When I was a boy, we either played Army or cowboys. Both involved guns. In our imaginary Army battles, we found long sticks to serve as makeshift carbines. When we played cowboys, there was only one choice of firearms. A set of Roy Rogers six-shooters in a leather holster with holes for the bullets. And it was always Roy Rogers and never Gene Autry because, after all, Roy Rogers was King of the … [Read more...]

There was a time when America’s young people took advantage of a thing called Spring Break and headed, en masse, to Florida, namely Ft. Lauderdale. The movie and song, Where the Boys Are, captured that experience. As a sophomore at the University of North Carolina, I also headed to Florida on spring break, but not to Ft. Lauderdale. Rather, my roommate, Bob Payet, and I headed for Indian Lake … [Read more...]

  I recently read that with inflation rising like a hot air balloon, many young families are being squeezed tremendously in buying diapers. I did a little research, and a throw-away diaper today costs about 50 cents each – give or take. Babies go through lots of diapers, maybe 8 or 10 a day. That’s $5 a day or $150 a month. Twins would set you back $300 a month. Wow! Boomers, however, … [Read more...]

“Bark, bark, bark!” “What’s wrong girl? Is Gramps in trouble?” “Bark, bark, bark, bark!” “Show me where he is, girl, and hurry!” For non-Boomers, that was a typical Sunday night television conversation between a young man named Jeff and Lassie, a collie with the uncanny ability to communicate to human friends about any problems on the farm. Or the young man may have been Timmy, who assumed … [Read more...]

  It was the Dodgers vs the Yankees in Beckley, WV in the summer of 1954. Freddie Arnold was the 11-year-old manager, star pitcher and slugger for the Yankees, I was 10 and filled the same roles for my version of the Dodgers. A game was underway in the vacant lot beside Freddie’s house. He had Warren Furrow, a promising 9-year-old at short stop and Judy Meadows in rightfield, picking dandelion … [Read more...]

He was my close friend, but I never met him in person. He was Sherman Shifflett and he passed away unexpectedly this week. He had a had a run-in with prostate cancer, but nothing life threatening. He just went peacefully in the night. I first got to know Sherman soon after I started posting CvilleBuzz. He responded to one of my articles, we hit it off and I can’t tell you how many times we have … [Read more...]

  The lives of Boomers can be defined by chapters of music. In the first chapter, just after the war, America wasn’t sure in which direction music should proceed. There were crooners like Sinatra and Bennett as well the remnants of the Big Band Era. Country stars like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Teresa Brewer had frequent hit songs as chart toppers, so it was a mixed bag of musical … [Read more...]

  In 1956, a fellow named Elvis Presley released his version of Blue Suede Shoes, originally recorded by Carl Perkins. Soon after, Pat Boone, a handsome young crooner began wearing white buck shoes on stage and screen and every young man wanted a pair. In 1957, I begged for and got a pair of spiffy white buck shoes, despite the warning from my parents that they would be difficult to … [Read more...]

For most of my life, fly fishing has been my passion. From the time I tied my first dry fly and delivered it to small brook trout on Swift Run, I have been hooked. I have spent countless hours pulling fly line through the air with a long leader and a small fly tagging along for the ride. I have caught trout, bass, panfish, stripers, bluefish, amberjack, speckled trout, and many other species. … [Read more...]

  There may be “No crying in baseball”, but I am crying for baseball. I’m ready for the season to start. Let’s play ball! As a lifelong sports fan, I am finding fewer and fewer sports teams and heroes to follow. The NFL turned me completely off when they seemingly condoned kneeling during the National Anthem but wouldn’t let a player kneel and pray after a touchdown – so they’re out. … [Read more...]