In My Footsteps: A Gen-X Nostalgia Podcast

Send us Fan Mail A driver's ed film that scarred children of the 1960s. Stories of my time as a degenerate Las Vegas gambler. Some of the best 1980s teen movies, and more. All of this is front and center on Episode 133 of the podcast. Las Vegas is called 'Sin City' for a reason. All of the excesses that you could want are within arms reach. Even if you are a resident you cannot esca...

Send us Fan Mail Happy Valentine's Day! Love is in the air on Episode 132 of the podcast. Helen Keller was an icon of the 20th century and a true testament to the will of the human spirit due to her achievements despite being rendered both bling and deaf at an early age. One of the loves of her life was the many trips that she made to Cape Cod during her childhood through early adulthood. We...

Send us Fan Mail It is the dead of winter and Episode 131 will try to bring the warmth. It begins with a trip back to a long-since-forgotten Cape Cod establishment. The Chequesset Inn of Wellfleet, the Grand Resort of the Outer Cape , was an oasis of luxury in the late 19th and early 20th century. However, it has been all but lost to time. We'll look back at its story this week. For 70 years...

Send us Fan Mail The first day at a new job can be exciting, it can also be nerve-racking. In Episode 130 of the podcast we look at a day of work that was a mixture of both. In Restaurant Storytime VIII : A First Impression That Wasn't Great, I share the details of my first shift ever in the hospitality industry. For it to be on the podcast you know it was not an ordinary day. 1994 was a monu...

Send us Fan Mail Let's go to the mall! Words that were always music to the ears of anyone who grew up in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. A visit to the mall was always a special and exciting time back then. The indoor mall is still a popular destination today, however, its heyday was definitely the '70s through the '90s.  You didn't need much money as the 'mall ra...

Send us Fan Mail An AI Therapist? A Pixelated Talking Parrot? Ruining the Lives of Sims? These are just a few of the possibilities one could have found 30 years ago during the rise of the MS-DOS computer game . Episode 128 of the podcast will reminisce about some legendary titles that helped pave the way for the modern wonders of gaming. Mill Hill in West Yarmouth on Cape Cod was a haven of entert...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever wondered how to cook McDonald's Chicken McNuggets in excruciating detail? I know you have. Well, Episode 127 has the answer. It comes in the form of a wacky McDonald's training video from 1983 complete with classic food item puppets, ominous music, cheesy jokes, and stereotypes galore. Healthcare and hospitals are a 24-hour business in the 2020s. A century...

Send us Fan Mail Happy New Year! Throughout history there have been some odd ways to make money. For a time in the 19th century one such way was the collection and selling of bird poop, otherwise known as guano. In Episode 126 we will take a deep dive into the Pacific Guano Company of Woods Hole, Massachusetts , luckily from a safe distance. Why were bird droppings considered big business on Cape...

Send us Fan Mail Happy Holidays! Episode 125 of the podcast is going to have your fill of warm, fuzzy memories. We will take a look back at what the holiday season was like in the 1980s and 1990s from Thanksgiving all the way through the day after Christmas. Looking through the Sears Wish Book, daydreaming of the toys seen in the commercials for Toys r Us on TV, watching the Charlie Brown Christma...

Send us Fan Mail Annoying Christmas Songs? A Kraft cooking infomercial disguised as a children's Christmas movie? Drunk nighttime photography? It's a fever dream masquerading as a winter wonderland on Episode 124 of the podcast. We begin with a new Dedication to the Craft segment dealing with nighttime photography . There will be some helpful tips on getting the most out of shooting afte...

Send us Fan Mail Relationships can bring out the best and worst in people. On Episode 123 of the podcast, we look at an urban legend about the worst. The oddly placed Pink House of Plum Island, Massachusetts has two stories behind it. One is said urban legend, while the reality is far sadder. For those that love a winter wonderland this week's Road Trip has exactly what you're looking fo...

Send us Fan Mail AI choosing the best 1980s professional wrestlers? Nostalgic grocery store trips? The internet is now retro? No, it's not a side effect of the Thanksgiving food coma, it's Episode 122 of the podcast! We kick off the episode with a look back at a Southern New England staple of decades past. For those in the area of a certain age, Angelo's Supermarket was destination...

Send us Fan Mail New Englanders it's time to pat ourselves on the back and humble-brag a little. Episode 121 of the podcast is chock full of some of the greatest inventions to ever be developed within the borders of the six New England states. This special bonus episode includes hugely important inventions like the sport of basketball, the telephone, the helicopter, and...coffee milk. Each st...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 120 is chock full of fun, facts, and foolishness. We go way Back In the Day to look at an informative and well-intentioned, yet slightly fever dream-ish 1977 educational short film starring environmental PSA icon Woodsy Owl . Give a hoot and check the full video out here: Help Woodsy Spread the Word Today automobiles are commonplace with most people owning one. However a l...

Send us Fan Mail It is another special episode of the show this week as Episode 119 marks the 3-year anniversary of the podcast. We take a look back at the genesis of the show including a clip of my first intro in Episode 1 , and how my sobriety was interwoven into the creation of the podcast. I also share words of encouragement for those who might want to start their own show. If you're not...

Send us Fan Mail It's Birthday Week on Episode 118 of the podcast! There's a cause for celebration as I make another trip around the sun . What better way to reminisce than by looking at how a birthday evolves and changes as we age? Oh, and also there will be a makeshift Top 5 as I share some of the best(worst) birthday memories ! From a celebration today, to celebrations in the past, it...

Send us Fan Mail Not only is Episode 117 the special monthly bonus episode of the podcast, but it is the Halloween bonus episode! This year's Halloween bonus show centers around some of the spookiest, weirdest, and just downright unbelievable myths, legends, and lore of all of the New England states . There will be two stories from each state giving us a dozen creepy tales. They include: Mass...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 116 is loaded with creepy, terrifying, sad, and unbelievable stories for the Halloween season. The show kicks off with a truly heartbreaking tale. Insane or not insane that is the question. Charles Freeman of the small Cape Cod village of Pocasset committed the ultimate crime when he murdered his 4-year-old daughter . However, his claims that it was done as a sacrifice in...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 115 takes a trip to possibly the perfect place in America to visit for the Halloween season: Salem, Massachusetts . This week's Road Trip is filled with witches, spooky cemeteries, possible haunted houses, and so much more. If you enjoy this time of year Salem is for you! We go way Back In the Day and reminisce about the good and bad about staying home sick from schoo...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 114 sees the show back after a week off. That was done to finalize podcast subscriptions. Now you can support the show and become a subscriber either through Patreon or Buzzsprout ! More info at the links below. We kick off the Halloween season with the ongoing story of America's oldest missing teens case . Bonnie Bickwit and Mitchel Weiser packed up and headed for th...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 113 sees the return of film producer Frank Durant for a third interview. It is an all-encompassing chat as we look at what he's been up to over the last year. Frank speaks about traveling over to France to work on a spiritual successor to the beloved 1956 short-film The Red Balloon . It can be watched at this link: It Comes and Goes - an homage to The Red Balloon. He...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 112 begins with a segment I've wanted to do and share for quite a while. Straddling the line between two generations has allowed me to see things the way they were and the way they became. I celebrate this fact as I look at my Cape Cod roots . Reminisce about things that used to be on the Cape, and for folks of my generation look back at how life was in general in the...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 111 sheds some light on a very important discovery that happened during the podcast's hiatus earlier in 2023. I am the resident family historian. For years I had been searching for the biological family of my great-grandfather as my Nina revealed that he had been adopted. It was a long and often fruitless search but in March a breakthrough occurred. This week I will g...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 110 begins with a return to Restaurant Storytime. In this chapter, we go back to the beginning of my time working in hospitality. The days of food prep in a rustic barn, loud music causing problems, mosh pit cleanup parties, broken windows, and more. This is Restaurant Storytime VI: Prep Boys Rock . Small towns typically have palpable charm. Small towns in New England have...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 109 is a special Bonus Episode. This is going to be a fun and unique episode. We are going to take a deep dive into what it would have been like for someone coming to visit Cape Cod on summer vacation a century ago in the year 1923. What would you see? Where would you stay? Where would you eat? How would you even get there? All of these questions will be answered as you ar...