di Storytime with GamerDude
GamerDude talks about how his parents emphasized having manners, and being polite, when he was growing up. He talks about the three basic "tools" he learned growing up - "Please," "Thank you," and "Excuse me." He remembers his mother's look when he forgot to say "please," or "thank you," and talks about the importance of using these basic skills today. He also reminisces about the other rules for being polite he learned as a child, including don't interrupt, keep your negative opinions to yourself, if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all, no name calling, and don't use foul language. He talks about phone etiquette when he was growing up ("always introduce yourself!") and how important that rule is still today, and how to behave at concerts, shows and movies. He remembers how, for his dad, movies were for watching movies, not eating snacks, and the danger of fidgeting, eatings, and rattling candy wrappers near his father during the movie.
GamerDude talks about how the only way to watch movies when he was a kid was either in the movie theater, or waiting for the movie to appear on network TV, or in syndication. He talks about how you never had control over what movies you could watch, or when. He talks about soundtrack albums from musicals as just about the only way to re-visit a movie, and about taping the sound from tv shows and movies so that he could at least listen to them. He tells the story about the first VCR in his family; he and his siblings pooled their money to buy a $400 VCR for their parents' anniversary. GamerDude also talks about video stores; before Blockbuster, there was Hollywood Video, and West Coast Video, together with little mom-and-pop stores in every town, and in every supermarket. He talks about how picking a movie was a cooperative family event. And no story about video stores would be complete without reference to "the room behind the curtain" in the back of just about every video store.
In this episode, GamerDude tells some stories about some of the "Mom-isms" he grew up wiith, which also tend to be universal. From "Because I'm your mother," to "Were you raised in a barn?" Mother GamerDude had a vast "playbook" of phrases she used. She also had an aresenal of colorful metaphors, such as "hopping around like a hen on a hot jonny cake." Then, there was the cursing - or the lack of it. GamerDude talks about how there were very few curse words employed in his house when he was growing up, which is why - to this day - his default curses are phrases like "dagnabbit" and "shut the front door!" If you'd like to share your favorite "Mom-isms," or curses, or colorful metaphors, you can DM them to GamerDude @ReallyGamerDude on twitter, and they could make it into a future episode!
GamerDude talks about what Easter was like when he was a kid, and how it has changed over the years. He talks briefly about the the religious aspects of Easter and how - perhaps - the Easter Bunny became associated with the religious holiday, but then focuses on the important things to him as a kid: jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, and Easter eggs. He talks about the Easter egg hunts of his childhood, how he never colored eggs until he was an adult, his favorite jelly beans growing up, and the correct way to eat a chocolate bunny. He then talks about the change in the holiday, from mostly candy and eggs to more gifts and goodies, and then shares some memories about Easter, including how Easter is a bowling holiday, how his son almost burned down the neighborhood on Good Friday, and how his mother explained that Palm Sunday does not require an act of self-mutilation.
In this episode of Storytime, GamerDude talks about how music has always been a factor in his life. He discusses his early days taking piano lessons from his mother, followed by his days playing trumpet in middle school and high school. He shares some samples from two classical pieces of music - A Trumpeter's Lullaby and The 1812 Overture - that influenced him then and have stayed with him through the years. He talks about how he finally learned that classical music was the background music for the Bugs Bunny cartoons he grew up with, and plays some samples from The Rabbit of Seville. He then goes on to discuss the evolution of his musical tastes, from classical, to rock, to "adult contemporary"/singer-songwriter, to jazz, to country - even to rap and hip-hop. He then talks about the power of music to evoke feelings, and memories, even when the music comes from the most mundane of things, like a television show. He talks about the composer, Mike Post, and shares samples of several television theme songs (no spoilers!) that remind GamerDude of feelings, and places, and things. This episode is a celebration of the power of music.
GamerDude tells the stories about his first on-air broadcast as a newscaster at his college radio station, doing the 6 a.m. newscast. He talks about how that experience gave him the first nudge in the direction of trying a career in radio. He talks about the influence of Howard Stern, and how the fact that Howard was doing fun, and interesting, and entertaining radio inspired him to get back on the air. (He also recommends Howard's movie, Private Parts, as both a good look at Howard's early career, and as a good movie in general.) GamerDude talks about his days as a volunteer DJ at a local college radio station, where he learned the basics of radio using old school turntables and a single sound board. He talks about his first full-time job working afternoons at WRNJ, which led to a promotion to Program Director and Morning Man. GamerDude talks about the characters and bits he created, and plays two brief clips from his old morning show. Sadly, the years have degraded the original tapes terribly, and despite the magic of digitization, the sound quality on the clips is not good. But he included the clips, by request, in the hope that they might convey a tiny bit of the flavor of his early days in radio.
In another "very special episode" of Storytime, GamerDude tells some of the stories about how he was bullied as a child. He talks about being known as "four eyes" after he had to get glasses, the passive-aggressive social ostracism of being the fat kid in school, how lunch time and bus rides in school were so painfully difficult and what he did to avoid them, and how he still remembers one particular episode from the seventh grade. He talks about the effects of bullying at the time and the long-lasting effects bullying has had on him. He talks about how bullying can cause depression, and creates trust issues, and how those issues can persist throughout your life. He also talks about how no one has to struggle with the difficulties that bullying presents alone, and reminds everyone that it's okay to reach out and ask for help when you need it.
GamerDude tells the stories about his fascination with Star Trek: The Original Series. He shares his views on the optimisitic future embodied by The Original Series, and why it resonated with him when he watched the show in syndication when he was young. He talks about his admiration for Captain Kirk and the fact that he was a man of action who nevertheless took responsibility for his actions. He explains why a hopeful view of humanity, with all races, religions, creeds and colors working together was so inspiring to him when he was young, and why he still turns to Star Trek as a basis for his continued belief that humanity can better itself, and make the world a better place.
GamerDude shares some stories about how he kept busy after school each day. The "after school routine" included snacks in front of the television, where he discovered Bugs Bunny, Lost in Space, and The Brady Bunch, playing outside with friends, and playing inside when the weather required. He also learned how to cook, and how to bake, and discovered the unmatched joy of fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookie dough. (Yes, it may be bad for you, but it was SO good!)
GamerDude tells some stories about the memories he has of his grandparents. He remembers his grandfathers Mac and Sam, his grandmothers Iva and Pearl, and he shares his memories of visiting with them. He talks about how spotty his memories are because he never realized at the time how many stories about life they could have shared, and he explains how this missing family history helped inspire the stories he tells in Storytime.