Christopher Setterlund, In My Footsteps

Saturday, August 29, 2026

Goodbye Dolly

Live your life in a way that, when you pass, hundreds of millions of people feel like they have lost a loved one. That is the sentiment I felt while scrolling social media after the death of music icon and humanitarian icon Dolly Parton at age 80 this week.

Her music touched generations, but her contributions to society touched so many more. She made life better for countless people whom she never met. I have been reading dozens of stories from celebrities and ordinary people about their interactions and connections to Dolly.

Anything I could write about her life and career could easily be found by doing a quick Google search. I won’t waste time telling you things you could easily find yourselves. I never met her. I don’t have any stories of interacting with her. However, one thing I can do is explain why she had meaning to me in my life.

At the root, it’s actually quite simple. Dolly Parton reminded me of my Nina, and vice versa. They both were tiny, smart, beautiful, full of fire, and owners of a lot of blonde hair that may or may not have been theirs.

When I was a kid in the 1980s, my Nina felt to me like she was a mix of a whole lot of Dolly and a large dash of Tina Turner. No, she wasn’t a celebrity. She did run the first all-women’s fitness center on Cape Cod, and she was a great jazz singer, along with my Grampa, but not famous. Above all else, she was a genuinely loving and caring person who made you feel like you mattered when you were around her. That, I believe, is how Dolly made people feel.

There were times throughout my life when I felt like in some alternate timeline Dolly Parton was my Nina and my Nina was a world-famous entertainer. My Nina definitely could command a room, and Dolly had said that because she couldn't have children, she was 'everybody's mother.' So maybe I wasn't too far off.

It’s interesting. I have never shared that story or those thoughts ever. I’m not sure why. Maybe it sounded weird to compare my grandmother, who I knew, to celebrities I likely would never meet. Maybe I was afraid of being mocked or ridiculed. Not by my family, mind you; I am sure my Nina would have found it flattering. I mean, after all, I was comparing her to two titans of the entertainment world. Still, I kept that little anecdote locked away until now.

To sum it up, in a small way, losing Dolly Parton felt like losing my Nina again.

My Nina and Dolly Parton at roughly the same age, around 40.

My introduction to Dolly was through her seminal film 9 to 5. It was released in 1980, when I was three years old. I didn’t see it then, but it was on rotation on cable during the mid 1980s. Having a young mother and three sisters meant that I was dealt a heavy dose of female-led movies. 9 to 5 was one among many, including Dirty Dancing and Mannequin.

I can remember seeing Dolly in 9 to 5 and being amazed at how much she reminded me of my Nina. Granted, I was probably seven or eight, but that young perception became reality.

As I grew up, I learned of how important and accomplished she was almost by accident. When I heard Whitney Houston sing ‘I Will Always Love You,’ I learned that Dolly Parton wrote it. When I heard this really great Hawaiian jam called ‘Islands In the Stream’ by a group called Ten Feet, I learned that Dolly Parton sang the original with Kenny Rogers.

Later on in adulthood, I learned of her enormous impact outside of music. I was battling depression and questions of self-esteem and self-worth throughout my twenties. This is where I began to seek out inspirational quotes and just general quotes about life and healing.

When you feel lost, confused, maybe a bit worthless, you look for something, anything, to provide a little clarity. I didn’t look to just anybody. I looked for words of wisdom from people who not only succeeded, but did it as genuinely good people.

This is where Dolly Parton played her second important role in my life. She provided comfort and familiarity since I saw her in some ways as a stand-in for my Nina as a child. Then, as an adult, her words provided light in dark times.

Sure, there were other people whose quotes helped to part the dark clouds around my mind, but Dolly was as important as any of them. I am certain that there are so many others like me who were shown care without her even realizing it.

Dolly left such a wide range of gifts to the world that I think it would be hard not to be moved or inspired by something she did. Her skill as a musician, a lyricist, a singer, and an overall presence likely was enough. Her philanthropy, at the very least, equaled her musical prowess.

For me, there are a few of Dolly’s quotes that remain important in my life. I mentioned earlier battling depression off and on throughout my adulthood. I also have been on a creative journey for decades.

I wanted to be a writer from the time I was eight. I wanted to be a filmmaker starting in high school, even purchasing a big, bulky Sears camcorder in 1994. I always felt my path didn’t involve a (no pun intended) nine-to-five job. I always wanted, no needed, to be something more than that.

Maybe that goes back to the self-worth and confidence issues stemming from childhood. Maybe I felt that if I wasn’t greater than expected, I would be seen as far less than. But how do you chase your dreams and still stay true to who you are inside? Ask Dolly Parton.

The quotes that feed my soul have to do with each of those things I mentioned.

Those both speak to me. One, in terms of dealing with the hard times, for me, the bouts of depression and self-doubt. Secondly, the feeling that walking the same path as most others just didn’t fit who I wanted to be.

Many of you reading this likely have other Dolly quotes that speak to you. That’s the idea. We might all enter this orbit of grief and admiration from different roads, but they all end up connecting in the end.

That might be Dolly’s greatest gift. She unified so many people. Her death felt like losing a loved one to likely hundreds of millions of people. There are very few celebrities who are as universally loved and admired as Dolly Parton.

I have seen many people I admired in the entertainment industry pass away; very few have I felt the urge to write my own thoughts about. Even as I write this, I periodically stop and scroll social media to read stories of Dolly from fans and other celebrities.

She might have left this world, but there are still gifts from her to come in the years ahead. I have read things about a musical of her life, dolls, dog treats, coffee, and best of all, an unreleased song. That last one we have to wait until her 100th birthday in 2046, though.

Dolly Parton might be gone, but the stories told of her will keep her alive. Just as my Nina might be gone, but I do my best to keep her memory alive. This includes sharing a very private, if not a little embarrassing, story of how she reminded me of Dolly and vice versa.

Goodbye Dolly. You left an impact on this world far greater than most people could ever dream. Thank you for reminding me of my Nina. Thank you for your words to remind me that “if you tell yourself enough nice things, eventually, you’ll believe them too.”

If you happen to bump into my Nina, maybe you could sing a duet, lead a fitness class, or exchange hair tips? We will always love you, Dolly. And I will always love you, Nina.

Thursday, August 27, 2026

1996 Changed Everything: Pt. 5 - We'll Meet Again Old Friend

This is part of a series of articles about 1996, as it holds significance for me since it was the year I graduated high school. This fifth article is all about the friends we make, the friends we lose, and the friends we keep.

Thirty years ago I walked across a stage, strutting like pro wrestling icon Ric Flair, grabbed my diploma, and began the slow walk from childhood to manhood. My sister Kate recorded much of that graduation ceremony on my old Sears camcorder. I cherish every second of it.

Even today, as the young faces pass by the camera on that tape, I remember so many of them like they are frozen in time. I feel as though those people who held the greatest importance in my life back then still do today.

The classic 1986 film Stand By Me has an iconic quote at the end that sticks with me to this day. Richard Dreyfuss as Gordie types: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?"

I wasn’t twelve when I graduated high school, but that line perfectly encapsulates how I feel about the friends I had back then. I’ve never had any like them since.

We were all learning and experiencing life for the first time together. We were succeeding, failing, laughing, loving, achieving, hurting, rebelling, being overwhelmed, and clinging on to each other as we rose and fell with the waves of teenage life. Those friends I made were not just friends; they were lifelong brothers and sisters.

When looking back at the people I called my friends as I graduated high school, I don’t look at a strict timeline. Many of those I’d have taken a bullet for I had already known for years by the time of caps and gowns. It was as if I already knew I’d found my tribe.

Doing some work in photography class.

Making friends is hard at any point in life. As an adult, it can feel like you’re applying for a job. As a kid, you’re putting yourself out there hoping that a stranger finds you worth getting to know better.

Being as shy and introverted as I was during my childhood, it’s a wonder I made any friends at all. Without luck, I’d have had to wait for a kickball to roll my way and use that as the opening to befriend whoever retrieved it.

My two oldest friends, Barry and Matt, came into my life through luck. Matt grew up across the street from me, and Barry happened to live a few doors down from my aunt. I’d go and visit her and invariably end up with Barry. I met both of them around the age of seven. Barry ended up being one of the most important and influential people in my life.

It’s interesting, as I sit here mining for memories going back 40 years, how I can’t remember those first meetings with people who went on to become chosen family. Oh sure, I can give you the Cliff’s Notes version of when someone crossed paths with me. I can share some early memories. However, the first meeting is a blur in virtually all of these cases. I guess you don’t realize that someone has become an integral part of your life until a certain amount of time has passed.

Hasan lived a few streets over from me. I know we bumped into each other during the summer before 6th grade. We built a bond like steel. He came from the city to Cape Cod and taught me about late 80’s/early 90s Hip-Hop. We played basketball. Rarely was it one-on-one because he’d crush me every time. So we’d do these two-against-zero games against opponents we called the ‘invisible ghosts.’

Tim lived further away, but our origin story is similar, revolving around a shared love of basketball. I remember sleepovers at his house often being punctuated by freshly made donuts the next morning by his parents. It was the Jerky Boys, walks through the woods to get to a nearby strip mall, and countless hours of me trying to figure out how to defend his patented ‘Fishy Swim’ fallaway jumper.

John I had seen around in middle school, but only when we sat next to each other in Freshman English did we connect. It was our just slightly wacky sense of humor that made us friends. I wish I still had my English notebook where we’d one-up each other with foolish lines and drawings, rarely paying attention to what the teacher said. To be honest, I would have had an easier time hearing an ant speak than that teacher, though.

Rob, much like Matt, happened to live close by. Our families were heavily intertwined, but it was only when I entered high school and bought a camcorder that we truly connected. He and I were the typical feral Gen Xers. Out all day on our bikes, going places we’d probably have needed permission to go, junk food, caffeine, crazy ideas, and laughs that brought tears.

Liam was another stroke of luck. We happened to work at the same job at the same time. Standing side by side with him, preparing food while music blasted loudly off the walls, ended up becoming some of my fondest memories of high school. Some funny lines we said back then we still bring up to this day.

There was a massive influx of new friends when I got to high school. My high school saw two neighboring towns’ middle schools combine into one blended family. It was an interesting transition. I played for the basketball team in middle school. A few of the new faces in the halls of the high school were once rivals on the other middle school team. It took a minute to realize we were all on the same team now.

New faces like Steve, Greg, Mike, Kevin, Pete, and others quickly went from strangers to major parts of my crew. Our interactions varied depending on the person. Greg, Mike, and Kevin became frequent subjects of photos during senior year.

An attempt at an artsy photo of those three.

I was taking a photography class and had to practice using a film camera. Those three would pose, or something like that, in the middle of classes. It was my job to hit up the darkroom and develop the foolishness that we created. To this day, Mike insists he wasn’t in any of those photos. The joke is on him, though. He has aged very well, so he looks almost the same today.

During high school, I was at the mercy of my bike, walking, or occasional rides to hang out with friends. I didn’t get my driver’s license until senior year, and even then I had infrequent access to a vehicle, what with me being one of five kids and having a mother working full-time and going to nursing school full-time.

It was a different era in the 1990s. You didn’t sit inside on a phone, playing video games, or watching television. Well, sure, we did all of those things to a degree, but for the most part life consisted of calling friends, quickly getting off the phone, and getting out of the house to have some sort of an adventure.

You quickly learn who your ‘ride or die’ friends are based on the level of stupidity they were willing to join you on. Wandering through the woods? Sneaking into a construction site to explore half-built houses? Hanging out of the back of a station wagon riding a skateboard? Drinking Jolt and creating caffeine-soaked skits with a bulky camcorder? These were only a few examples of what I’m talking about.

Yes, we drove something like this while someone rode a skateboard out of the back.

A classic ride-or-die story happened freshman year. Hasan and I went to a party at another friend’s house. It was in the next town over; we must have been dropped off there. It was populated by probably 8-10 more kids, but it was over thirty years ago, so my memory is hazy. What’s not hazy is how the party ended.

I am sure we were loud. I think there was at least some alcohol there, but I don’t think Hasan and I had more than a few sips at most. It was when the red and blue lights started flashing that we knew the jig was up. The police were there.

All of us 15/16 year old kids scattered. People were going in all different directions. Hasan and I though stuck together. One wouldn’t leave the other. We ran through yards, behind houses, tearing through trees and bushes until we were safely behind a nearby strip mall. It was part terrifying and part exhilarating.

At the strip mall, I called my mother to come and pick us up. We stood in front of a darkened store and waited, letting our heart rates come down. The fact that we hadn’t drunk worked in our favor. When my mother showed up, we didn’t reek of alcohol, so when we told her the story of what had happened, it was believable.

I feel like growing up in the 90s, I had a lot of near misses when it came to danger. I don’t think I’d have gotten in much trouble if the police had snagged me, but who knows? Being a minor, I knew I could do nearly anything I wanted with little repercussions.

That doesn’t mean that I went out defacing people’s property, or starting fights, or stealing. It just meant that the voice in my head telling me something was dangerous kept quiet a lot of the time. Maybe it wanted to see how I’d react to adversity?

I find it interesting that I didn’t go out drinking, or smoking, or partying until all hours of the night, and yet I feel my high school years were filled with adventure. That comes down to who my friend group was.

What the ‘cool kids’ would have thought of as adventures I saw as dangers not worth the time or risk. Now I can’t say for sure that if I was asked to go out drinking and partying and randomly hooking up that I would have said no. I can say that, looking back at the classmates who got DUI’s before they were of legal age and those who held their own children before holding a diploma, I am happy with my choices in friends and adventures.

I chose wisely when it came to friends. I also didn’t restrict myself to any certain subset of people. Only in the last few years have I noticed just how all-encompassing my friend groups were. Yes, I said ‘groups.’

I can rattle off a handful of different groups of friends. These had very little, if any, cross-pollination with other groups. I tried to be friends with anybody who wanted to be friends. It’s the way I was raised by my mother. I tried to fit in with anyone while also staying true to who I was.

Being seen as a poser is a kiss of death in any generation. If you lose your authenticity, you lose credibility. At least that’s how it was in high school. The way I navigated those waters was by amplifying traits around certain groups. I never hid who I fully was; I just shined a brighter light on the things I had in common with the people I was with at the time. Does that make sense?

I must have done a good job in my choices of friends because, as I said earlier, I still consider many of those same people my friends to this day. There are also no friends, not acquaintances but friends, that I regret knowing or having in my life. I think it’s rare to look at your friend group and not find someone who turned out to be a bad apple. I mean, unless we all were bad apples and none of us noticed the difference?

Friendships in high school changed and evolved along with all of us. You start with needing rides to someone's house to using your bike or your own car. Adventures go from walking to the corner store on a summer afternoon to driving to Boston for a killer, loud, AC/DC concert. Relationships could come and go, but friendships tended to stay.

A replica of my concert T since I have no clue where it is.

In my life today, I have more than a handful of friends of over thirty years. Now we don’t get to see each other all of the time due to work, family commitments, and location. That being said, if a friend reaches out to get together, I try my best to move whatever I need to see them.

I still remember inside jokes. I still remember certain foods certain friends liked. I still remember who was in what class. Mainly, I still remember how these people made me feel and why they became my friends in the first place. I think that is the most important thing.

Over time, specific memories might fade. That’s just the price of doing business in life. Feelings remain, though. If I hear any of a few dozen names from high school, whether they are still fixtures in my life or not, I get a smile and a blast of warm positive feelings.

We were all teenagers. We all went through the experience of finding ourselves in the world. If we are lucky, we have a solid crew of friends to navigate the choppy waters with. Very few grow up on one straight, clear path. It’s typically filled with twists, turns, dead ends, heartbreak, confusion, anger, and possibly, if a Gen Xer, indifference.

To wrap things up, I found one song that stuck out to me as far as my high school friendships went. Not surprisingly, it is a Red Hot Chili Peppers song. They were a band that made you cool if you listened to them, along with the Beastie Boys. At least it was in my circles.

The song is My Friends off of their less-than-stellar One Hot Minute album from 1995. The entire song weighs heavily on my memories of high school. The hook, I guess, is the lyrics I gravitated toward.

I love all of you
Hurt by the cold
So hard and lonely, too
When you don't know yourself

It’s a perfectly fitting sentiment. We were growing up, trying to find ourselves, but also knew that even as alone as you might have felt at times, if you were lucky, you had some friends to stand by you through those formative years.

In my next post, I will take a look at my family dynamic during senior year and a look at the role of family in the life of any high schooler. All families are created differently, as was mine.

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 258: Stand By Me Turns 40, Metroid For the NES, Classes No Longer Taught In School, River Phoenix(8-26-2026)

The 40th anniversary of Stand By Me. Also, the 40th anniversary of Nintendo's Metroid. Some classes that are no longer taught in school.

Episode 258 brings the Gen-X nostalgia in time for going back to school.

40 years ago this week, one of the seminal movies of 1980s kids' lives was released. Stand By Me was based on a Stephen King story and gave many kids of the time the desire to go hike the railroad tracks. We do a deep dive into the film, its importance, and the impact it had on kids at the time, like me.

Also 40 years ago this week, one of the most popular and influential games for the original Nintendo was released. Metroid was heavily influenced by the film Alien but in turn also blazed a trail for future games. Perhaps the perfect game for Gen-X, it taught you to go explore and find your own way. Were you able to defeat Mother Brain? Did you know the main character was female?

It's back to school time. This week's Top 5 ties in perfectly as we look at some classes that are no longer taught in school. Whether totally obsolete or extremely scaled back, these are classes that used to be part of the curriculum but have since faded away.

As always, there is a brand-new This Week in History and Time Capsule, looking back at the life and career of actor River Phoenix.

To support me and the show, become a member on Patreon.

Or you can support my work and Buy Me A Coffee!

Helpful Links from this Episode

Listen to Episode 257 here

Monday, August 24, 2026

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #135: A Big Success, Glitter Face, Pack An Extra Chin, etc.

1. I was so grateful and a bit overwhelmed to see the budget goals for my feature film debut, The Cabin, get met through GoFundMe. I wanted to say ‘we’ did it, but in all honesty it was my family, friends, and total strangers that came through. In the end, I kicked in a little to get us over the hump, but the vast majority was from others. In a fun twist, one of the locations we’re going to shoot at is now going to be ours free of charge. Yes, that means our budget has dropped, which is a good problem. I said if, after everything, there is a little money left, I will just absorb it back into my bank account. However, with the budget set comes the actual action. I am thankful but also feel a bit of good pressure to help to make a film worthy of all of those who have shown their support. In the back of my mind, I had a fear that the fundraiser would be a bust and I’d have to cough up thousands of dollars to make my dream come true. I would have done it, but I am so much happier that I don’t. There will be so much more to come in terms of updates about The Cabin. For now, all I can say is thank you to those who donated to the fundraiser. Your support means the world to me.

2. In life, you need to try to learn to not get too high on good days and not too low on bad ones. I say that because after a string of amazing days, capped off by reaching the budget goal on The Cabin, I had a cold slap of reality in the face. Nothing will dull your good vibes quicker than a text from your bank saying there was an attempted fraudulent purchase on your debit card. I went from a peaceful, easy feeling to sitting in the sad cafe, sorry that was a couple of Eagles puns. Luckily, I am so regimented and boring with what I spend money on that my bank instantly caught it. Some ass hat tried to charge $350 for some crap but got foiled. So I didn’t lose any money but had to immediately cancel my debit card. Next is the process of getting a new one sent, which could take until the middle of next week. I am working on getting a digital card and finally starting to use Apple Pay through my phone. The only issue with that is that I am forced to have a passcode on my phone to protect that debit card. That’s right, I have had my phone without a passcode for years. It is never far from me, so I never felt the need. On one hand, I am so pissed that some scumbag tried to get my money. Get a job, you waste of human life. On the other hand, I am so grateful that my bank foiled this attempt. In some ways, and this might be the middle-aged man talking, but I miss the days of everything being cash and digital banking not being everywhere.

3. One interesting scenario when it comes to the filming of The Cabin has to do with actually getting there. Do I drive my car, or do I rent one? On one hand, driving my own car saves hundreds of dollars over renting one. On the other hand, I just had some exhaust work done on my car, and although I trust driving it locally, and probably up to an hour from home, I don’t know if I trust driving it eight hours each way. I know my car needs some more work done on it to get it to closer to 100%, or at least as close as a car nearing 170K miles can get. I don’t want to have that work done until the new year, so it does make sense to spend the money to drive 1,000+ miles in total over the course of a week. I was hopeful that my AAA membership would give me some great discounts on renting a car. Nope. I guess I thought renting cars was cheaper than it is. Renting a vehicle for what would be six days costs the same as the hotel room I’ll be getting out there. That includes whatever discounts AAA would give me, which isn’t much. The funny part is that of all of the vehicles I’ve been looking at to rent, the cheapest are SUVs. It’s funny because, thanks to gas prices being as high as they have been in years, any savings I’d get on renting an SUV would immediately go out the window when I had to pay close to $5 a gallon for gas on a vehicle that gets half as many miles per gallon as my car. Update: Yes, I ended up renting a car.

4. So I had to cancel my debit card and ask for a new one to be sent to me. Fine. Not much I can do but wait, right? Wrong. An interesting little side quest in this latest fraud saga was learning about digital debit cards and also learning how to use Apple Pay. The debit card took seconds to get, so that was good. Next was setting up Apple Pay to include that card. I have had iPhones since 2011 and have never used the Wallet app for digital payments or storing cards, passports, etc. I figured approaching fifty was the right time to learn. It turns out it is way easier than I could have imagined. The literal next day after canceling my old debit card, I was able to use the new card to get gas via Apple Pay. Sure, swiping my card or using the chip reader didn’t take long, but Apple Pay cuts that time down even more. In less time than it takes to sneeze, I had my card accepted and was pumping the very overpriced but very needed gas into my car. One funny little twist to the Apple Pay story is that it has forced me to start using a passcode to open my phone. What’s that? You can’t believe I never used a passcode? My phone in the past 15 years has rarely been out of my sight, so it never seemed necessary. I grew up in a time when the majority of people still left their doors unlocked, so I guess I’m old-fashioned. Anyway, in order to have Apple Pay working, you have no choice but to use a passcode to protect your money, which makes total sense. I’m just getting used to the major inconvenience of typing six numbers in two seconds to open my phone. In the end, though, if it keeps my money safe, I can deal with it.

5. I think I have earned my reputation as the ‘fun uncle’ in my 27 years of being one. I tend to let my nieces and nephews do whatever they feel like, unless it’s super dangerous. Five of my six nieces and nephews are grown up to a point where they have their own friends and lives, and my time has been reduced a lot. It’s just what happens in life. So when I get the chance to spend some time with my youngest niece, Sylvie, you can bet I am taking advantage of the chance to be fun and foolish. The latest such chance was this week. My mom had gotten Sylvie some glitter makeup, and once she saw what it looked like, I knew it was only a matter of time until I was wearing it. Sure enough, she laughed while coating my face in glitter. This was accompanied by a 2nd place medal she had won at summer camp. Not wanting her to feel bad, I kept the medal and the glitter on even after she left. I went to the store after I left my mom’s, and even though I took the medal off, I did go inside complete with a glitter face. Seeing how much my face shined at my mom’s, I can only imagine what people thought seeing me in the store. Oh well, the price you pay for being the fun uncle is walking into public places with glittery makeup on your face. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

No, I wasn't this glittery, but there is always next time.

6. Sadly, I am now at the age where I can end up with some sort of pain or injury and have no memory of what caused it. This week it is my right shoulder. It has been painful to fully extend overhead. Tracing steps backward, I threw a pair of 10# slam balls with a client at work one day this week, but that wasn’t the cause. I also demonstrated a kettlebell windmill exercise with another client (this involves keeping your arm fully extended overhead while simultaneously hinging your body sideways away from that arm). That also wasn’t the cause. All I can think of is that I slept on that shoulder awkwardly, woke up with some pain, but didn’t pay attention and kept going about my day. I wish I had a better injury story. I wish I had tackled some guy that stole a woman’s purse, or hurt it dragging a stranded dolphin back into the ocean. Nope. I slept wrong. Yay, soon it will be that I threw out my back coughing or something dumb like that. Oh wait, it was only a few years ago that I threw my back out leaning forward to look at sliced meats in a deli, so yeah, we’re already there.

7. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: If you can’t figure out how to use self-checkout at the supermarket, go to a register with an actual person. This ends up being an older person most of the time. Lo and behold, it was again this week. A guy who had to be in his mid-70s had invariably messed up scanning his items at self-checkout. The store seemed to be short-staffed, so as the light was blinking, there wasn’t anyone immediately coming over to help. Then it happened at the next register, which was shockingly being operated by another old person. Rather than walking over to the service desk, which was about ten steps away, or, I don’t know, being patient for a few moments, these old bags started waving their arms like they were signaling a passing plane while stuck on a deserted island. God forbid an old person show sympathy for the short-staffed store. After a few seconds of waving like idiots, the old man started whistling like he was calling his dog at the park. Seriously, it was incredibly annoying and embarrassing. I was scanning my items with no issue since I had a good grasp on technology. All the while, this pair of old bags were doing a talent show routine. I wanted to tell them they should go to a regular register, but I’m sure they’d have just blamed the machine instead of their own incompetence. After an employee came over and sorted things out, one of the old people immediately caused the register to go off again. Naturally, they blamed the machine. I’d say they should do home delivery, but they’d probably give the wrong address and never get their stuff.

8. Three weeks ago I first shot a video of the current demolition of the Bass River Bridge on Cape Cod. They are slowly removing the westbound lane. That lane will be totally rebuilt wider. Once finished, work will begin on the eastbound lane. All the while, the bridge will still be in operation, which feels a bit shaky. I have heard the bridge is safe to stay in use even while being torn down. As of this week, half of the side barriers of the westbound lane have been removed. I stopped at the neighboring river park during a run so I could get some video of it. Since it’s still the heat of summer, the traffic gets pretty crazy on the bridge. I was able to run across the bridge faster than most vehicles could cross. I am not sure how long it will take to finish removing the barriers, but I am curious as to what the next step in the demolition process will be. The bridge functions fine without the barriers. However, once they start removing the pavement, then what? Regardless of the progress, it appears as though it will be about five years until the entirely new Bass River Bridge opens. Here is a video I shot this week so you can see how far they’ve gotten.

9. Filming unofficially began for The Cabin this week. I recorded three audio-only scenes with my buddy Steve, who plays the main character’s best friend. The setup was simple. Steve sat in front of the microphone with a soundproof box around it. It’s the same setup I use for my podcast. I was in charge of recording on my laptop and read the other lines in each scene. The awkward part came when intentionally placing spaces in between dialogue. After each character spoke, we would pause for a second or two. The reason for this is so that in post-production it will be easier for the editor to remove my voice and put in the actual actor playing the main character. It ended up being a pretty easy read-through and took maybe a half-hour total. I will be interested in hearing the finished product, as I was tempted to edit Steve’s dialogue to make it sound like he was on a phone. I’ll leave that stuff to whoever the editor will be. There are still two scenes to film before going off on location. Both of those are on video. I will end up standing behind the camera to run lines and also just rein in my excitement over this dream project starting to take shape.

10. Naturally, as I draw closer to heading out to Pennsylvania for The Cabin and get my hotel reservation set, I begin scoping out the area to see what there is to do and see. Now, with the town being small, there aren’t tons of attractions, but there are tons of places to eat. I am staying in one town, and we will be doing a lot of shooting in the next town over. There are lots of great-looking restaurants there as well. It’s a strange combination, as I technically am going on vacation, but in reality will be working more hours than I do in a typical work week on Cape Cod. I won’t have loads of time to explore, so I am guessing most of the adventures I have away from the movie shoot will consist of eating. I have already resigned myself to the fact that I will be in need of a serious cleanse upon my return. I mean, there is a Chinese food buffet a five-minute walk from my hotel, so why fight it? My hope is that the 12+ hour shooting days will help me keep burning calories, but I’m not getting my hopes up. The main souvenir I bring back from the filming may be an extra chin.

Me when I get home from the movie shoot

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 257: Super Nintendo's Debut, Legacy of the Original Woodstock, 1990s Celebrity Crushes(8-19-2026)

The original music festival. The follow-up to the king of video game consoles. Some favorite 1990s celebrity crushes.

Episode 257 has a batch of Gen-X nostalgia, hot and fresh out of the oven like Poppin' Fresh dough.

It starts with a look back at the original, and many say, greatest, music festival. Woodstock occurred this week in history in 1969 and changed not only music but the culture of a generation. However, it ended up being a success pulled from the jaws of failure. A larger-than-expected crowd, food shortages, bad weather, and more could have sunk the event before it happened. Instead, it helped make it one of the most important events in music history.

Now you're playing with power...super power. How do you follow up the most successful video game console ever made? If you are Nintendo, you take your time. 35 years ago this week, the 16-bit Super Nintendo made its debut in America. Sega Genesis had a two-year head start, so how would the SNES fare? Far better than they could have imagined.

How many of these celebrities adorned the walls of your bedroom? This week's Top 5 is all about the biggest 1990s celebrity crushes. Male, female, actors, musicians, it's all covered here.

Of course, there is a brand-new This Week in History and Time Capsule, featuring the ultimate bad-luck story of a person being struck by two consecutive foul balls at a baseball game.