Storytime with GamerDude

This week's episode is inspired by an idiom that GamerDude heard on the game show, "The Floor." One young contestant couldn't complete the phrase "Carrying ____ to New Castle." (The answer is "coals," which GamerDude explains in this episode.) That answer got him to thinking about many of the idioms and "old sayings" that we use today, but we may not know where they came from, or what they actually mean. So, GamerDude decided to ...

For the first episode of 2024, GamerDude talks about his "brushes with greatness," which is times in his life where he as met, or interacted with, or at least seen, someone who is famous. GamerDude first talks about how he was a very minor celebrity back in his radio DJ days, and how the people he encountered then shaped how he handled encounters with famous people when he got older.

GamerDude's first "brush with greatness" was befo...

The end of the year got GamerDude to thinking about the post-Christmas sales his dad used to take him to the day after Christmas. He remembers the deals his dad was able to negotiate, and how the annual "getting Christmas Stuff on-sale" trip was another family tradition.

GamerDude also talks about the end of the year, and how New Year's resolutions can set you up for failure. He prefers looking at the New Year as either an opportuni...

It's GamerDude's annual Christmas Episode (one of many, actually!) and this week, he's talking about the non-denominational aspects of Christmas. He talks about how the feeling of Christmas is supposed to be about getting together with family, and friends, and loved ones, and sharing love, and food, and gifts to close out the year. He talks about how that's not necessarily tied to any religion but is part of the spirit of the seaso...

For this week's episode, GamerDude decided to go back to Season Three, when he first did this episode about Christmas music, and shared 10 of his favorite non-traditional Christmas songs. GamerDude's stories this week include stories about the holiday concerts in school, and learning to sing Christmas carols around the piano with his mother. He shares the story about having to sing "O Come, All Ye Faithful" in front of the family,...

This week, GamerDude talks about how we all tend to react to the approach of the end of the year, as we take stock of what we hoped to accomplish, what we did accomplish, and what we plan to do next year. He talks about how his decision to take early retirement came at the end of the year, and how and why he arrived at that decision. He also talks about how the things he does now are done at his own pace, without as much concern fo...

GamerDude is talking about Thanksgiving again this week, with another reminder of how important it is to be thankful, especially in these days of tough times and a world seemingly suffering from a global case of COVID-related PTSD.

GamerDude revisits the topic of "family politics" and how they influenced his Thanksgivings as a child. He talks about alternating Thanksgivings between his grandmother's houses, and how he didn't like v...

This week, GamerDude is talking about being thankful for Thanksgiving. He talks about how Thanksgiving used to be a calm period of time between the excitement of Halloween and Christmas, and he talks about why he always tries to remember to be thankful for what he has.

He also talks about some forgotten foods from Thanksgivings in the past. He talks about the days when passenger pigeon was a main course, when West Indian Desserts we...

This week, GamerDude talks about the stories he tells, and why he chooses to tell the stories he does. He talks about preserving his dad's stories, because they are not only his dad's stories, but they give insight into his dad, and into GamerDude. The stories helped form the basis for the kind of person GamerDude is. GamerDude retells the tale of his dad posing as a botanist to get some plants on a plane, and tells the story abou...

GamerDude has remastered another episode from Season 1. This episode originally released for Mothers' Day, but GamerDude wanted to share the stories again.In this episode, he talks about how everyone has different relationships with their moms, and every mom has her own unique issues. GamerDude talks about his mom, and how he knew very little about her life before she was "Mom." He also shares memories of what life was like with he...