Saturday evening, I went with a friend from high school to see Mrs. Doubtfire at the Palace Theatre. We made a whole night out of it. First, we had dinner at one of my favorites...Antonio's in Parma. Then it was on to the theatre. A little slow going through some lake effect snow and REALLY cold wind...but we made it without turning into popsicles!

Then the show. WOW! If you are as big of a fan of the movie as I am, I wasn't sure what to expect. Things have been updated, obviously the movie isn't a musical, and some characters are a little different. I will say though, they have done an excellent job! It is just as hilarious as the movie (and serious too when needed). The musical numbers that have been written were very well done and are great!

If you have time in this next week, check it out! It's their final week in town at Playhouse Square.

If you're just jumping on, this is the first month of my new year long series, The 50 Most Important Country Songs 1980-Today.   All songs on this list had to have been released since 1980, about the time I joined the format on the radio. This is month one, and I featured 5 songs.  These post here on Tuesdays.   Let's get you caught up!

#50 - Don't Rock The Jukebox - Alan Jackson

#49 - Tim McGraw - Taylor Swift

#48 - Stay - Sugarland

#47 - Should Have Been A Cowboy - Toby Keith

#46 - Country Must Be Country Wide - Brantley Gilbert

You get the "drive at 5" from National Design Mart each weekday at 5 for your ride home... 

And this week:  Your chance to win Billy Currington with Kip Moore and Larry Fleet 'Beat The Box-Office Tickets' on Saturday, May 11 at Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre!  They are on sale Friday, January 26th 10 a.m.

And I polish off the "drive at 5" with all the Country News You Can Use in Ben's Trends...

Remember every final weekday of the month... You have a chance to go Floor-To-Ceiling for a $250 National Design Mart Certificate if you can get the exact price of a NDM Product.  This month your chance to win Floor-To-Ceiling will be January 31st in the 5 o'clock hour!!!  

Thank you for letting us keep you company on the ride home with Your Country 94.9 WQMX!!!

Saturday was a good day for soup! I had a good amount of leftover roast beef and after we made open faced roast beef sandwiches, we still had enough leftover for another meal. So what to make? Soup of course! And it was nice because I used what we already had on hand so there was no waste and no trip to the store!

 

 

 

 

 

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As we watch the NFL Conference Championship games today, we'll be eating good food be comfy inside.  The NFL is good for a day like that, when the weathers lousy and there's nothing else to watch with games at 3 and 630 today.  I know it's hard to wait till 3 to watch a game when regular season games start at 1.  I'm like you, I'd like to see the 1 and 4 o'clock games today, but we won't for one reason only.  The NFL doesn't care what you want.

As much as we watch, it's hard at times to patronize a company that cares so little about us.  Heck they seem to not even care about their own.  They don't care that their constant meddling with dumb rule changes, ridiculous officiating, unending replays and other nonsense have infuriated many fans.  They are the kings of TV and as long as that's true, they'll continue to behave this way.  The NFL is no longer a sport, it's a TV show.  Over the decades it has morphed into entertainment from sport.  Very clean fields of play, much of it inside, no mud, all very tidy.

Each year the most watched TV events or shows are NFL games, some with very high numbers.  The NFL has an advantage over other sports in the fact there is little else on TV to watch during these months, days and times.  They totally own a day of the week and have a large presence on Mondays and Thursdays.  And in years ahead, with college football starting to implode, some Saturday nights may be in play. 

When weather services strongly advised them to move the Chiefs-Dolphins game to a 1PM start to avoid a -7 degree kickoff temperature at 8pm for the physical safety of fans and players, they said no.  They have part time refs officiating the biggest league on earth who continue to butcher games and outcomes with actual lack of rules knowledge, taking no accountability.  When the refs decisions clearly cost the Saints a Superbowl appearance a few years ago, it was no big deal. 

And what is exactly a "catch" anymore?  Every week it seems there is a new "catch" that's not a catch by not "finishing the play."  We didn't have this problem for 100 years, now we do.  And does anyone know what pass interference is anymore?  And can we stop with these pathetic ex-refs on TV defending these officials?  They seldom disagree and NEVER call them out and say BAD CALL!   Oh, the actual refs are doing this as a well paid hobby. Want to be the next John Madden type?  Be the one who will call them out with real passion during broadcasts. 

When games start at 820 PM ending at midnight eastern time, they don't care.  They also basically got rid of the games most exciting play, the kickoff return.  So we'll never have a Josh Cribbs situation again with special teams players getting paid very well.  This de-emphasizes special teams players as they now just run down the field, keeping salaries down, and making lower end roster players very expendable.  There's a safety element that's true too, but they figured out a way to make that advantageous for themselves.

Football on TV has basically always been free, that too could eventually change.  We have forgotten ESPN is pay and many games have moved there and to their own NFL Network.  Prime and Peacock are paid streaming and they are in the game now.  I have thought for years that the NFL will eventually be a pay thing for everyone and that's not good for anyone - except the owners.  Oh, they don't care that you're unhappy about Prime, and Peacock and other streamers that may want to get in.  There's just too much money. 

Hey I love watching football too, it's sad they won't make these things right when all they have is money and time.  Just remember if your team is "performing" today or not -  it's not sports anymore.

It's pure entertainment. And we watch and love it.

Riding powersports on the ice is a surreal experience. It's just you, your machine, and a massive slippery flatland from shore to shore. Even when the ice is collectively deemed safe to be on, it truly never is. The conditions are frigid and that's only amplified when you're zipping along going forty plus in the open air. On top of that, there's the risk of collisions and wrecks, such as someone catching a bad angle and rolling their three-wheeler or maybe two side-by-sides smacking into each other. Then, add in the horrifying possibility of breaking through and falling into the water, and the average person would have to wonder why we do it at all. Personally, I just love it.

In regard to the possibility of breaking through the ice, I happen to know too well about that danger. Yes, I fell in. No, it was not this year. 

It was January of 2021, and I was impatient and dumb. My friend and I made the terrible decision to take my go kart on the ice, and that led to us swimming to save our lives. 

I had just been out in a cove prior to this occurrence, and that's where we began. I previously drilled some holes, walked it all out, and had a circumference within which I felt confident. After some solo laps on the Joe Kart, I asked my buddy if he'd like to get behind the wheel and tow me as I rode on a toy snowboard we had. Doing that was an absolute blast for a few minutes... until we ventured out towards the body of the lake and began to hear the cracking!

The sound of that ice breaking is forever burned into my memory. It could tell we were doomed and attempted to signal to the driver that we needed to turn back, but it was too late. As suddenly as it happened, I still felt like I experienced it all in slow motion. As I recall, the Joe Kart broke through ahead of me and I basically slid into the hole. I don't remember exactly how I got out of the water and onto the ice, but my friend and I were lucky enough to be out almost as quickly as we went in. Laying on the ice maybe fifty feet out from shore, I yelled for him to go find us help as I attempted to save my ride. 

With a total disregard for my own safety, I turned back towards the Joe Kart and attempted to lift it up out of the hole. This inevitably led to me going in yet again, and it was at this point when reality sunk in, and I knew I needed to get ashore. Some locals were watching us from their home with the expectation that we might go in and came to the rescue with some ropes. The way they came rushing to aid us was amazing and I will never forget their kindness that day. 

Instead of heavy judgement and a scolding for doing something so stupid, they brought us into their warm home and gave us dry clothes to change into and a mug of hot cocoa each, too. No one had to say it though; I learned just how dumb that was to be out there the hard way. After warming up a little, we were given a ride back to my place where I immediately geared up to go back to the spot and see what the status of my kart was. 

Shockingly, after nearly two hours upside-down underwater, the Joe Kart was still just floating there in the hole. Amazing! Now... how to get it out? 

It was the canoe to the rescue! I walked out there with it between my legs, ready to fall into the boat if the ice shattered below me again. After some ropes were tied around the frame of the Joe Kart, from the shore my helpers and I pulled it right on out. Within twenty-four hours, on the very next day I had it running again and am still rocking the same old Predator 212 engine. 

This experience should probably be classified as traumatic, yet, it did not slow me down even a little bit. I was back riding on the ice the following weekend, and since have an overwhelming desire to do so any time the temps drop below freezing. That's my jam! I love it so much and it is even better now on my quad. It sucks the ice just isn't enough this season, and looking ahead, I don't think it will be. 

So, what did I learn? Welp... I learned that the Joe Kart floats! Seriously though, I was given a lesson on patience. No matter how badly I want something, if it's not ready or meant to happen, doing it anyways can lead to dire consequences. I take ice safety seriously now. I carry ice picks and PFD's and am sure to wear a helmet. I've also learned about the ice riding culture and how the lakes freeze inconsistently. 

If there's just one thing you take away from this, let it be the following: wait until someone heavier is out there! Don't be the test dummy like I was. If there's no one out riding, there's a good reason as to why. I won't even consider taking my four-wheeler out there until I see a UTV sitting stationary. Please be safe and make smart decisions when you're out on the slippery stuff!

In case you missed some of my articles this week from WQMX.com let's get you caught up! Grab a coffee and your earbuds and start off your Saturday right! 

Thanks for reading and listening every day!

Eat Of The Week

50 Most Important Country Songs 1980-Today #47

Forgotten Jukebox - F-97

CMML - The Mega Star Series - Dolly (Revisited)

Wynn At The Movies And More

Browns - Oh, One More Thing

Early this year I've been featuring past articles from my Mega Star Series and today we will revisit George Strait.  This will all lead up to my newest Mega Star Artist that will debut next week right here, and new ones continuing all February.  But for this week, let's look at The King  - George Strait!

Mega Star George Strait - Revisited

Cross My Broken Heart  - Suzy Bogguss - 1989  (Album - Somewhere Between)

To say that Suzy Bogguss is an incredible singer isn't doing her justice.  Quite frankly, she has one of the most beautiful singing voices I have ever heard.  She scored a top 20 song on my Fifty Favorites From Last Years List (#18).  This song was written by two of Nashville's best songwriters at the time and was at the start of her career from a debut album that was well liked by fans.  This was also at the beginning of a real country boom and new artists were coming out every week.  As great as the boom was from 1989 to the early 2000's not all artists were going to get as noticed as they would like.  Suzy Bogguss is and was an incredible talent that is undeniable, and many of her songs are absolute works of art that her fans loved.  But her issue was, where did she really fit in?  We were lucky to have her in country and she still tours today, and being very active on social media. I was a big fan of her and her music. Because as amazingly skilled as she is and was, her music should not be forgotten. If you have never heard Suzy Bogguss sing, click on this video and take a listen. I wouldn't steer you in the wrong direction.  Song reached #14 in 1989.

Last Weeks Selection

My Full Profile On Suzy Bogguss

My The Vocalists Supreme Series (Part 2)

Drive South - Top 20 On My Favorites List 2023 - #18

Finally it's the weekend! While the snowstorm hasn't quite lived up to the hype it was given, the roads still aren't in the best shape. Where I live in Cuyahoga Falls, the main roads are pretty good, but I can't say the same for the side streets. I am sure that's the case in a lot of areas around here.

The Winter Storm Warning and Winter Weather Advisory (depending where you live) go until 4am. We will see if they get cancelled early or not. If not and the snow DOES continue to add up, at least it's a Friday night and most don't have to work in the morning.

Enjoy the weekend, and I'll tell you about mine on Monday. Now if you'll excuse me...I'm going to try to make a snow angel in our parking lot before I go on air. ;)