Storytime with GamerDude

Products, stores and brands come and go, some more quickly than others. In this episode, GamerDude talks about some of the things he grew up with that were a part of every day life and that now simply no longer exist. He talks about brands, like Texaco, and Zenith, and RCA.  He remembers old airlines, like Pan Am, TWA and Eastern. He talks about some of the stores that were huge once upon a time,...

When GamerDude was growing up, there was no internet to "hang out" on, or to shop on, or to meet people on. The "hang out" was the shopping mall.  Shopping malls popped up all across the country and, as it turns out, had many of the same stores coast-to-coast. GamerDude talks about the main stores he remembers, from the large "anchor" stores like Sears, JC Penney, and Macy's, to the smaller chains...

Going to the grocery store is often one of the least favorite shopping trips for most people, and GamerDude remembers that it was no better when he was a kid. Still, despite how terribly boring it was to go, he still learned a lot about budgeting, saving money, and getting the store to give you exactly what you're looking for.  He talks about his mom and her little red clicker that she used to kee...

GamerDude is a huge fan of movies, as his earlier episodes about favorite movies and dreaded movie tropes show. This week, he talks about the movie-going experience and compares the way it is today to the way it was when he was a kid. His recent trip to see Captain Marvel reminded him of how the experience has changed. Today, people have big screen TVs at home, with DVDs they can watch, and sound...

GamerDude's recent trip to Florida, and his battle to get two seats together on American Airlines, inspired this week's episode. GamerDude talks about how booking tickets on planes on the internet today is very different from having to call each airline's 800 number to get schedules and tickets when he was younger. He talks about the recent trip he and Mrs. GD took, where American Airlines "spun t...

Taking a page from Johnny Carson's playbook, GamerDude created this "Best of Storytime" episode. It's a re-run that's not a re-run; rather, it's highlights from previous episodes that have gotten the most mentions from listeners, or that GameDude especially likes.  In this week's Best Of episode, GamerDude has included the stories of his first date in 8th grade, some thoughts about the power of mu...

The title for this episode comes from a quote by Dr. Maxwell Maltz: "Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand brake on."  Low self-esteem is just one of the many insecurities GamerDude has dealt with in his life; that was built in to being "the fat kid" in school. In this episode, he talks about how he came to recognize the insecurities he faced as a child, and the things that s...

The longer you live, the more things you see, and that's what GamerDude is talking about in this episode.  He talks about the innovation of the transistor radio and how it made music and entertainment portable. He talks about listening to records when he grew up, from vinyl LPs to the little 45s, and his father's old 78s. He remember when cassette tapes came onto the scene, and how they led to the...

Since starting Storytime, GamerDude has compiled a list of random memories of isolated incidents that happened when he was growing up. Some are brief, some more extended, and they will just pop into GamerDude's head out of the blue. In this episode, he talks about Saturday morning cartoons, from Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry to H.R. Pufenstuf and The Land of the Lost. He remembers "mittens on a strin...

GamerDude returns to one of his favorite topics - food! He reminisces about his mother's homemade biscuits, and how she used them as both sides for dinner and the foundation for her homemade strawberry shortcake. He talks about how he has always tried, but never been able to duplicate his mother's biscuits, and talks about trying to make pie crusts as well. Despite those challenges, he talks about...

Dungeons and Dragons was the game that introduced GamerDude to role-playing games, and to a group of like-minded gamers in college. He was an old-school Advanced Dungeons & Dragons player (AD&D); he and his group played First Edition rules. In this episode, he talks about how he got into AD&D, and what the game was all about.  He talks about the various books and manuals involved, and how you were...

GamerDude talks about why he started running when he was young.  He touches on his days as "the fat kid" and how that initially inspired him, and then talks about what became his "bible" of running, an old book called "The Beginning Runner's Guide." He tells the story about how he was paired up with one of the track team members in high school during gym class (before he lost the weight), and how...

In this episode, GamerDude goes back to the movie theater to talk about 10 of his favorite under-rated comedies. Probably none of these movies will make anyone's Top Ten List of all time great movies, but they all have appeal to GamerDude on some level.  There are some absurd movies on this list, including The Golden Child and Big Trouble in Little China, and some genuine comedy gems, including Ga...

When he was a kid, GamerDude loved winter.  He talks about how hard it was to go through the long days of school from January 2 through mid-February, and how he longed for the occasional snow day. He remembers riding the bus to school in the snow, and the clank of the snow chains on the road, which made getting to school so much easier than it is now. He talks about the snowball fights they used t...

As 2018 draws to a close, GamerDude talks about that week between Christmas and New Year's when he was a kid. He remembers the lull between the holidays, when the new Christmas toys got tested, and when he would thoroughly enjoy the time off from school.  He talks about the New Year's Eve tradition his father had that he continues to this day. GamerDude Dad celebrated New Year's Eve by ordering in...

For anyone who celebrates Christmas, it can be a lot of things: fun, happy, stressful, depressing, demanding. But for GamerDude, as a kid, Christmas was nothing but exciting! In this episode, he talks about that excitement, and how it permeated every aspect of his life. He talks about walking around with a "Christmas soundtrack" playing in his head, full of sleigh bells and chimes. He talks about...

GamerDude is an old-school Christmas shopper. This week, he reminisces about how his parents taught him both how to budget for the holidays, and how to pick out the "perfect" gift. He remembers his father giving him five dollars and sending him off through the local mall (which had 10 stores in it) to find gifts for his mother, his brother and his sister. He remembers that his father never told hi...

Everyone has their favorite Christmas movies, and GamerDude is no exception. In this episode, he gives his criteria for what makes a good Christmas movie, and explains why Die Hard and Lethal Weapon don't make his list. (They're great action movies that happen to be set at Christmas!) He talks about five of his favorite Christmas movies that are often overlooked, or underappreciated, which include...

When GamerDude was a kid, the Christmas decorating season didn't start until just after Thanksgiving. In this episode, he talks about the thrill that kids felt at the start of that season, and talks about the "traditional" family decorations his parents put out each year.  He talks about the green floodlight his dad shone on the porch each holiday, and the gigantic Christmas star he built. He reme...

Thanksgiving was always a big holiday growing up. GamerDude always looked forward to the four-day weekend from school, and all the food and sports coming up over the long weekend. He talks about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the various balloons he's seen over the years. He talks about visiting his grandmothers' homes for the holidays, and how family politics always influenced who visite...

GamerDude grew up in the days before ESPN, sportsradio, and hot takes, and long before the NFL became the behemouth that it is today. When he was a kid, the only highlights he was able to see were featured on This Week In The NFL, a weekly highlight show. That once-a-week show was put together by NFL Films, which was founded by Ed Sabol, and Ed combined presentation, music, and narration in such a...

GamerDude's first memories of being interested in the government and politics date back to the 7th grade. He talks about how the basics of the US government - the three branches (legisltaive, executive and judicial) and their interlocking checks and balances - were the foundation of his "social studies" class in grade school. He talks about how his assignments included identifying his Congressiona...

In this episode, GamerDude talks about growing up as someone who worried about every single thing. He worried about what clothes he wore, what kids were going to bully him, which kids were going to mock his lunch box, whether he was going to fail a class, whether he was going to get into trouble, whether he was ever going to college.  He talks about how his mother tried to convince him that it did...

When GamerDude was growing up, Halloween was not as focused on the scary, creepy stuff as it is today. When he was a kid, Halloween was about putting together as good a costume as you could and, more importantly, going trick-or-treating to as many houses to get as many treats as was humanly possible. GamerDude talks about the old style Halloween costumes he could never afford as a kid, which is wh...

GamerDude grew up when "the family dinner" was a regular, almost ritualistic, thing. Dinner time was regularly scheduled and the family gathered 'round the table for the main meal of the day at the same time every day.  Everyone exchanged stories during the meal - and Mom and Dad made sure the kids knew how to behave at the table. GamerDude's parents taught him about how to set the table properly,...