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Wednesday, November 20, 2024

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 171: A Crystal Pepsi Employee Training Video, Tupperware, More Weird Old Thanksgiving Recipes, Moby Dick(11-20-2024)

 


A training video on how to sell Crystal Pepsi. The rise and fall of Tupperware. Some more weird old Thanksgiving recipes.
Episode 171 will stuff you full of nostalgia and even provide some leftovers.
It begins with the story of the rise and fall of the iconic brand Tupperware. For decades it has been synonymous with food storage. However today Tupperware is at a crossroads. Whether they survive or fade into the past we'll look at the impact of the brand this week.
One product that came in with an explosion and quickly faded away was Crystal Pepsi. Once hailed as the soda of the future it ended up becoming a punchline for failure. We go back to the beginning though as we review an employee training video about selling and marketing Crystal Pepsi. This video will make you think of what might have been in between loud laughter.
Hopefully, you will not see these foods on your table this year. A new Top 5 will showcase more weird old Thanksgiving recipes. These range from odd to unique to just plain gross. The first weird recipe countdown is in Episode 94.
There will also be a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around the wreck of the Essex which inspired the classic novel Moby Dick.
For more great content become a subscriber on Patreon!

Helpful Links from this Episode


Tuesday, November 19, 2024

What I've Learned In My 40s(so far): 3. There's No Textbook For Dealing With Grief and Loss


I turned 40 on November 2, 2017. There is an old saying that ‘life begins at 40.’ I used to think that was just something middle-aged people said to make them feel younger. Maybe that is a part of it. I do believe that the wisdom behind that saying is that you spend those first 39 years accumulating all kinds of knowledge that you then can start to put into practice when you hit the Big 4-0.

For me, as I stare down 47, I can honestly say that my 40s so far have been the most difficult and also rewarding decade of my life. I never thought I’d find a time where I’d feel more unsure, insecure, lost, and yet filled with optimism. My teens used to be the benchmark until my 40s.

I’ve learned a lot in my life. Some of it has been useful as I’ve aged. A lot has been pointless. No amount of studying prepares you for coming to grips with your own aging, your own mortality, or your own demons. No amount of preparation can soften the blow of loss and grief. My 40s have been a trial by fire. They have seen me dropped in hostile environments mentally with no survival gear and having to learn on the fly.

So what have I learned in my 40s so far? A lot.

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog: #43 - Early Birthday Gift, Owl Chats, Free Food, etc.

 



1. One of my oldest friends Hasan came down to Cape Cod from up near Boston with his son for a visit. I’ve known him since 1989, so yeah a long time. What was really neat is that he wanted to see my mother in addition to wanting to see me. It was a great reflection on what he thought of her and what our family meant to him growing up. We got to sit and talk for a good 90 minutes in my mom’s living room and it felt like it was back in the 90s again. It was a perfect early birthday present for my mother who hadn’t seen Hasan since we graduated high school in 1996.


2. Piggybacking on that last one. I took a quick detour into the basement storage area at my mom’s and found an audio cassette Hasan and I recorded probably back in late 1990, or early 1991. My plan is to try to get myself a cassette-to-computer USB adapter to try to get that audio saved. I feel like a 34-year-old cassette might only have 1 play left in it so I have to make it count.


It likely has 1 play left in it.



3. What’s with people who wear sunglasses indoors? Is it supposed to be a fashion statement? It’s one thing if it’s those transition lenses that change from inside to outside. But really, it doesn’t make you look cool with your shades on looking at cereals in a supermarket. Although I will admit that I felt kind of cool during Covid when masks were mandatory and I’d go into a supermarket with a mask, sunglasses, and a hoodie. At any other point in time, I’d have been the sketchiest guy ever, but in 2020 I was being safe.


4. Living across the street from a small plot of conservation land I am used to brushes with nature. From coyotes to turkeys and loads of rabbits, I see animals all the time. One night this week while getting ready to brush my teeth I could hear loudly outside a pair of owls engrossed in conversation. They were so loud I could hear them through closed windows. I quietly opened a window and recorded them chatting. In the end, they must have been hooting loudly outside for at least 20 minutes. At one point I wanted to tell them that was enough I got the point, but I don’t speak owl.


5. “Beards are like sweatpants for your face. It doesn’t matter how chubby you’re getting when wearing one.” – Chad Daniels

I love that quote from comedian Chad Daniels. It does hit a bit close to home though this week. I’ve been growing a pretty impressive long mostly white goatee for about 7 months. At this point though I am torn. I like it, but it is also kind of emblematic of not caring or taking care of myself. Not shaving leads to not doing other things at least for me. Slacking on the gym, slacking on eating right, or taking my daily vitamins. There are times when I am deep into beard life that I think I need to get rid of it to spark a wave of energy. So maybe that’s coming, but it’s also getting colder…


6. Maybe a little TMI but it’s funny. At work in our public bathroom, we have a thing called Air Scense. If you don’t know it’s a deodorizing spray for when someone drops a bomb in the bathroom. There’s the TMI. The funny part is the fact that the citrus-scented spray bottle we have has basically been empty for close to a year. Yet every time we think it’s done it has more sprays left. It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when Kramer test drives the car and wants to see how far past ‘E’ the needle can go before running out of gas. It’s like we can buy more stinky bathroom spray but we’re finding it more fun to see how long it can last us.


Nothing lasts forever, except maybe one of these.



7. My new obsession is chili mango chicken drumsticks. They sell them, fully cooked, at the Shaw’s near me. Not only are they good, but they’re cheap. This is naturally a bad combo for me since it makes it easy for me to buy way too much for not a lot of money. At first, I thought there must be a catch as to why they’re cheap, so far I haven’t gotten sick, or grown an extra limb. Granted there is still time for that, or to just gain loads of weight. We’ll see.


8. A recurring statement I have made on social media is a U2 lyric. ‘I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.’ That pops up in my Facebook memories every now and then with the oldest one I’ve seen being 2008. I still stand by the statement that I haven’t found what I am looking for in life. On one hand, it’s hilarious that I still haven’t found whatever it is for going on 17 years. On the other hand, it’s pretty depressing that I’m wandering down this road searching for something that I can’t quite put my finger on. Is it success? Is it happiness? Is it stability? Is it love? I still don’t know.


9. I ordered food through the McDonald’s app this week. Yes, don’t judge, stress eating is an issue I am trying to deal with. Also, have you seen the deals you can get on that app? It’s dangerous. Anyway, I placed my order and got the receipt via email on my phone. I went inside and waited for close to 25 minutes before asking if they’d received my order. I showed them the receipt and they made my food. The woman said the app was having issues and that I wasn’t the only one. Flash forward a few hours later and I got a follow-up email from McDonald’s telling me that due to the problem with the app, my payment was being refunded. So not only did get some good (but bad for me) food, I also ended up getting it for free. Double win, and maybe soon a double chin.


10. There are few things more demoralizing than going out for your longest walk in over a month and ending up injured. It is my right plantar fascia (arch) and I honestly have no idea how it happened. My days of running are likely done to a degree, but walking? I’m just trying to get back close to the shape I was in before Covid and it’s like roadblocks just keep landing in my way. I feel like saying ‘ok universe, I give up’ and getting one of those motorized scooters. 

Maybe I should give up and just become this guy.


Friday, November 15, 2024

Interview with Film Producer Frank Durant: In My Footsteps Podcast


It is a special bonus podcast and a special video version of the In My Footsteps Podcast. Here we meet up with film producer Frank Durant on his recreation of Henry David Thoreau's famed hike along Cape Cod's outer beach. 
It is filmed on location at Race Point Beach in Provincetown, and Mac's Market & Kitchen in Eastham. 
In this interview, we discuss Frank's connection with Henry David Thoreau, his love of hiking, a retrospective of his work on the famed Lady of the Dunes case, some insight into upcoming projects, and much more! 

To listen to episodes of the In My Footsteps Podcast click here: https://inmyfootstepspodcast.buzzsprout.com/ 

Become A Subscriber to the Podcast on Patreon: patreon.com/InMyFootstepsPodcast 

Purchase a DVD copy of the Lady of the Dunes documentary here: https://www.oldies.com/product-view/1176D.html 

Purchase the new book Searching for the Lady of the Dunes written by 12th Generation Cape Codder Christopher Setterlund at https://theladyofthedunes.com/ 

This video contains some videos and photos used from Canva Pro. 

Intro Music: James River - DJ Williams 
Outro Music: Local Elevator - Kevin Macleod

Thursday, November 14, 2024

1996 My Life In Poetry Form - Throwback Thursday

 

This will be a weekly recurring series featuring 5 poems all written within the same calendar year. They capture a sense of what my life and my mind were like at a certain age. It also will show the evolution of my life, mind, and writing style. This is the earliest year. 1996. I graduated from high school and was 18 years old.

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 170: Freddy Krueger Turns 40, 1970s Educational Children's Shows, 1990s Movie Soundtracks(11-13-2024)

 


The 40th Birthday of the man of your dreams Freddy Krueger. Get a refresher course with some classic 1970s educational children's television shows. What were the top-selling movie soundtracks of the 1990s?
Episode 170 gets you warm and fuzzy with nostalgia as the weather gets cooler.
It begins with the 40th anniversary of Wes Craven's A Nightmare On Elm Street. From its roots based in reality, to how it forever changed the horror genre we take a deep look at the franchise and its leading man Freddy Krueger
Seventies kids rejoice! We go way Back In the Day to rediscover some classic 1970s educational children's television shows. Some of these transcended the decade while others definitely seem dated when looking back. We'll cover all of that ground.
This week it will be a Top 10 instead of a Top 5. We're going to look at the top-selling 1990s movie soundtracks. Many of these were likely on heavy rotation in your Sony Discman but how many of the movies themselves were big hits?
Over the decades thousands upon thousands of stunts have taken place in motion pictures. There had to be a first though. A new This Week In History and Time Capsule are centered around the first big movie stunt.
For more great content become a subscriber on Patreon!

Helpful Links from this Episode


Tuesday, November 12, 2024

What I've Learned In My 40s(so far): 2. Learning To Let Go of Toxic People, Even Those Close To You

 


I turned 40 on November 2, 2017. There is an old saying that ‘life begins at 40.’ I used to think that was just something middle-aged people said to make them feel younger. Maybe that is a part of it. I do believe that the wisdom behind that saying is that you spend those first 39 years accumulating all kinds of knowledge that you then can start to put into practice when you hit the Big 4-0.

For me, as I stare down 47, I can honestly say that my 40s so far have been the most difficult and also rewarding decade of my life. I never thought I’d find a time where I’d feel more unsure, insecure, lost, and yet filled with optimism. My teens used to be the benchmark until my 40s.

I’ve learned a lot in my life. Some of it has been useful as I’ve aged. A lot has been pointless. No amount of studying prepares you for coming to grips with your own aging, your own mortality, or your own demons. No amount of preparation can soften the blow of loss and grief. My 40s have been a trial by fire. They have seen me dropped in hostile environments mentally with no survival gear and having to learn on the fly.

So what have I learned in my 40s so far? A lot.


2. I’ve learned that it is sometimes necessary to let go of toxic people in one's life, even if those people are immediate family.


I tend to push my feelings to the side for the sake of others. I am an empath through and through which is a good trait to have. Being able to feel what someone else is going through can help you understand and be supportive of them. It can also cause people to look past you and take you for granted.

Too many times in my life I have heard some form of the phrase ‘you have to deal with so-and-so because they’re family.’ That’s a lie. If someone’s presence in your life is actively hurting you then you don’t ‘have’ to allow them in your life.

I gave my father 40 years to show me something. Anything. He was given a long leash, and a thousand ‘second chances’ because he was my father. My parents divorced when I was 4. My father had been out of the house since probably a year before then. When I would see him as a kid he was more of a guy trying to be a cool older friend rather than a male role model to help shape who I would become. Notice I said when I would see him.

I had wanted to have a father like so many of my other friends had. Someone who taught them things. Someone who supported their goals. Someone who was actually in their lives. My father didn’t want any of those things. He wanted as little responsibility as possible.

This manifested itself in devastating ways. It was there when he would no-show picking me up for a visit when he said he would when I was a small child. It was there when he quit multiple jobs rather than pay below the minimum for child support. You know the money that would go to supporting your child? This meant for all intents and purposes he didn’t care if I had food, medical care, clothing, you name it.

I mentioned in the previous section that he would stop at the liquor store on drives home from work. He helped get me that job as a dishwasher/food prep. This meant that he also knew I was making money. This allowed him to ask for money constantly. Not to help with living expenses. No, he’d ask his 15-year-old son for money to buy alcohol and cigarettes. At one point he cleaned out my entire savings, well over $1,200, with the promise of payback in full. He might have paid back 75% and then never brought it up again.

The older I got the more I began to see with my own eyes who my father was. The more I was able to make the choice for myself the more I chose not to associate with him. I wanted a father but what I had was a lazy, selfish drunk who prioritized buying beer over his kids having their basic needs met.

After my Nana died in 2009 I stuck my neck out and got him a job at the same restaurant as me. This was me doing right by my Nana. He repaid me by no-call, no-showing 5 straight days about a month or so after starting the job. Can you imagine the embarrassment of knowing that your father cared so little that he just bailed on a job his son got him? My coworkers promised that didn’t make them see me any differently, but come on, it was humiliating.

From 2010 until I turned 40 in 2017 I saw my father very rarely. As I started having events for my books that I released, or road races, he was never there. I had loads of family at these events, not my father. There was always an excuse. He should have just been honest and said ‘you’re not important enough to me for me to try.’

My final straw came not too long before I turned 40. My father had a medical event that landed him in the ER. Despite being relatively estranged I was there with him like a good son. I was there as the doctors checked him out.

The doctor told my father he would make a full recovery but he needed to cut down and eventually cut out alcohol and cigarettes. By this point, I had switched careers and was a personal trainer. I promised the doctor and my father that I could help him with exercise and some nutrition advice. This was the last-second miracle I had wanted. I would finally have the father I had wanted. Better late than never.

He tapered down booze and cigarettes but only temporarily. Within a few weeks of getting out of the hospital, he was chugging beer and smoking like a chimney as if the medical issue had never happened.

That was it. I told him flat out that since he obviously didn’t care then I didn’t care either. I gave him until I turned 40 but I was done trying to force myself to have a father who only cared about himself. Only one person in the family, an aunt, tried to push the ‘but he’s family’ line on me. Everyone else understood why I was cutting my father out.

Flash forward to the present time and my father resides in a nursing and rehabilitation facility. His brazen ignoring of doctor’s recommendations in 2017 caught up with him. He had both of his legs amputated at the knees due to his incessant smoking and drinking. It would have been gut-wrenching if he had been even a subpar father.

In my eyes, he is living his karma. When I needed a father growing up he couldn’t have cared less. He only saw me when I visited my Nana’s house and that’s because he was living there. In fact, when I was still very young he had told my mother he was willing to waive all parental rights to me and my sister so that he wouldn’t have to pay child support.

It was only when my mother said that my Nana would lose all visitation rights as well that my father relented. Finding out that info as an adult should have been traumatizing. To me, it was par for the course. Why would I give one inch of space inside my mind to a man who prioritized beer and cigarettes over his children? And also why would I give one second of my time to visit such a reprehensible human? As far as I am concerned my father does not exist and as far as I am concerned it can stay that way for the rest of his miserable life.

Do not feel as though you have to keep a toxic, painful relationship going because someone is family. Sometimes the pain of having them in your life is greater than the pain of removing them from it.


Next: Part 3 - Learning there is no textbook for dealing with grief and loss


Previous: Part 1 - Being A Slave to a Demon, and Also Slaying That Demon