolph actually convey the true meaning of Christmas. He also explains why The Little Drummer Boy, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas are the three Christmas specials that - to him - convey the true spirit of Christmas. GamerDude closes the episode with thanks to all his friends and followers who've supported him over the years, and talks about how friendships, and human interaction is still possible, and still valuable, even in the electronic age we're in.
Christmas time has always been the time when kids anxiously awaited Santa's arrival and the delivery of their cool holiday goodies, and it was no different when GamerDude was a kid. This week, he talks about the toys and games he received that were not the traditional board games. He talks about how, when he was growing up, there were defininte "boy toys" and "girl toys," and how those toys maintained the mindset that girls needed dolls and kitchen appliances to play with, while boys, well, boys got to be boys. He remembers Suzy Homemaker, Chatty Cathy, and the E-Z Bake ovens were typical "girl toys." GamerDude also talks about the cool toys he received, or at least got to play with, and explains how they worked. He remembers Hot Wheels and the track set you could get to go with your Hot Wheels cars. He talks about the U-Fly-It and how he turned the dining room into an airfield. He remembers when he got Skittle Bowl, and talks about the many shoot-outs he had with Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. He talks about Battling Tops and how certain tops always seemed to perform better than others. He also remembers the SSP racers, and the Smash-Up Derby set, and how much fun it was to send car parts sliding through the kitchen after a crash.