Storytime with GamerDude

GamerDude talks about how his parents emphasized having manners, and being polite, when he was growing up.  He talks about the three basic "tools" he learned growing up - "Please," "Thank you," and "Excuse me." He remembers his mother's look when he forgot to say "please," or "thank you," and talks about the importance of using these basic skills today.  He also reminisces about the other rules fo...

GamerDude talks about how the only way to watch movies when he was a kid was either in the movie theater, or waiting for the movie to appear on network TV, or in syndication. He talks about how you never had control over what movies you could watch, or when. He talks about soundtrack albums from musicals as just about the only way to re-visit a movie, and about taping the sound from tv shows and m...

In this episode, GamerDude tells some stories about some of the "Mom-isms" he grew up wiith, which also tend to be universal. From "Because I'm your mother," to "Were you raised in a barn?" Mother GamerDude had a vast "playbook" of phrases she used. She also had an aresenal of colorful metaphors, such as "hopping around like a hen on a hot jonny cake." Then, there was the cursing - or the lack of...

GamerDude talks about what Easter was like when he was a kid, and how it has changed over the years. He talks briefly about the the religious aspects of Easter and how - perhaps - the Easter Bunny became associated with the religious holiday, but then focuses on the important things to him as a kid: jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, and Easter eggs. He talks about the Easter egg hunts of his childho...

In this episode of Storytime, GamerDude talks about how music has always been a factor in his life. He discusses his early days taking piano lessons from his mother, followed by his days playing trumpet in middle school and high school. He shares some samples from two classical pieces of music - A Trumpeter's Lullaby and The 1812 Overture - that influenced him then and have stayed with him through...

GamerDude tells the stories about his first on-air broadcast as a newscaster at his college radio station, doing the 6 a.m. newscast. He talks about how that experience gave him the first nudge in the direction of trying a career in radio. He talks about the influence of Howard Stern, and how the fact that Howard was doing fun, and interesting, and entertaining radio inspired him to get back on th...

In another "very special episode" of Storytime, GamerDude tells some of the stories about how he was bullied as a child.  He talks about being known as "four eyes" after he had to get glasses, the passive-aggressive social ostracism of being the fat kid in school, how lunch time and bus rides in school were so painfully difficult and what he did to avoid them, and how he still remembers one partic...

GamerDude tells the stories about his fascination with Star Trek: The Original Series. He shares his views on the optimisitic future embodied by The Original Series, and why it resonated with him when he watched the show in syndication when he was young. He talks about his admiration for Captain Kirk and the fact that he was a man of action who nevertheless took responsibility for his actions. He...

GamerDude shares some stories about how he kept busy after school each day.  The "after school routine" included snacks in front of the television, where he discovered Bugs Bunny, Lost in Space, and The Brady Bunch, playing outside with friends, and playing inside when the weather required.  He also learned how to cook, and how to bake, and discovered the unmatched joy of fresh, homemade chocolate...

GamerDude tells some stories about the memories he has of his grandparents. He remembers his grandfathers Mac and Sam, his grandmothers Iva and Pearl, and he shares his memories of visiting with them.  He talks about how spotty his memories are because he never realized at the time how many stories about life they could have shared, and he explains how this missing family history helped inspire th...

GamerDude's stories this time are about his obsessesion with cars, and driving.  He talks about the first time he ever drove - at age 11! He talks about his first car, a 1970 VW Bug, and his efforts to get it road-worthy. He talks about "trading up" for a 1969 Plymouth Fury II and his adventures with speed in that car. He tells the tale of the Volvo with the flyaway hood, and talk about the freedo...

On "A Very Special Episode" of StoryTime, GamerDude gets very personal about his early life. He shares stories about what it was like to grow up as "the fat kid" in school. He shares stories about how he grew to be that "fat kid," what is was like in school, how it affected him, and how that "fat kid" experience stays with you. He shares the story about how he decided to make the change in his lif...

GamerDude has some stories about games from the good ol' days, before consoles, computers and hand-helds. He talks about the first card game he ever learned - Go Fish! - that he played with his great-aunt Freedie. He touches on the other toys he played with, including his Lionel trains, before talking about the board games he grew up on. He tells stories about Monopoly, Parcheesi, Sorry, Trouble,...

In this episode, GamerDude talks about the power of radio and the imagination, and demonstrates how to use it to create images, places, things, and even people, bringing Mister Agador from his Twitch stream to the engineering booth in the process. GamerDude first experienced the power of radio when listening to the broadcasts of the late, great Jean Shepherd, whose stories were the basis for the c...

GamerDude's stories about phones start with Andy Griffith's "candlestick" phones and his calls to Mt. Pilate, to Grandma's vintage dial phones that weighed as much as a ship's anchor, to the kitchen phone that was the focal point of the house, to the bedroom extensions that Papa GamerDude added, and the prank calls to California. And let's not forget the shared party-line with the neighbors that M...

In this pilot episode of Storytime, GamerDude talks about the inspirations behind this podcast.  It started with his story-telling during his live Twitch streams, expanded as he worked on The GamerCat Show with ReactiveCat, and traces it roots back to his days as a radio broadcaster. He also talks about his inspiration from the late Jean Shepard, iconic radio broadcaster in New York, and the autho...