Christopher Setterlund, In My Footsteps

Monday, April 6, 2026

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #115: Sickness Jinx, Tax Fun, Hey I Know You, etc.

1. I have been pretty vocal about the fact that I haven’t gotten sick in close to two years. It might be minor, but I think it’s finally caught up to me. My coworker was out for a few days with the flu, and I was still feeling good and confident. Then my head started hurting, and my body felt weak and heavy. It wasn’t enough to keep me from working, but it was enough to make a few days feel pretty rough. I was lucky to not have any throat, stomach, or diarrhea issues. It was just the aches in the head and body. I don’t play, though, when it comes to being sick. I went to the store and grabbed Emergen-C for my immune system. Even if it’s a minor inconvenience compared to having the flu, I still hate being sick and will do the equivalent of dropping an anvil on an ant hill to feel better as fast as I can.

2. Some people either have no filter or don’t know how to read a room. At my job this week, I had one of the weirdest interactions yet. A woman came in to use our PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic field) mat. I put a link in there for you to look up what it is if you’re curious. Anyway, she’s lying on the table on top of the mat, and I begin to turn up the intensity. Unprompted, she remarks about a sign above my desk that says ‘Attempted Murder’ and is a picture of two crows. Because a group of crows is known as a ‘murder.’ That’s not the weird part. No, that came when she said, ‘every time I come in here and see that sign, I think of my three friends who were murdered.’ Like, wait, what? You had three friends get murdered? I don’t know why she brought that up to me. I don’t know her well and focused on getting the PEMF up and running and returning to work. How do you respond to that? It’s like, think of the most awkward thing you could possibly say to basically a total stranger. Hey, that sign there makes me think of my three friends who were murdered. Yay, thanks. I’m not taking the sign down, so you’re gonna have to close your eyes every time you come in.

The exact sign above my desk

3. There are few sounds more terrifying than the sounds of your pants tearing as you squat down. I was in the middle of training someone, and I demonstrated a squat, and I could feel something give way. The last thing I was going to do was immediately reach into my crotch to see if what I heard was real. I had to just hope my face didn’t give it away. Once I got home, I did in fact find a nice tear in my jogger pants. In fairness, I have had them for a few years, and I have worn and washed them a ton. I did get my money’s worth. But still, this is not like high school, where I’d wear my torn jeans until they basically floated away like dandelion spores. Nope, those joggers were into the trash, and I was off to Marshalls to find some new ones.

4. Something that was brought to my attention this week was a possible new side gig. Airbnb Experiences is where people offer services in areas where rentals are on the site. You know, like a wine tasting in Napa Valley, etc. Having seen how much interest my Cape Cod content has received, especially the lesser-known places, putting together some kind of experience-based content around that might work. I can’t take credit for the idea, which belongs to my friend and coworker Heather, whose husband, Aaron, recommended it to me. Now, before you go booking your Cape Cod escapes with me, there are a lot of steps between now and then. I need a name, an actual itinerary, pricing, figuring out logistics, and crafting a proposal for Airbnb. Maybe it happens. Maybe it doesn’t. People have suggested for years that I do some sort of Cape Cod tour focusing on the lesser-known places and connecting it to my 12th-generation lineage. It all comes down to time and money. If I put in all of the effort of putting this job together, and then it doesn’t pan out, who knows how much money I’ll have spent? Of course, I’m only in the early brainstorming stages, so there will likely not be any news for a few months.

5. I’m not famous by any stretch of the imagination. So when I get recognized in public for my work, it’s both thrilling and surprising. I was in a supermarket at night this week. I got to the self-checkout, and a woman came up to the next register. Out of the blue, she said, ‘I follow you on social media.’ She told me how much she enjoyed my Cape Cod videos, which I’ve been sharing on Instagram, and that she shared them with her son, who lives in another state. She was very nice and complimentary, and part of me didn’t know how to respond. Mostly, what I mean is I didn’t want to get too excited that someone followed and enjoyed my content. My happiness couldn’t be contained, though. I just thanked her and told her I appreciated her kind words. I think part of it is that I am naturally introverted, so I tend to not initiate conversations with strangers. The fact that she took that risk and approached me, I respected, and I did my best to be outgoing but not pompous or anything. Act like you’ve been there is the phrase. Can you tell I overthink things? Anyway, it was a great experience, and I am so grateful to anyone who takes the time to check out my videos, blogs, books, podcasts, etc. Thank you.

6. Finally, I got around to watching the fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie on Netflix. I had so many shows I needed to binge that I totally forgot I wanted to check it out. It was definitely a fun, nostalgic ride for me, who is a big fan of the first two films in the series. They even brought back basically everyone who they could to be in this film. There are a few new, younger characters to freshen it up, including Taylour Paige, who plays Axel’s estranged daughter. She plays Charlotte Hanlon, Will’s mother, in IT: Welcome To Derry. The famed Axel F theme song was all over the movie, and many other songs from the movies got sprinkled in. If you enjoy the classic 1980s Eddie Murphy, you’ll like the fourth Beverly Hills Cop film. Sadly, John Ashton, who played Taggert, died shortly after it was released, so the fifth film, which apparently is already in development, won’t see him in it. I’m doing my best to not spoil anything for anyone who is going to watch it, but just know I thoroughly enjoyed it.

7. There are few things I enjoy less than doing my taxes. When I was younger and actually got refunds, I was first in line, or online, to get them filed and to get that sweet refund money. Since Massachusetts made it a penalty to not have health insurance, I routinely have to pay state taxes. That, plus I get some money from my book sales. I have to laugh because health insurance is so damn expensive, and my job doesn’t offer it, so I choose to go without it. I’m sure it isn’t the best option, but when money is tight, you take the devil you know (paying a penalty) versus the devil you don’t (paying a monthly insurance premium). Anyway, I chose to leave TurboTax and to try Free Tax USA, mainly because I saved about $100 in costs to file my taxes. Luckily, besides my book royalties, my taxes are pretty simple, so I don’t worry about making mistakes. It’s literally just my one job W-2, and a couple of 1099s for writing, no real funny business. So there you go, if you haven’t filed your taxes yet, try Free Tax USA over Turbo Tax.

8. Now that I am doing way more in the world of content creation, my mind is always going to where I can stop and grab a few quick videos when I am driving somewhere. A benefit of having lived on Cape Cod most of my life is that I know pretty much any spot that might fit that bill. This weekend, while driving home from Market Basket (always a fun field trip), I stopped at the beloved Sandwich Boardwalk. The plan was to walk the entire length of the boardwalk and shoot it in 4K. I did that, but was not expecting the cuteness overload that happened twice. There was a family there trying to skip rocks in the marsh creek. It was mom, dad, a little boy, and a little girl. The little girl was maybe two years old at most, and she came literally toddling toward me on the boardwalk. She had one of those adorable knit hats with little round ears on the top. When she came up to me, she had the biggest smile and was waving. I asked her if it was cold at the beach, and she just smiled. On I went. When I was coming back, the family was heading in my direction, and again the little girl stared, smiled, and waved. I basically ignored the parents to make sure I said hi again to the little one. I do it because I enjoy little kids. I also imagine that at a young age, when they’re still forming views of people in general, I’d rather become a positive memory of theirs than some buried trauma that comes out in therapy in 30 years.

The end of the Sandwich Boardwalk

9. Easter is an interesting holiday. I don’t think I’ve gone to church on the holiday since I was a kid. For me, it was always all about the family celebration on the day. When we were little, way back in the 1980s, we’d have Easter egg hunts. These were always fun. My Nana’s house would see the eggs scattered around her yard. My sister Kate and cousin Ryane would have baskets, and I believe that we each either had a specific color egg we had to find, or they’d have our initials on them. Believe me, if it were just finders keepers, I’d have cleaned up. I remember one year, my Aunt Kelly and her then-husband Mark set up the most challenging egg hunt ever. There are photos of me scaling trees and crawling out onto branches to grab eggs. It was a different time back then. Just put the eggs anywhere, no matter how dangerous, we GenX kids were tough enough and didn’t care. However, when I think of Easter, the very first thing that comes to my mind is my Nana’s cheesy hash brown potatoes. She’d put them together every year, only on very special occasions. It began with one large pan of them when I was really young. As we kids grew up, and the popularity of those potatoes grew, it ended up being two monstrous pans. As my Nana got into her 80s, she commissioned my Uncle Bob to take over the recipe. It’s been at least 15 years since I’ve had those potatoes, but I can still see, smell, and taste them. It’s a childhood memory I hope I never lose.

Scaling the tree for an Easter egg

10. Food comas can sneak up on you. This year, for Easter at my mom’s, I filled up on pot roast and desserts slowly but steadily. I felt like things would be fine, and then suddenly my stomach was angry. All of the food was amazing, but I have a tendency to eat too much too fast on holidays. I had to fight to stay alert and engaged with everyone. Eventually, it got to be too much, and I had to say my goodbyes and head home. First of course, I had to stop at the beach in the rain to sit, relax, and enjoy a little time to myself. It wasn’t walking to the cranberry bog like we used to do after Easter at my Nana’s, but wandering along the beach as it rained had to do. I hope everyone who celebrates had a Happy Easter!

Saturday, April 4, 2026

1996 Changed Everything: Pt. 2 - The Real World Makes An Early Appearance

This is a series of articles about the year 1996. It holds significance because it was the year I graduated high school, and it is now thirty years ago. In this second article, I look back in great detail at an unexpected turn of events that changed my worldview much earlier than expected.

In high school, even at 17 or 18 in Senior Year, you are somewhat insulated from the ‘real world.’ You still have schoolwork to finish, and childhood isn't completely dead. Even as the days to graduation ticked away, I reveled in the relative normalcy of daily school life. I knew at some point I’d have to start making big life choices, but that day was still in the distance. Then the event happened. As I tell this story, many of you might find it too hard to believe that it was real, but it definitely was. I’ll just get started.

You ever have a favorite teacher get outed for doing something terrible? Having your view of someone you looked up to get shattered can have rippling effects throughout your life. My English teacher was one of my favorites I’d ever had. I took his class in both Sophomore and Senior years at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School.

He was one of the few teachers who actually had nicknames affectionately given to them by students. The English teacher was nicknamed Bubba. He was heavyset with curly hair and a thick curly beard. He had a jolly demeanor and felt like a classic 1970s Hippie now dealing with middle age in the 1990s.

Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School

Looks and presence aside, what made him special was the way he taught English. The main difference was how he incorporated Pink Floyd’s music into our curriculum. I learned more about that band in class than anyone in my family who had grown up on their music could have taught me. It was quite fitting then that a Pink Floyd song was being played when the illusion of that teacher’s life came crashing down.

We were having, I guess, what could be considered a talent show in class. One student had brought his acoustic guitar and, in an appropriate nod to our teacher, had decided to play Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. The song was interrupted by the head of the English Department popping her head into the class and beckoning the teacher outside.

Mere moments later, the teacher was walking to his car and waving to us as he drove out of the parking lot. What had happened? The story was wilder than anything we could have imagined.

Our beloved English teacher had been found to not only have been directing and sometimes starring in adult films, but he had also been accused of soliciting one of his students to be in one of the films.

A parent of a student at D-Y had found an adult film that Bubba had produced and brought it to the attention of the school district superintendent. Why the parent was going through the adult films is their business, but still not a squeaky clean person to be pointing fingers.

The fallout was swift and harsh. The story made national news. Our little school in the middle of Cape Cod became a hotbed of news vans and reporters. It was a scene out of a movie.

I will never forget arriving at school the next day and seeing the swath of people out in front. Reporters were stopping and asking any student who passed by if they had any knowledge of what Bubba was accused of. For most of us, we had no idea. We would learn in real time about his adult film secret life.

A problem for many of the news outlets was that the kids they spoke to about Bubba didn’t have anything but glowing interactions and stories of him. There were very few, if any, scandalous anecdotes to be found.

Me, I was interviewed by local news stations like WHDH Channel 7 in Boston and WJAR Channel 10 in Providence. There was also a crew from MTV who briefly chatted me up. Like I said, once they couldn’t find any dirt, they moved on. None of my interviews was even aired.

I was 18 years old and had spent my whole life in the relative cocoon that was Cape Cod. I had never been exposed to a national scandal. Part of me wanted to talk to everyone and try to get my face on the news. Part of me wanted to run home and hide until the worst was over.

In English class, the department head did her best to explain to us what had happened while also keeping many of the details hidden. It was stunning and confusing, but we thought maybe Bubba would return. I can’t fully remember how we spent those class periods. Part of me thinks we had some sort of study hall. Maybe others from my class can remind me.

He was officially fired on January 17th after being a teacher for 25 years. Bubba always denied soliciting a student, but admitted to appearing in eight adult films in the previous six months. He spent his off-time in that world.

The news crews grew smaller, but some remained. They updated the story and even interviewed a few of my classmates who had gone to see Bubba in a show of solidarity. The rest of the Senior Class would show their solidarity in a big way.

Many of us, myself included, staged a walkout the week of his firing. Those who had vehicles decorated them with signs, paint, and balloons. Others crafted large signs on poster board with words of support for Bubba. As for me, being that I was a student in photography class, I took up my first important assignment. I documented what we ended up calling a ‘parade’ in vivid black and white film.

The famed D-Y 'parade.'

We felt like we were making a difference. Or at least we were showing our disapproval in the only way we knew how. Maybe we were naive, highly likely. But in our minds, we had only seen the caring, fun, and engaging English teacher. We never saw someone who would betray the trust of a student by asking them to be in an adult film.

Let me say that being in the adult film world does not make you a bad person. That’s not what I mean. It’s the idea that as a teacher, you build a reputation on being someone your students can trust to have your best interests in mind. We were kids, 15-18 years old, living on Cape Cod, not in the big city. Even the most experienced of us had very limited knowledge outside of our bubble.

I was torn. Bubba was one of my favorite teachers I had ever had. He made me enjoy going to school. Still, I felt betrayed even though it had nothing to do with me personally. There were grainy and blurred images from those adult films being shown on the news, and it didn’t seem real. How could the man who taught me about Pink Floyd be the same one in those movies?

Obviously, despite my only referring to this teacher as Bubba, if you Google it, you will find all of the information in detail. You will find articles from local outlets and from big ones like the Chicago Tribune. You can seek those out if you wish. I also have heard the name of the student who accused him of solicitation. I would never share that information out of respect.

Bubba fought his firing for several years but ultimately never taught again, as far as I know. He remained visible around Cape Cod. I can remember seeing him in a supermarket years later and not knowing if I should approach him or not. Unfortunately, it became impossible to separate the teacher from the adult film creator.

As far as I know, Bubba is still alive today and still on Cape Cod. He is closing in on 80 years old and has now spent more time ostracized from the teaching world than he was a part of it. Crazy how the world works.

1996 began with the real world being dumped on my doorstep. It was the first event to force a perspective change in my life. Bubba’s fall from grace actually did some good for me. I needed a way to process what was going on. It came in the form of writing. I guess you’d call them song lyrics, but it amounted more to a stream of consciousness in the form of prose.

I sat and scribbled words in pencil on a steno pad, sitting in my bedroom with my good friend Barry. I called my first-ever poem ‘Bubba.’ I learned how to process life events in poetry form thanks to what happened with Bubba.

It is kind of fitting, isn’t it? Today, I’ve written hundreds of blogs, had ten books published, and spoken at countless events surrounding my writing. It all got its start thirty years ago with a single poem. I say ‘fitting’ because Bubba was a huge influence on my love of writing, creativity, and expression. His downfall led to my beginnings as a writer. I guess that was his lasting gift to me.

In 1996 the future stretched off into the horizon.

1996 Changed Everything: Pt. 1 - The Rise of the Internet

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 238: Eddie Murphy In the 1980s, Pepsi's Soviet Navy, Forgotten 1970s Sodas(4-1-2026)

Watch my acting debut film for free, Cape Cod Cthulhu!

How big a star was Eddie Murphy in the 1980s? Did Pepsi really own a fleet of naval vessels? What are some forgotten 1970s sodas?

Episode 238 looks to answer these questions with as little April Fools as possible.

We take a look at the meteoric rise to fame of Eddie Murphy in the 1980s. From an unknown to the biggest star in Hollywood in a few short years. It is the stuff of fairy tales. Saving SNL, hit comedy albums, hit songs, and a resume of hit movies most couldn't imagine.

In a story that sounds like an April Fool's joke we go back to the 1980s and the brief time that Pepsi owned a fleet of Soviet naval vessels. How in the world did this happen and what was the end result of the story?

Not all sodas can be Coke or Pepsi. A new Top 5 looks at the forgotten sodas of the 1970s. Brief hits, swings and misses, and ones that faded away are all here.

There is a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule with the story of the largest tip ever left for a server. It was even made into a Hollywood movie.

You can support my work by becoming a member on Patreon.

Or you can Buy Me A Coffee!

Helpful Links from this Episode

Listen to Episode 237 here

Monday, March 30, 2026

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #114: Cash Windfall, 2004 All Over Again, Shell Tree Redux, etc.

1. We have a thing in my state, Find Mass Money. It’s for people to check whether they have unclaimed money, property, stocks, or anything like that. I used it once before and had a small amount of money I was owed on a Sears credit card, probably from the early 2000s, back when Sears was still a thing. This week, one of my sisters messaged me saying that they found me on Find Mass Money. I went and checked. It was through Google and had me listed at an address I hadn’t been at since 2010. I was intrigued and claimed my ‘property.’ For a few minutes, it was like waiting for the lottery numbers to get drawn. Would it be some untold fortune that I had forgotten about? Then I got the email. I’d be getting a check sent to me for the sum of $8.29. Yay. Oh well, it is free money. At least I assume it is. I have no clue what I did to earn it. I’m guessing selling ebooks way back then. Luckily, it’ll only be 6 weeks until I get my check. I can buy a small pizza with a coupon code.

2. If I don’t have a client to train at the beginning or end of my shift at work, I will usually adjust my schedule accordingly so I can have a little extra time to do content/creative work. I had a pair of days this week where it was the opposite. I had a client at the beginning and end of my shift, but nothing in the middle. That’s the worst because it leaves me hours to fill. If we have other therapies to do, or if I have paperwork to do, I can make the day not seem excruciatingly long. However, one day this week, I walked in the door and within 5 seconds found out my first client had canceled less than an hour earlier. She said she ‘didn’t feel well.’ I think it was because it was raining. Anyway, the big issue wasn’t the cancellation. It was the fact that I had no other client until 6 hours later. This meant I could have clocked in maybe two hours later and gotten a lot of work done at home. I was pretty angry about that, but I did my best not to take it out on anyone else.

3. Something that doesn’t happen every day. At work, I was leading both a resting and an active metabolic test. The resting is easy. You sit in a dark room for 10 minutes and breathe normally through a mask with a filter, and the data is recorded. The active is more difficult. Think of it as a sort of stress test. You warm up, typically on a treadmill, and then go through an escalating ramp-up. You go until your body has had enough and then get to do a shorter recovery. Again, you breathe through the filtered mask with the data being recorded. When running the treadmill, the speeds can get up there as the client pushes themselves to the brink. When I did my test a few years ago, I was cruising up to 8.8mph on the treadmill. For this active test, I had the client running the treadmill. They were up to 7.9mph. By that point, we had enough data, so I told them that if they wanted to stop, we could. They wanted to go a little longer, which was fine. Then fate intervened. Out of nowhere, a fuse blew and immediately shut the power off to the treadmill. Luckily, the client caught themselves before they went flying into the monitor. I have no idea what happened. We’ve had the same equipment powered on for a few years and never had a fuse blow. It might have been from somewhere else in the building connected to the same circuit breaker. The client definitely wasn’t complaining that the test was just suddenly over, though. That was the most unique ending to one of those metabolic tests.

4. Being that I am knee-deep in Season 3 of Yellowjackets, you could say I was a little happy to see that Christina Ricci, who plays Misty, had joined Threads. Being that I am a big fan of hers and may have had (or still have) a crush on her for 30 years, I wondered if I should message her, welcoming her to Threads. I went halfway and shared a post that I tagged her in, mostly since I am sure she’ll be getting loads of DM’s and other mentions. I have a slightly higher than zero percent chance of her seeing it or responding, but just know that if she does, you’ll be able to hear me fanboying out through your screen.

5. I was partying like it was 2004 this week. The washing machine where I live is down, so I’ve been driving to the next town over to use the laundromat. Back 20+ years ago, I frequented the same spot to do laundry, not to hang out. So that has been a blast from the past. I’ve even taken the scenic route down past where I lived at the time. After putting together my 1990s retro short video on Instagram and busting out an old flannel for it, I had been jonesing to start wearing them again. I haven’t worn a flannel shirt regularly in probably 20 years. I thought that I needed to change and evolve my style as I grew older. This week though, I caved and wore the same flannel I used to wear when going to that same laundromat back in the mid 2000s. I played my new favorite 1990s playlist I created on Spotify, and pulled up to the laundromat feeling like it was 2004. I doubt I’ll go back to torn jeans like back in the 90s though. I’m like a hybrid of several versions of myself now. It’s interesting how you grow and evolve even when you don’t think you are.

6. There are certainly different levels of stupidity in the world. Driving up a sidewalk thinking it’s a road has to be near the top. Yes, I saw this happen this week. A person pulled their car up the paved walkway leading from the sidewalk to a library. Hopefully realizing how dumb they were, they pulled back out onto the main road, took a turn, and drove into the actual library parking lot. How do these morons even have licenses? They were either a moron or drunk. Instead of GPS and onboard computers, new vehicles should have tattlers like some trucks do. These should be connected to the local police or DMV, and they should register when an idiot driver breaks a law or makes a dangerous mistake while driving. It should tally points with some infractions being more than others. Speeding, crossing into the other lane, cutting people off, these things should be added up, and once you hit a certain magic number, your license is revoked, and your car shuts off wherever you are. Then you have to pay to have it towed as an extra kick in the ass for your stupidity. It’s beyond ridiculous the number of stupid drivers I see. They are all ages, too.

7. One of my new favorite things to do is shoot driving content. I open my moon roof and stick my arm out of it while holding my phone. Before we go too far, I have only done this on quiet back roads with nobody driving behind me, not on a main road or highway. I did a trial run of shooting using my selfie stick from the roof. I hadn’t used it before because I was worried the phone would blow away, because of course it would. After a successful video using the selfie stick, I was even more enthused about driving content. I had a plan to drive to Skaket Beach in Orleans. I knew where I could stop, assemble my apparatus, and get to recording. The drive was a minute or so. I was excited because I could hear birds in the trees while driving. I slowly pulled into a parking spot facing the water. It was perfect, or was it? Nope. Apparently, after I hit record on my phone, I accidentally stopped recording before the dang selfie stick was even extended. So my whole drive down was for nothing. What did I do? Drive back out and do it again. Yes, I did the Skaket Beach drive again because the footage was so good. In the end, I parked in the same spot again, between the same cars. I am sure I looked highly suspect.

8. Winter is finally over, yes. But nothing said the winter weather would go away. Having temperatures hovering around freezing and even seeing some flakes this weekend is enough to make me rip my hair out. Everywhere else in the country is seeing record highs, and in New England, it’s mid-30s. I feel like my body and mind have just shut down until we get our first real taste of spring. I just want to sit around and wait for it. Of course, I will force myself outside to get some high-quality video, but if I didn’t have that, I’d literally say call me when it’s 60. It looks like this upcoming week might see us get regularly into the 50s just in time for April to start. Fingers crossed.

9. I was raised at a time when you were basically on your own growing up, and you had to figure most things out yourself. Being a Gen-Xer meant becoming an adult, or at least feeling like an adult, long before you even had your driver’s license. It made you keenly aware and objectively skeptical of nearly everything and everyone around you. I think this protected us who grew up in the 80s and 90s, but it’s not as helpful the older you get. It makes it that much harder for you to open up and ask for help or advice. As I stare down 50, I feel at times like I am still trying to figure out what my path is. I have many things I enjoy, and I believe several useful skills that could be turned into paying jobs that will feel fulfilling. The problem comes with asking for advice. I feel like I should know what it is I want to do and how to get there. So if I never ask outside voices, even close friends and family, what they think, all I get left with is my own voice. My voice has certain beliefs, fears, and hangups. I try, but at times feel like I can’t see beyond the limitations my own voice and thoughts put on me. So it becomes a process where I am on a treadmill with a sail on it. I am constantly moving on the treadmill, but I can only go so far as the wind will move the actual machine. But being on the treadmill feels safer and more secure than stepping off onto the unknown ground.

10. As far as dating sites go, the worst free version has to be eHarmony. There are two giant issues with that site. One is that you don’t see photos. Well, you do, but they’re blurred. Yeah, I know, the site is meant to match you on personality, but come on. I can’t even get a vague idea of what a person looks like. It’s like they’re in witness protection. The other issue that is even bigger is the fact that your matches are based on your state. Anybody from your state is sent as a match on the free version. I live in Massachusetts, so I could, and have, had matches from over 200 miles away. I’m willing to push my match distance to 50 miles, but over 200? Not a chance. That’s just me. Imagine living in California? You could get matched with someone 1,000 miles away. Why even have match distances then? It’s so dumb. Just match everyone in the U.S. with anyone, regardless of distance. The ultimate disaster would be driving 3 hours to meet a match with the blurred face and getting there, and they’re hideous. Now what? Drive all the way home, or waste more money on a hotel for the night? Yikes. You might be asking why I keep my profile there. Probably laziness. I check every so often, get mad at how lame it is, and quickly sign out. Plus, my profile is hidden, so it’s not like I get messages.

11. It’s interesting how many things can change in a few years. No, this isn’t something about life. It’s about a spot I hadn’t been to on Cape Cod in, I’d guess, 5 years. Long Beach in Centerville is ostensibly just the western end of the more well-known Craigville Beach. There is no divider separating the two beaches. At least that’s how it used to be. Years ago, there used to be this amazing dead tree located about a mile walk from the parking area that was adorned with what had to be a hundred or more shells. Some were painted, others were just resting on or tied to the tree. I believe it was either a dead tree or just a gigantic piece of driftwood with numerous branches. Anyway, probably in 2021, word got out that the shell tree had been destroyed. I went out to see, and it was true. All that remained was a few shells on the ground, and I think a sawed-off stump. The rich jerks who owned that piece of beach decided that they needed to put us commoners in our place and ruin something that only brought joy to those who ventured out that way. This weekend, I returned, hoping that maybe a new shell tree had sprung up. I did find one about a mile out. It was much smaller with a few dozen shells on it. The big thing now is that Long Beach is littered with ‘private property’ signs. Granted, you can walk the water line, but the sign says it’s the owner's discretion. So beware, just when you think the rich assholes have forgotten, they’re going to strike and put a barbed wire fence across the beach. Not so that they can enjoy their ‘private property’ but just so that we have less public space to enjoy.

Part of the new, smaller shell tree.

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 237: Who Was Max Headroom?, the We Are the World Song, Biggest 70s Sports Stars(3-25-2026)

Watch my acting debut film for free, Cape Cod Cthulhu!

Who in the world was Max Headroom? The legacy of the We Are the World charity song. Some of the biggest sports stars of the 1970s.

Episode 237 rolls the weird, raucous, and wholesome bits of pop culture into one show.

We Are the World was a massive undertaking more than 40 years ago. It was a humanitarian crisis taken on by many of the biggest names in music. The song and album sold millions and brought in millions. What is the story behind it?

From 20 minutes in the future came an 80s icon that was also head-scratchingly odd. Max Headroom was a fictional character, company spokesman, and a symbol of the future. Glitchy, pitch-changing, and downright weird at times, you'll get the full story behind the character.

Kids of the 1970s did you have any posters of these people on your walls? The new Top 5 looks at the biggest sports stars of the 70s. Who were the names that dominated the headlines?

There is a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule looking back at the first modern shopping mall.