Appreciating all that makes America special

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Coleman Coolers

Posted by on Jan 22, 2013 in Americana, Featured | Comments Off on Coleman Coolers

First, let me say up front that I’m not a camping person. One of my favorite quotes (paraphrased, and by Nora Ephron, best I can...

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Don Knotts

Posted by on Jan 15, 2013 in Actor, Featured | Comments Off on Don Knotts

I once worked with a great bunch of people who studied the great issues facing humanity, such as this: Who was the greatest sitcom...

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Mario Andretti

Posted by on Jan 10, 2013 in Featured, Sports | Comments Off on Mario Andretti

He go fast. He go real fast. If it has a motor and a wheel, Mario Andretti make it go fast. When you look at his racing record, you see the...

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Neil Armstrong

Posted by on Jan 3, 2013 in Featured, People | Comments Off on Neil Armstrong

“One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” Like most of the early astronauts, Neil Armstrong made his name as a test...

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“Twas The Night Before Christmas”

Posted by on Dec 17, 2012 in Holiday | Comments Off on “Twas The Night Before Christmas”

How does Santa Claus look? We can thank the Coca-Cola Company for giving Americans a visual that we all now accept as the jolly old man....

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Schooners, Bloomington Illinois

Posted by on Dec 3, 2012 in Food | Comments Off on Schooners, Bloomington Illinois

I recently had the pleasure of speaking about Great American Things with Scott Laughlin of WJBC Radio in Bloomington, Illinois. During the...

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Teen Idols

Posted by on Nov 15, 2012 in Featured, Music | Comments Off on Teen Idols

In his song “The Boy in the Bubble,” Paul Simon reminded us: “Every generation throws a hero up the pop charts.”...

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“Unchained Melody”

Posted by on Nov 8, 2012 in Featured, Songs | Comments Off on “Unchained Melody”

Remember the great 1955 prison film Unchained? Well of course you don’t. But Alex North and Hy Zaret wrote a memorable theme song for...

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Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Posted by on Oct 30, 2012 in Featured, Film | Comments Off on Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The wonky title refers to a scale of alien contact developed by ufologist (wrote the bloggerologist) J. Allen Hynek. The book, published a...

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Jackson 5

Posted by on Oct 22, 2012 in Featured, Singer | Comments Off on Jackson 5

The Jackson 5 (later just The Jacksons) recorded or performed together, with various family members in the group, for more than 25 years....

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