Tim McGraw release his new album Standing Room Only and he celebrated by performing live on Good Morning America. He sang the title track, "Hold On To It" and "Something Like That"! He also chatted about the new album and heading out on tour next year!

Here is my August recap of my 50 Favorites From 40 Years Countdown.  There were some GREAT songs this month.  I have also included all months since January in case you are just jumping on the countdown.

Grab some ear buds and some coffee and enjoy some GREAT songs!  -  Thanks for reading and listening every day.  Click through them all!

#17 - Down To The Honky Tonk - Jake Owen

#18 - Drive South - Suzy Bogguss

#19 - Too Cold At Home - Mark Chesnutt

#20 - A Night To Remember - Joe Diffie

#21 - It's Just A Matter Of Time - Randy Travis

From Months Past

July

June

May

April

March

February

January

ICYMI - Here are my articles from this week on WQMX.com

Thanks for reading and for listening!

My Sunday Morning Song

Eat Of The Week

50 Favorites From 40+ Years - #17

Forgotten Jukebox P-64

Country Music Memory Lane - LeAnn Rimes Birthday (revisited)

Wynn At The Movies And More

If you have these two things in the fridge, you have a meal!  I love both and I am totally IN!

Delish..

Eggs And Tomato? This looks GREAT!

Box Office Results - Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story   $17.3 million

#2  -  Barbie -   $17.1 million      #3  -  Blue Beetle, $12.8 million

#4 Oppenheimer -  $9 million

New This Week -  The Equalizer 3  (Final Chapter)  /  Bottoms  (Trailer Inappropriate) 

Soon - Fans of the James Bond movies hope to know by the end of the year who will play the next 007 (Story)   

Barbie  -  Is now the highest grossing movie of the year  

Meg Ryan - Has a new Rom-Com coming out with David Duchovney, What Happens Later - October

$$$$$$ - You spend around $17 on snacks when you go to the movies

ESPN - Is bringing college football to a theater near you. The network has teamed up with Cinemark for 75 games

2018 - A Star is Born, directed by and starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga hits theaters

This Weekend – Check out my Country Music Memory Lane  (link)

Also - My 50 Favorites Over 40+ Years This Week #17  (Link)

Plus - My Sunday Morning Song  (Link)

I own my childhood dream car, a Chevy El Camino, and I love it with all my heart. It's the mullet of the automotive world, with business in the front and a party in the back! Though it is difficult to put into any one box, I have it registered as a pickup truck, and it definitely does some truck stuff - like hauling around my quad. Some people choose to call them "crucks." Personally, I think "ute" might be the most accurate description. 

Whatever you classify her as, Eleanor is a 1981 with an older 350 SBC paired to a 3 speed automatic with the stock one-wheel-peel rear end. A lot of work was put into this vehicle sometime around the turn of the century, and I would call it a mild custom. It has aftermarket race seats, a cool paint job, and a built motor. Future mods I'd like to do include an LS swap, big brakes, suspension/steering improvements, and maybe some fresh wheels. 

I baby Eleanor, but I'm not afraid to put the pedal to the metal and get a little squirrelly out there. She rips, and power is never the issue, but rather traction. All the weight in the front and a bed in the back makes for some smoky burnouts. It's a healthy mix between a practical classic Sunday driver and a muscle car, though it is far from immaculate show condition (nor is it a racecar). It's a driver as some may say, but I don't drive my Elky as much as I would like, primarily due to the price of gas and how thirsty the vehicle is for premium fuel. I spend at least three times as much driving anywhere in that as I would in my Civic, but that's the name of the game. 

I'm happy just being behind the wheel of this iconic American ride on any sunny day, but something that really gets a smile on my face is the sound of the exhaust opened up under an overpass. Oh baby! That dual exhaust off those headers is my favorite sound, bar none. I genuinely enjoy talking to strangers about my Elky, and can hardly go anywhere without starting a conversation about it. People either just give me a quick compliment on it, ask about the year and specifications, or tell me about their uncle/brother/friend/mom/etc. who owned one when they were in highschool. 

For as long as I can remember one of my favorite pasttimes has been attending car shows, and this weekend I'm excited for the cars and coffee event at Valley Motor City in the Falls on Saturday morning. It should be a cool event, and Cherise will be making an appearance there from 9-11am with lot's of prizes! I hope to see you there too; here's the link for more information, if you're interested: https://m.facebook.com/events/302996018909275?mibextid=Z0UBBX 

National Dog Day is Saturday...  Bring your pup out to The HARDY Send Me Backstage Ticket Stop during Zombie Powersports and Countryside Campgrounds End Of Summer Bash!!! Stop by for your free entry for HARDY, Lainey Wilson and Dylan Marlowe Tickets at Countryside Campgrounds 2687 State Route 43 in Mogadore from 1 to 2:30 this Saturday with 94.9 WQMX...

At 2:30 Sharp we'll draw the winner of the HARDY Tickets...plus if you have country concert tickets show them to me and get your Send Me Backstage T-shirts, while they last.

Afterwards since it is National Dog Day...  Look to these pet friendly establishments to enjoy the day with your pup(s) and pals.

If you are more of the at home pet owner Click Here for Pumpkin Spice Dog Brew... 

If it is more for your drink experience with your furry friend then there is a local list below.

Breweries

Missing Mountain Brewery: 2811 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls. Dogs permitted outside but must be on leash.

Missing Falls Brewery: 540 S. Main St. Suite 112, Akron. Dogs permitted inside and outside but must be on leash.

Thirsty Dog Brewing Company: 587 Grant St., Akron. Dogs permitted outside on the patio. Leashing not required.

Akronym Brewing: 58 E. Market St., Akron. Dogs permitted outside on the patio but must be on leash.

Hoppin' Frog Brewery: 1680 E. Waterloo Road, Akron. Dogs permitted outside on the front patio but must be on leash and well behaved.

Ohio Brewing Company: 2250 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls. Dogs permitted outside on the patio but must be on leash.

Lock 15 Brewing Co.: 21 W. North Street Suite TL 1, Akron.

HiHO Brewing Co.: 1707 Front St, Cuyahoga Falls. Dogs permitted outside on the patio but must be on leash.

McArthur's Brew House: 2721 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls. Dogs permitted outside on the patio but must be on leash.

Mr. Zub's Deli & Bar: 795 W. Market St., Akron. Dogs permitted outside on the patio but must be on leash.

Ignite Brewing Company: 600 W. Tuscarawas Ave, Barberton. Dogs permitted outside on the patio. Leashing not required, but dogs must be friendly.

R. Shea Brewing: 1662 Merriman Road, Akron and 540 S. Main St. Suite 214, Akron. Dogs permitted outside on the back patio (Akron location). Leashing not required, but dogs must be friendly.

Well, pumpkin spice is back, so it must be fall? Calendar says no, but it certainly feels like it now! Between the PSL's and Back To School and Halloween already popping up in stores everywhere, I'm ready! I'm going to wait until after Labor Day to start getting my house decorated for Halloween, and I found this really cute DIY on Instagram that I can't wait to make!  

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Macy Blackwell (@macy.blackwell)

Storms are awesome, unless of course you're on the lawn of Blossom or another outdoor venue waiting for the performers to hit the stage, only to get stuck in monsoon-level rainfall resulting in the cancellation of the show. I personally had a really bad experience with this when I drove all the way to NYC, booked an Airbnb, and attempted to see one of my favorite acts play a music festival. 

It was on an island, and lineups were moved around earlier in the day to attempt to ensure that the headliners still went on. Well, in rearranging the schedule, the organizers actually did the opposite of this. I was front row, up against the crowd divider waiting for my most favorite band to begin, when a message appeared on the big screen announcing the cancellation of the festival for the evening. With this announcement, it was also requested that us concert-goers immediately evacuate the island. You can guess how well that went down, and alongside a mass of others I decided to stand my ground and not go anywhere. 

Oh, what a mistake that was. The rain hit fast and hard, and before I knew it I was amidst a mob of muddy and angry fans with no clear direction on where to go or what to do. It was raining buckets and the intensity of the situation in such an unfamiliar setting had me in fight-or-flight mode. People were flipping tables and borderline rioting. It's difficult to describe how crazy it really was at that time. 

I eventually pushed my way through the masses and made it on a Coast Guard ferry back to the mainland. From there, soaking wet, I walked about fifteen blocks back to where I was staying, in shock and disbelief as to what had just went down. I had originally intended to spend the following day in the Big Apple sightseeing, but after this unfortunate series of events, I packed up and left for home first thing in the morning. Let me tell you, that drive back was miserable, and I spent most of it in silence simply depressed at how my dream concert front row experience became a waking nightmare. Of course I was refunded for the ticket, but that was relatively insignificant in comparison to the money I spent to drive and stay there in Manhatten for the weekend. The worst part was knowing that I was front row and having that forever memory ripped out of my hands by mother nature and poor planning. 

As you can tell from me writing this blog to begin with, I'm far from over it. I can only assume that the festival organizers made the best decisions they could based on the information present at the time, but I still feel like they could have prepared for such a scenario better. There wasn't even any emergency lighting on the island, and I'd be shocked if no one was hurt that night. It was a bad time. 

Wednesday afternoon into the evening, we experienced some intense weather here in northeast Ohio, with lightning cracking throughout the sky and thunderstorms dumping cats and dogs worth of rainfall. It came in waves starting in the early afternoon, cooling things down and dimming the sky; there were some flash floods in the area and everything. I was happy as it made for some awesome pre-work sleeping weather, but it got me thinking back on this festival disaster I had a few years back. I minored in sociology in college, and after some reflection I realized this could be a good way to exemplify how our differences with one another are often fueled by a lack of understanding and compassion. 

It's no secret that our unique individual situations and circumstances influence our reactions and viewpoints. A farmer may need rain for his crops just as much as a house painter needs it to be dry for each to make a living. Without stretching too far, my takeaway that I'd like to extend to you is that when we disagree with others, it is important to take into account what they go through and how that influences their perspectives. Even if you go through what you think is the same thing, it may not be, like a rainy day- in the house opposed to at an outdoor concert venue. As you go through the day today, I ask that you keep this in mind, even if it's as simple as giving grace to someone who seems to have a bad attitude. There's an old saying that goes something like, "the same boiling water that softens the potato, hardens the egg."

You could get free admission to the Akron Zoo in September! The zoo will have a limited number of free tickets available per day. This is part of their Community Days promotion that has been celebrated since 2001.

If you live in Summit County and would like more information about how to reserve your tickets and other information, click here.