Cirie Fields reflected on her 20-year journey, expressing immense gratitude during her final words on Survivor 50: “Thank you Jeff, for some of the best years of my life. I am forever grateful for what Survivor has done for me. I don’t even have the words to express how grateful and thankful I am for finding out there’s so much more to life than what I knew from sitting on my couch and watching TV.”

Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that does more than offer the possibility of a new experience or an unexpected turn in life. Sometimes an opportunity makes us stop and look at ourselves differently. It forces us to think about who we are, what we have done, what makes us interesting, and how we would explain ourselves to someone who knows absolutely nothing about us. Recently, I took a shot at something that caught me completely by surprise. It was unusual, intriguing, and far enough outside my normal day-to-day life that I could have easily dismissed it before giving it any serious thought. Instead, I leaned into it. I said yes to the possibility. I allowed myself to wonder, even if just for a little while, what might happen if this unexpected door actually opened.

It didn’t. I didn’t get the thing.

Naturally, there was some disappointment. When you allow yourself to hope for something, even cautiously, it is hard not to feel a little deflated when it does not happen. But now that I have had time to sit with it, I can honestly say I am glad I tried. In fact, the experience gave me something I was not expecting. It made me examine my own life in a way I had not done in quite some time. It made me think about the stories that define me, the qualities that make a person memorable, and why I still want to raise my hand for new experiences at 63 years old.

Most of our days unfold in familiar patterns. We wake up, move through our routines, answer messages, handle work, run errands, take care of our responsibilities, and before we know it, another day has passed. There is comfort in routine, and I certainly have plenty of it in my own life. But every now and then, something appears that interrupts the usual flow. It may be an email, a phone call, a conversation, or some strange invitation that seems to come out of nowhere. It does not guarantee anything. It simply cracks the door open just enough to make you wonder what might be on the other side.

That kind of possibility can be powerful. Even when you try to stay realistic, your imagination starts filling in the blanks. You wonder what the experience would be like. You wonder how you would perform under new circumstances. You think about the conversations it might lead to, the people you might meet, and the way your ordinary life could suddenly take an unexpected turn. There is something energizing about that moment when life feels just a little less predictable than it did the day before. It reminds you that not everything has already been decided, that the future still has room for surprise.

Of course, the moment you let yourself hope, you also make room for disappointment. That is the trade-off. You can protect yourself from being let down by never wanting anything too badly, never reaching too far, never risking the embarrassment of coming up short. But that kind of protection comes at a cost. It can quietly turn into a habit of self-rejection. You start dismissing possibilities before anyone else ever gets the chance. You tell yourself you are too old, too unlikely, too far outside the expected mold. You convince yourself that trying is pointless, and by doing so, you spare yourself the sting of hearing no. But you also deny yourself the chance of hearing yes.

I am glad I did not do that. I am glad I stepped toward the opportunity instead of away from it. Even though it did not work out, I like knowing that I am still the kind of person who will take a swing when something interesting comes along. I like knowing that I have not mentally moved myself to the sidelines. There is a certain kind of internal aging that has nothing to do with birthdays. It happens when curiosity dries up, when risk disappears, when every unusual idea is met with an automatic “probably not.” I do not want to live that way. I want to remain available to life.

One of the most fascinating parts of this recent experience was that it forced me to think about myself from the outside. That is harder than it sounds. Most of us can answer the question, “What do you do?” without much trouble. I can say I run Enid Buzz. I create content. I host podcasts. I write, design, build brands, promote local events, and spend a lot of time turning ideas into actual things. Those are easy answers because they describe activities. They explain how I spend my time and what kinds of work I have chosen to do.

But the question “Who are you?” is very different. What makes you distinct? What parts of your life would matter to someone who had never met you? What stories reveal something real about your personality, your values, your sense of humor, or the way you move through the world? What would cause a stranger to remember you after meeting a dozen other people? Those are not résumé questions. They are identity questions, and they require a deeper kind of reflection.

As I thought about those things, I realized how easy it is to minimize our own lives simply because we have been living them from the inside. To me, building Enid Buzz over the years has become part of my everyday existence. It is what I do. I update, post, create, promote, write, report, answer, schedule, and keep the machine moving. But when I step back from it, I can see that creating a local media brand from scratch, growing it into something thousands of people rely on, and sustaining it for years is not ordinary. It is a story. Working in radio is a story. Interviewing people I once only knew from album covers, concert stages, and television screens is a story. Creating brands and podcasts and artwork and books is a story. Chasing creative ideas into my sixties is a story.

And yet, when it is your own life, you do not always recognize the shape of it. You are too close. The details become familiar. The unusual becomes normal through repetition. The things that might make someone else lean forward and say, “Wait, tell me more about that,” become things you barely think to mention. I suspect most people do this. The woman who spends years caring for an aging parent may not think of herself as exceptionally strong; she simply believes she did what needed to be done. The man who rebuilds his life after a loss may not call himself resilient; he just kept going because there was no other choice. The teacher who changed the course of a child’s life may never know the full impact. The business owner who survives through difficult years may think only of the stress and not of the courage it required.

We underestimate our own stories because they happened to us. We forget that a life does not need to be famous to be meaningful. It does not need to unfold under a spotlight to contain texture, humor, heartbreak, bravery, reinvention, and surprise. Sometimes it takes an outside opportunity to make us pause and take inventory. Not in a boastful way, but in an honest way. To say: I have lived. I have tried. I have built things. I have stumbled into strange situations. I have loved deeply. I have made mistakes. I have created things that would not exist if I had not been here. That realization can be surprisingly powerful.

This whole experience also made me think about what makes a person memorable. Not famous, necessarily. Memorable. Those are not the same thing. Some famous people are not particularly compelling once you move past the spotlight, while some everyday people become unforgettable after a single conversation. I think memorable people tend to have specificity. They are not generic. They reveal themselves through details. Someone who says, “I like music,” could be almost anyone. Someone who says, “The opening of a Boston song can still take me straight back to being a kid in the 1970s,” suddenly becomes more vivid. Someone who says, “I enjoy cooking,” is fine. Someone who says, “I make my grandmother’s noodles every time it rains because that was always her rainy-day meal,” gives you a glimpse into a life.

Specificity gives people texture. It turns facts into personality. Memorable people also tend to contain contrast. They are rarely just one predictable thing. They are the serious businessperson with a collection of old monster toys, the quiet neighbor who used to race motorcycles, the grandmother who loves horror movies, the local media guy who is also writing a time-bending novel about boys on banana seat bikes in 1977. Contrast creates curiosity. It hints that there is more beneath the surface, and that is what makes people interesting.

I also think memorable people are willing to let their enthusiasm show. They are not always loud, but they are present. They reveal what they care about. They are not too cool to admit that something excites them. The older I get, the more I appreciate that quality. I am much more drawn to people who are openly interested in the world than to people who spend their lives trying to appear unaffected by everything. Give me the person who gets excited about a favorite record, an old movie, a local diner, a strange roadside attraction, a sunrise, a vintage toy, or a memory from childhood that still glows in their mind. That person is alive. That person is paying attention. That person is memorable.

Another truth this experience reminded me of is that we still want to be chosen. We may not always admit it, especially as adults, but the desire does not fully disappear. We want someone to point and say, “You. We see something in you.” It begins on playgrounds and in classrooms, but it follows us into adulthood. We want the job, the opportunity, the invitation, the role, the client, the acceptance, the yes. We want to know that, out of all the people who could have been considered, someone noticed something in us.

There is nothing shameful about that. Wanting to be chosen is human. The problem comes when we allow being chosen to become the only measure of our value. It is not. A yes can be affirming, but a no does not erase who you are. Still, pretending not to care is not healthier. Sometimes we do care. Sometimes we let ourselves imagine the possibility. Sometimes we want the thing, and when it does not happen, it stings. That sting does not mean we were foolish. It means we were willing to want something.

There is real vulnerability in wanting something openly enough to pursue it. When you apply, audition, submit, pitch, ask, or otherwise put yourself forward, you are admitting that the outcome matters to you. You are allowing yourself to be seen reaching. That can feel risky because now the answer is out of your hands. It is much safer to stand back, make jokes, and say, “I could have done that if I wanted to,” while never actually doing it. It is much safer to talk yourself out of the opportunity before the opportunity can reject you. But safety is not always the same thing as fulfillment. Sometimes safety is simply fear that has learned to sound practical.

I think there is courage in raising your hand, especially as we get older. Age gives us wisdom, but it can also provide a long list of excuses. We begin telling ourselves that certain experiences are for younger people, that some doors have closed, that we have already had our turn, that there is no point in stepping into a room where we may not seem like the obvious choice. Sometimes those thoughts are realistic. Not every opportunity is right. Not every door should be pushed open. But sometimes we dismiss ourselves far too quickly. We assume we do not belong before anyone else has decided anything at all.

At 63, I know exactly how old I am. I am not trying to pretend I am twenty-five. My body occasionally sends reminder notices just in case I forget. But creatively, emotionally, and mentally, I do not feel finished. In many ways, I feel more like myself now than I did decades ago. I know what I care about. I know what kinds of ideas wake me up. I know that I still enjoy taking a left turn when life offers one. I do not want the second half of life to become a slow narrowing of possibilities. I want expansion in there. I want some surprise. I want to keep saying, “Why not me?” when something fascinating appears on the horizon.

That phrase can sound arrogant if it is used the wrong way, but I do not mean it that way. I mean it as a refusal to automatically exclude yourself from consideration. Why not me? Why not try? Why not enter? Why not begin? Why not step forward and see what happens? The world is full of people who never discover whether they could have done something because they convinced themselves not to attempt it. I would rather collect a few honest disappointments than a lifetime of unresolved question marks.

Not getting this particular thing was not the same as failing. Sometimes an outcome is shaped by timing, chemistry, fit, or decisions made in rooms we will never enter. You can be worthy and still not be chosen. You can be qualified and still not be the one. You can show up sincerely and still walk away without the result you hoped for. That does not mean you misread your own value. It means life did not move in that direction this time.

In my case, the value was not limited to the possibility of being selected. The value was also in what the experience stirred up inside me. It made me take stock of my own story. It made me think carefully about what I find meaningful in my life and what might make me memorable to someone else. It reminded me that I am still willing to put myself in play. It reminded me that I still want to be surprised by life. Those are not small things. Those are worth carrying forward.

I have lived long enough to know that disappointment usually fades faster than regret. You may briefly feel let down when something does not happen. But the things you never attempt can linger for years. The project you never started. The business idea you never tested. The trip you kept postponing. The person you never called. The application you never submitted. The opportunity you ruled yourself out of before anyone else had a chance to answer. Those unfinished possibilities can stay with you because they never reached a real conclusion. They remain suspended in the mind as “what ifs.”

So maybe this is a nudge, for me and maybe for anyone reading this. Take another look at the thing you have quietly talked yourself out of. It may be a creative idea. It may be a professional opportunity. It may be a personal challenge. It may simply be saying yes to something that feels a little uncomfortable because it is unfamiliar. Ask yourself whether you are truly being realistic or whether you are protecting yourself from the vulnerability of trying.

Some opportunities change our circumstances. Others change the way we see ourselves. They remind us that our lives are richer than we may have realized, that our stories have value, and that we are still capable of stepping toward the unknown. Even when we do not get the thing, the act of reaching can wake us up. It can clarify us. It can show us that we are still willing to participate fully in our own lives.

I did not get the thing.

But I am glad I tried.

And maybe, in the end, that is the thing I needed most.

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The post Some Opportunities Make Us Examine Who We Are appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

At first, I thought, “Eh, I don’t know. That sounds kind of weird. Maybe even a little lame.” But then today happened. I had ordered something from Amazon and needed to return it, and I discovered I could drop it off at Staples instead of UPS. Since our Staples is usually pretty quiet, I ran it in. A lady I didn’t know came up smiling and said, “Aren’t you Curtis Tucker?” I said, “Well, yes, I am.” She said, “I see your videos. I thought that was you, but I wasn’t sure until I heard your voice.” We had a nice little conversation, and I went on my way.

Later in the day, I had the Culligan guy come out to look at something under the sink. While he was working, he looked up and said, “You’re Curtis Tucker, aren’t you?” I said, “Yeah.” He said he watches my videos. Then tonight, Denise and I went to Hideaway Pizza. She saw one of her dental hygiene patients and went over to say hello. A few minutes later, he came over to our table to introduce himself to me because he watches my videos and had seen my tornado video. So that was three people in one day. That doesn’t usually happen, and that’s when I thought, “Okay, maybe the universe is telling me to go ahead and do this episode.”

So here we are. Now, I want to be very clear. This is not about me being famous. I’m not famous. I’m not a celebrity. I’m just a familiar face in Enid, Oklahoma, and there’s a difference. But it is interesting how an average, everyday guy like me went from working for someone else, to building websites, to running Enid Buzz, to eventually being recognized around town by people I’ve never met.

Back in the early 2000s, I had quit my regular job and started building websites and blogs for a living. My big idea was to build around 100 websites and make money from advertising, affiliate links, and Google traffic. That was the business model. Build the sites, keep them updated, rank high in Google, get visitors, and make money when people clicked ads or bought things through links. At some point, when you’re trying to build that many websites, you start running out of ideas. So I thought, “Why not build a website about Enid, Oklahoma?”

The original idea for Enid Buzz was not news. It was not events. It was not a community media brand. It was just me blogging about my memories of growing up in Enid. I wanted to write about the restaurants I remembered, the stores, old photos, fun memories from the 70s and 80s, and all the things around town that made Enid feel like home. So in 2005, I bought EnidBuzz.com and built a website. I also added a little directory with links to places like the City of Enid, the police department, the symphony, the YMCA, churches, sports complexes, and other local resources. I thought it would be helpful to have one place where people could find links to everything in town.

But back then, it was still mostly just a personal blog. There was no social media like we know it today. No live streaming. No reels. No TikTok. People weren’t uploading tons of video. Websites needed to load fast, so everything was mostly text and photos. I also didn’t really put myself front and center. There wasn’t some big “About Curtis” page. Most people didn’t know who was behind Enid Buzz. It was just one of the many websites I was running.

For about 10 years, I built and maintained websites. I made money through Google rankings and advertising. Things were working. Then, in 2012, everything changed. Google rolled out a major algorithm change called the Panda Update. Basically, Google started pushing down what it considered “thin content” websites and giving more weight to large, established sites. One day, my websites were ranking well. The next day, they were gone. Traffic disappeared. Money disappeared. My AdSense account showed almost nothing coming in. At first, I thought it was a glitch. It wasn’t.

I started searching for my websites in Google, and they were nowhere to be found. All those rankings I had built over years had vanished almost overnight. I spent the better part of a year trying to figure it out, trying to recover, trying to understand the new algorithm. But eventually, I had to face reality. My business had collapsed. So I had a decision to make. Was I going to quit the internet completely and go get a regular job again? Or was I going to start something new?

Out of everything I had built, Enid Buzz was the one thing that didn’t have to depend entirely on Google search rankings. It was local. I could build an audience directly in Enid. I could use Facebook. I could connect with people in town. I could create something that wasn’t just waiting for Google to send traffic. So I rebuilt Enid Buzz and started taking it seriously. Facebook pages had come along, and I started an Enid Buzz Facebook page. That’s really where things took off.

The day I decided to make Enid Buzz my full-time business, I started posting constantly. I treated the Facebook page like a newsfeed. Not one post a day. Not one post a week. I was posting news, events, press releases, community updates, photos, business information, weather, road closures, and anything else I thought people in Enid might want to know. Some people thought I posted too much, and honestly, I understood that. But I also knew what I was trying to build. I wanted Enid Buzz to be a constant stream of local information.

Today, that’s what TV stations, newspapers, and media pages do on Facebook all the time. But back in 2013, especially locally, that was not as common. I didn’t have a huge plan. I just knew people were on Facebook, and I knew Enid needed a steady local information source. So I put those two things together.

For the first several years, most people had no idea who ran Enid Buzz. Some people thought it was a woman, probably because a lot of the content leaned toward things like shopping, food, family events, and community happenings. Some thought it was connected to the newspaper. Some thought it was part of the City of Enid. Really, people just knew there was this thing called Enid Buzz putting out a lot of local information.

Then video started becoming easier to upload. YouTube was growing. Short videos became more practical. Social media started changing. So I started doing more video. If I went to interview someone, I would be on camera with them. If I went to an event, I might record a video. Eventually, people started seeing my face connected to Enid Buzz. That made me different from the newspaper, the radio stations, and other local pages. In a way, Enid Buzz started becoming Enid’s version of a TV station.

We don’t have a local TV station focused only on Enid. Oklahoma City and Tulsa stations will come here for big stories, but they don’t cover the daily life of Enid. So when I started showing up with a camera, interviewing people, covering events, and doing live video, people started recognizing me. Todd and I even did a weekly video show called E-Talk, where we interviewed people at a local coffee shop. You could hear cups clinking and people talking in the background, but it was real, local, and familiar. My face started showing up every week.

Then live streaming came along, and I started doing that too. I would go to an event and start with something like, “Hey everybody, Enid Buzz here,” or “Curtis Tucker here with Enid Buzz.” Over time, people started saying things like, “Hey, aren’t you that Buzz guy?” or “Aren’t you Enid Buzz?” Sometimes they’d say, “I know you from somewhere.” And I’d say, “Enid Buzz.” And they’d say, “Yeah, that’s it.”

For a long time, I did not like vertical video. I liked horizontal video. That was what made sense to me. I didn’t really understand reels, stories, or TikTok. But about a year and a half ago, I decided I needed to force myself to learn it. Before that, I had already been going out every morning on the trail and taking sunrise photos. I would post those on Enid Buzz with the day’s weather, holidays, and local notes. People got used to seeing my sunrise photos. Then I decided to turn those into short videos.

Every morning, I started doing a one-minute video. The first 30 seconds would be me talking: “Hey everybody, Curtis Tucker here with Enid Buzz.” I’d talk about the weather, what was going on that day, or something happening around town. Then the last 30 seconds would be footage of the sunrise. I’d add music, captions, and post it to TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, stories, and reels. And I kept doing it. Every morning. For almost 500 days. Even when there wasn’t much of a sunrise. Even when I was out of town. Even when the weather wasn’t great. I rarely missed.

That consistency changed everything. Before, people would ask, “Aren’t you that Buzz guy?” Now they ask, “Are you Curtis Tucker?” That daily repetition made my face and voice familiar. The videos don’t always get huge numbers. Some might get a few hundred views. Some Enid Buzz videos might get 600, 700, or 800 views. Some might get more on Instagram. But the power is not in one viral video. The power is in showing up every day.

A different group of people may see the video each morning. Over time, those videos have probably passed through just about everyone’s feed in town at least once. That’s how familiarity is built. Not overnight. Not by accident. By repetition.

Recently, I filmed tornado footage near Enid, and that video got a lot of attention. That wasn’t really a “me on camera” video in the usual sense, but people connected it back to me. It added one more layer to people recognizing what I do. They see the sunrise videos. They see Enid Buzz posts. They see weather updates. They see event coverage. They see local interviews. Then they see tornado footage. After a while, it all adds up.

Here’s the strange part. I didn’t set out to become recognized. I didn’t sit down one day and say, “I want people in Enid to know who I am.” It just happened because I kept showing up. I kept posting. I kept doing videos. I kept covering events. I kept answering questions. I kept putting my face and voice out there. And now, because Enid Buzz has a large local audience and reaches millions of views each month, people see me all the time. That’s the real reason people recognize me. It’s not fame. It’s familiarity.

It can be a little awkward sometimes. I walk around not thinking anyone knows who I am. But then someone will come up and talk to me like they already know me because they’ve seen me so many times online. And I get it. We all do that with people we see on TV, hear on the radio, or follow online. You feel like you know them, even though they don’t know you. Most of the time, I enjoy it. I really do. I’m not saying, “Don’t come talk to me.” I like meeting people who follow Enid Buzz or watch my videos. But it is a little strange when someone knows your face, your voice, your vehicle, and your daily routine, and you’ve never met them before.

It also means I have to be careful. Because people know who I am, I have to watch what I say and do in public. If I do something dumb, rude, or weird, there’s a good chance someone will know exactly who I am. I also try to avoid taking strong public sides on certain things, especially politics, because Enid Buzz serves the whole community. I don’t want half the audience thinking I’m against them because of a yard sign, a comment, or a post. That can be tough sometimes, but it comes with the territory.

Another funny part of running Enid Buzz is that people assume I know everything happening in town. If a helicopter flies over Enid, people ask me why. If a big plane lands at Vance, people ask me what it is. If police tape goes up somewhere, people ask me what happened. If the power goes out, people ask me why and how long it will be out. If a business is opening in an old building, people ask me what’s going in there. At Christmas, people ask me where Santa is going to be. If there’s an earthquake, people ask, “Was that an earthquake?” If it snows, people ask whether school will be canceled.

The truth is, most of the time, I don’t magically know the answer. I have to go find it just like everyone else. For power outages, I know where to check the OG&E outage map. For school closings, I have to wait until the schools announce it. For police activity, I usually don’t know unless there’s a press release or I’ve heard something reliable. Sometimes I do know what business is going into a building. Sometimes I know but can’t say yet. And sometimes I have no idea. But people ask because Enid Buzz has become one of the places people turn when they want to know what’s happening.

Enid is a city of around 50,000 people. We don’t have a local TV station dedicated to covering us every day. The Oklahoma City and Tulsa stations will show up for big stories, but they aren’t covering our daily events, ribbon cuttings, restaurant openings, community questions, school updates, local weather moments, and neighborhood happenings. The newspaper does its thing, but it’s different. The radio stations have DJs, but unless you see them at remotes or events, you may not know what they look like.

So in a strange way, I think I became something like a local TV anchor for Enid. Not because I planned it. Not because I had a journalism degree. Not because I was trying to be famous. But because I was the guy who kept showing up on camera, talking about Enid. And over time, that matters.

If there’s a lesson in all of this, it’s pretty simple: consistency works. If you’re trying to build a brand, a business, a podcast, a page, or a following, you don’t have to go viral every day. You don’t need every video to get 50,000 views. You just need to keep showing up. Use your face. Use your voice. Be helpful. Be consistent. Let people get familiar with you. That is how trust is built. That is how recognition is built. That is how a regular person becomes a familiar face in their community.

For me, it happened through Enid Buzz, Facebook, live video, interviews, morning sunrise videos, weather updates, and years of posting local information. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t fancy. It was just steady.

I’m at an interesting point now. I could keep Enid Buzz about where it is: a strong local website and social media brand with some video mixed in. Or I could grow it into something more like a full local video news source. The question is whether I want to take on that much more work and responsibility at this stage of life. I’m not retiring, but I am old enough to think carefully about how much more I want to build, manage, and maintain.

For now, I’m just going to keep cruising. I’ll keep doing the morning videos. I’ll keep posting local updates. I’ll keep showing up when there’s something happening around town. And if you see me out somewhere, yes, you can say hello. Just don’t be surprised if I look confused for a second. You may know me from the videos, but I may not know you yet.

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The post How I Became A Familiar Face Around Town appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

Hey Buzzheads, Shaggheads, and Zoinkers — Curtis Tucker, a.k.a. Shaggs, here from Shaggy Duck Studio with another episode of The Curtis Tucker Podcast.

This one is a little different.

If you’re watching on YouTube, this may be an episode worth seeing instead of just hearing, because I’ll be mixing in some of the tornado footage I captured during one of the wildest Thursdays I can remember.

I’m almost 63 and a half years old, and this past week may rank as one of the craziest of my life. But today, I’m focusing on one part of it:

My Thursday tornado adventure.

That title sounds casual on purpose. In Oklahoma, tornado watches, warnings, hail, and wall-to-wall weather coverage are part of spring. You never get careless about tornadoes, but after you’ve lived here long enough — and especially after you’ve storm spotted a few — you learn to stay calm, watch closely, and respect what’s happening.

Still, this one was different.

It formed near my hometown. It was clear, slow, powerful, and close.

A Normal Thursday Turns Fast

The day started like a typical Oklahoma spring setup: warm air, moisture, a dry line, and the possibility of hail, severe storms, and tornadoes.

Most of the day felt normal. I wasn’t glued to the weather. Later that evening, after taking Mr. Saucy Pants for a haircut and picking up dog food, I headed out to the studio to work on the podcast.

I turned on the TV and landed on David Payne’s weather coverage. A storm north of Enid, near Bremen, was showing signs of rotation. Bremen caught my attention because Todd and I had been there before to interview Gene Simmons and later Paul Stanley.

For a while, it looked like a tornado might cross I-35 near Bremen. The highway was even shut down north and south of town. Then, just before it got there, the tornado lifted and disappeared.

I thought about jumping in the Jeep, but by then it was too late.

Then I noticed clouds building south of Enid.

I checked WeatherBug, and there was a tiny little blip on radar. Nothing huge yet, but the ingredients were there. So I grabbed my phone, grabbed Mr. Saucy Pants, and headed south to a spot I use for storm photos — a flat oil road in the middle of a wheat field southwest of Enid.

My plan was simple: get some cool storm cloud pictures.

That plan lasted about thirty seconds.

By the time I parked, the storm was already on top of us. It started raining, then hailing. Inside a hardtop Jeep, hail is loud, and Mr. Saucy Pants was not impressed. He climbed into my lap, trembling, ready for the adventure to be over.

The rain was too heavy to see anything, so I headed home.

The Tornado Warning

When I got back, Denise and Piper were home, and the weather was on TV. Then all our phones went off at once. It was a tornado warning.

In Oklahoma, a watch means conditions are favorable. A warning means something may be forming or already on the ground.

Right after the alerts hit, David Payne said he thought he saw a hook south of Enid.

I looked at Denise and said, “I’m going to be so mad if there’s a tornado and I’m sitting here at home.”

So I left.

Because it happened so fast, I didn’t grab my good cameras, tripod, or extra gear. Just my phone.

I headed south on Cleveland toward Vance Air Force Base. The rain had stopped, but a few big pieces of hail were still clunking off the Jeep. The sky was dark, but visibility was good.

When I turned onto the dirt road along the north fence line of the runway, I saw it. A wall cloud!

And not a messy one. This looked like a spaceship dropping out of the storm. Smooth, dramatic, obvious. I knew immediately that was where the hook was.

It was right in front of me.

Watching It Form

I started filming out the window as the wall cloud lowered. I stopped on the dirt road with the runway, the storm, me, and Enid all lined up.

The cloud kept spinning. Little vortices started moving underneath it. I was about to say, “I think this is going to become a tornado,” when I saw dirt and debris spinning on the ground.

Just like that, it was on the ground.

At that moment, I had to choose: record high-quality footage for myself or go live on Enid Buzz and tell people what was happening.

I only had one phone.

So I went live.

That meant giving up the better video, the polished shots, and the classic “me with a tornado in the background” photo. But it also meant people in Enid could see where the tornado was and hear what it was doing in real time.

That’s the difference between storm chasing and storm spotting.

I wasn’t just trying to get cool footage. I was trying to help people know where the danger was.

The Tornado Moves Around Enid

The tornado became clearer as it picked up dirt and debris. It started as more of a tube or column, then later grew darker and more cone-shaped. The view was unbelievably clear — no heavy rain hiding it, no messy clouds blocking it.

It moved near the south side of Vance Air Force Base, then east. From my angle, it looked like it might be going through the base, but somehow it went around it.

Then it crossed Highway 81 and did its worst damage in the Grey Ridge area.

At one point, I had to move my Jeep out of the middle of the dirt road. When I got back to filming, the tornado looked darker and more intense. I think that was when it was hitting Grey Ridge and pulling in debris from homes, roofs, trees, and everything else in its path.

A guy I knew showed up with his family and offered to drive while I kept filming. That was a huge help. We followed the tornado down Southgate as it hit random buildings, a barn, homes, and the dump, sending debris everywhere.

Power lines were down. Poles were down. Signs were scattered. Emergency vehicles were moving in. Traffic was building fast.

The tornado eventually moved toward the east side of Enid near Brookside, then lifted before reaching Enid Woodring Regional Airport.

It missed Brookside. It missed the airport. It missed Vance. Considering how strong it was, Enid was incredibly lucky.

The Aftermath

The tornado damaged more than 40 homes and buildings, with Grey Ridge taking the hardest hit. Some homes were flattened. But somehow, there were no fatalities.

That is the miracle.

Later, the National Weather Service classified it as an EF-4. Trees were stripped of bark and leaves, and some homes were reduced to slabs. This was not just another weak Oklahoma spin-up. This was serious.

After the tornado lifted, my phone battery was almost dead. I headed back to the studio, charged it, and started trying to keep up with information coming in.

People wanted to know where to donate, where to volunteer, what was needed, and what was not. Reports were conflicting. Some people said take supplies to the Expo Center. Others said don’t. Some said nurses were needed. Others said they weren’t.

So at 12:30 that night, I drove to the Expo Center to find out for myself.

I talked to the Red Cross contact there, and she said they did not need nurses or volunteers at that moment. They had water, food, and clothing, and they asked people not to bring more items until they had a better system in place.

The next morning, I was back at it — posting updates, checking press releases, interviewing people at the Expo Center, and trying to keep Enid Buzz followers pointed toward the most accurate information.

Then the media requests started coming in. CNN, NewsNation, storm chasing crews — everybody wanted to use the footage.

It turned into 24 hours of nonstop tornado coverage.

Why This One Felt Different

When you storm spot in another town, your job is mostly technical. You report the location, direction, size, and whether it’s on the ground.

But when it’s your hometown, everything changes.

You know the roads. You know the neighborhoods. You know who might be in the path.

Watching that tornado move near Enid was eerie because I knew exactly what it could hit if it shifted just a little north.

My best friend Stayton and his wife were watching the live feed from Dallas, and she was yelling at the screen for me to go home to my family.

I get that.

But from where I was, I could see the tornado clearly. It was moving away from me. It wasn’t rain-wrapped. I knew where it was the whole time. In that moment, I felt safer watching it than driving back into town and losing track of it.

Had it turned toward town or disappeared into rain, I would have made a different call.

The Footage

Because I chose Facebook Live, I didn’t get the highest-quality video I could have captured directly on my phone. But I did get the live information out when it mattered.

I’ve downloaded the live videos and plan to edit them into one cleaner version, cutting out the parts where I’m moving the Jeep or getting situated. I’ll post that edited version on Enid Buzz so it stays available permanently, since Facebook Live videos eventually disappear.

I’ll also embed the footage on the Curtis Tucker blog page for this episode and include some of it in the YouTube version.

Just Another Oklahoma Spring Day — Almost

This tornado was strange. It formed quickly, moved slowly, shifted oddly, and missed several major targets by what felt like a miracle.

It missed Vance Air Force Base.

It missed Brookside.

It lifted before Woodring Airport.

But it still caused serious damage for the people it did hit.

That’s the reality of tornadoes. They can be fascinating from a distance and devastating up close. You can admire the power and still feel sick for the people who lost homes.

For me, this was probably the clearest, slowest, strongest tornado I’ve ever watched form from beginning to end. I’ve seen tornadoes before, but I don’t believe I had ever spotted an EF-4.

It was incredible, eerie, heartbreaking and it was very Oklahoma.

Have You Ever Seen One?

So that was my Thursday tornado adventure here in Enid.

Have you ever seen a tornado in person? Have you ever gone storm chasing or storm spotting? Would you want to see one, or would you rather stay far away?

And if you saw my tornado footage on CNN or NewsNation, let me know.

You can reach me at shags@shaggyduck.com or curtis@curtistucker.com.

Thanks for listening, thanks for watching, and if you’re in Oklahoma this spring — keep one eye on the sky.

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NEWSNATION INTERVIEW

PHOTOS
These are photos from the Gray Ridge neighborhood in Enid, Oklahoma.

The post My Thursday Tornado Adventure in Enid appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

Tonight’s episode is about those moments. The simple things that can instantly lift your mood, make you smile, or remind you that life still has plenty of good stuff tucked into it. Some of these are small, some are nostalgic, some are oddly specific, but almost all of them are the kinds of things that make you stop and think, “Yep… that just made my day.”

I got the idea when I got into my Jeep one day and my favorite song was randomly on the radio. It made me feel like it was a good sign and that I was going to have a great day. So I started thinking about other surprising joys we all encounter every day.

So here we go — a list of surprising joys that can brighten your day.

1. You get into your vehicle and one of your all-time top 10 songs is on the radio.
2. You put on a jacket and there’s a $20 bill in the pocket.
3. You hit every green light on your way somewhere.
4. You realize it’s the day your favorite TV show is on.
5. Your favorite thing to wear is freshly washed.
6. Your to-do list is at zero.
7. A one-hour meeting gets cancelled.
8. You get nothing but positive comments on your social media post.
9. A good friend calls you to meet for lunch.
10. Someone pays for your order in the drive-thru.
11. Your least favorite player gets kicked off your favorite reality show.
12. You get an email saying your order will arrive today.
13. Your restaurant app says you get a free meal.
14. Your French fries are steaming hot.
15. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the temperature is perfect.
16. Driving with your Jeep top off.
17. Something you manifested appears out of nowhere.
18. Your favorite podcast does an episode that speaks directly to you.
19. Your morning drink turns out perfect.
20. Looking up at the night sky just in time to see a shooting star.
21. You get a compliment from a stranger.
22. Driving down the street you grew up on and seeing your best friends’ houses.
23. Waking up and remembering a really great dream.
24. Spotting several fireflies outside your window.
25. You get to your desk and it’s completely clean and perfectly arranged.
26. Someone replaces something you thought was about to run out.
27. Watching your dog stick his head out of your car window.
28. You’re driving and catch the perfect sunrise or sunset.
29. Your pet lays in your lap and goes to sleep.
30. You get to help a turtle across the street.
31. Having a bird hop into your studio when the door is open.
32. Your favorite movie is on regular TV right when you turn it on.
33. The parts of your sandwich are perfectly placed and spread evenly.
34. Your steak is cooked to the exact temperature you ordered.
35. The ice in your drink is soft and crunchy.
36. Sitting outside on a porch on a warm summer night.
37. Smelling fresh-cut grass while out on a walk.
38. Getting a rubber duck left on your Jeep.
39. Having a ladybug or butterfly land on you.
40. Working in your office with the door open when it rains.
41. Looking at the clock and the minutes are your lucky number.
42. Smiling at someone and they smile back.
43. Getting into a bed with fresh, warm sheets.
44. Stopping in the middle of Disney World and saying to yourself, “I’m here.”
45. Going to the donut shop and every one of your favorites is there.
46. When a fragrance reminds you of someone you miss.
47. Watching kids play in the grass until it’s dusk.
48. Going through an old photo album you haven’t seen in years.
49. Having a bird’s nest right outside your window.
50. Seeing a rainbow, anytime, anywhere.

Ending

Maybe that’s the real secret to enjoying life a little more: noticing it. Noticing the little things that go right. The tiny gifts. The moments that don’t cost anything, don’t last very long, and probably wouldn’t make the evening news — but somehow mean everything in that moment.

A lot of joy doesn’t arrive with fireworks. It shows up in green lights, hot French fries, clean desks, summer porches, good songs, fireflies, fresh sheets, and old memories that still know how to tap you on the shoulder.

So tonight, maybe keep your eyes open for one of those little surprises. Because even on an ordinary day, joy has a way of sneaking in when you least expect it.

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Coming soon…

The post 50 Surprising Joys That Will Brighten Your Day appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized this would make a good record for me, and maybe for my girls too. One day, when I’m much older, I’d love to be able to look back and remember the stages of my life. And for younger people, it’s also a reminder to ask questions while you still can. Ask your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents where they lived, what jobs they had, what their life was really like. A lot of family history disappears if nobody asks.

I was born in 1962, so the 60s were mostly my early childhood. I was born at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio while my dad was in the Air Force. We lived in Turkey for part of my toddler years, then eventually made our way back to Oklahoma. After my parents divorced in 1969, my mom moved us to Enid. My memories of the 60s are there, but that decade was mostly defined by simply being a kid.

The 70s were a whole different story. That was my decade. I grew up in Enid, went to Enid schools, and spent those years doing what kids used to do best—riding bikes, skateboarding, hanging out with friends, and living carefree. Those junior high years on West Broadway with our group of guys were some of the best times of my life. It was friendship, freedom, and fun, and that’s a big reason I still love talking about the 70s so much today.

The 80s were about college, growing up, and trying to find my footing. I went from Enid to Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa, then to Stillwater, and later to Central State in Edmond to study art and graphic design. The 80s were fun, but they were also about trying to figure life out—school, jobs, roommates, girlfriends, and just trying to survive on very little money. Looking back, there were a lot of good times mixed into the struggle.

The 90s were probably the hardest decade for me. That era was mostly defined by my first marriage, working at Evans Drug, building my graphic design skills, and starting to experiment with computers and side work. I bought houses, sold houses, drove Jeeps, even bought a red Corvette convertible at one point. But it was also a decade of stress, struggle, divorce, and trying to rebuild. By the end of the 90s, though, I had started building websites, learning the internet, and laying the foundation for what would eventually become my own business.

The 2000s were a much brighter chapter. That was the decade of marriage, daughters, working from home, and discovering how to make a living online. Denise and I were raising Piper and Chaney while I built Shaggy Duck Studio, worked on website and logo design, and eventually launched Enid Buzz in 2005. Those years were filled with family life, school drop-offs, dance lessons, vacations, and the blessing of being a work-from-home dad while the girls were little.

The 2010s were defined by change. I was still working for myself, but the girls were heavily involved in dance, life was busy, and then the Google Panda update hit and wiped out the business model I had relied on for years. Instead of going back to work for someone else, I made the decision to go all-in on Enid Buzz in 2013. That decade also included podcasting, offices downtown, a retail store experiment, lots of travel for dance competitions, and the beginning of my daily walks on the Enid trail—something that’s now been part of my life for over a decade.

The 2020s have been shaped by college years for the girls, road trips, football games, loss, and a lot of transition. COVID disrupted so much, including Piper’s graduation and both girls’ college experiences. We spent years driving back and forth to OU and Arkansas for games and performances. We also lost people we loved, including my mom and Jim Evans. But we moved back into this house, built this studio, and found our way into a new season of life.

When I look back, the 70s still win for me. They were the most carefree, the most magical, and the most fun. But every decade had its own identity. The 80s were about becoming an adult. The 90s were about struggle and survival. The 2000s were about family and building something of my own. The 2010s were about reinvention. And the 2020s have been about showing up for the people I love while continuing to build the life I want.

That’s really what this whole episode came down to for me: every decade leaves its mark. Some are fun, some are difficult, and some blur together until you stop and really think about them. But they all shape who you become.

So think about your own life. What decade defined you the most? Which one was your favorite, and why?

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The post Defined By The Decades appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

I had a different podcast episode pretty much ready to go last week. I was on my normal schedule, getting it lined up around Wednesday or Thursday night, but I had a speech on Friday that I was getting ready for, so I got a little behind. Then over the weekend, something happened that was too funny not to talk about.

So I decided to bump that other episode to this week and go with this one instead.

This is one of those stories that’s kind of funny, but it’s also a little informative too. Because if you don’t really understand how some of these Facebook scams work, this is a pretty good example. And this one was so bad—so poorly done—that I still can’t believe it probably works on anybody.

But apparently it does, or they wouldn’t keep doing it.

The funny part is, this scammer was such an amateur that I was basically able to turn it around on them. I didn’t scam them out of any money or anything like that, but I did scam them out of about two full days of their life. And that means they weren’t out spending that time messing with other people.

So honestly, I felt pretty good about that.

How It Started

This all started Thursday night.

Now I’ve got a bunch of accounts, but I’ve got two main Facebook accounts. One is my regular Curtis Tucker account, and the other is Curtis Shaggs Tucker. The reason I even started that second one is because at one point Facebook wouldn’t let me monetize my original account, so I started another one. Then as soon as I got that second one going pretty good, Facebook finally let me monetize the original one.

So now I mostly use the main one, but I still keep the other one open in a different browser. I’ll have one open in one browser and one open in another. That way when I post something on Curtis Tucker or Enid Buzz in one account, I can go over to the other account and like it, which helps a little with engagement and spreading things around. It’s all part of playing the algorithm game.

Anyway, Thursday night, on my Curtis Shaggs Tucker account, I get a friend request from a lady whose name sounded familiar. And in my mind I’m thinking, I’m probably already friends with her on my Curtis Tucker account, and maybe she just wants to connect with this one too.

That happens sometimes.

I’ve had people add both accounts because they didn’t see where I said I don’t really post much on the Curtis Shaggs Tucker one anymore. So I was busy, I didn’t think much about it, and I accepted the request.

First Big Clue

If somebody sends you a friend request and you think you’re already friends with them, that ought to make you stop and look.

That doesn’t mean it’s always a scam, but it’s one of the easiest ways these scammers get people. They make a duplicate account that looks enough like somebody you know, and they’re hoping you won’t pay close attention.

I didn’t really pay close attention because I was busy and, honestly, I wasn’t too worried about getting scammed. It would take a lot for me to fall for one of these. I figured if it turned out to be a scammer, sooner or later they’d show their hand, and I’d just report the account and delete them.

Well, I didn’t have to wait long. As soon as I accepted the friend request, they immediately messaged me on Messenger.

That’s a huge red flag.

What the Fake Account Looked Like

Had I taken just a few seconds to check the account before accepting it, I would’ve seen all kinds of clues.

First off, if I had searched the name, I would’ve seen there were multiple accounts with that same name. In this case, it was one of these fake Julie Leach accounts. You’ve probably seen those. The “I won the lottery and I’m giving away money” kind of scams.

None of the accounts had very many friends. That right there ought to tell you something.

One of them had a little write-up saying something like, “I’m Julie Leach, $310,500,000 mega lottery winner. This is my giveaway page, and I’m giving away $50,000.”

These were terrible fake accounts. I mean just awful. No real history. Hardly any friends. Missing cover photos. Generic nonsense in the bio. Just all the classic signs.

Most People Aren’t Actually “Hacked”

One thing I think a lot of people get wrong is they’ll say, “My friend got hacked,” or “Somebody hacked their Facebook.”

That does happen sometimes, but most of the time that’s not what happened.

Usually what happened is a scammer made a fake duplicate account using that person’s name and profile picture. That’s different from getting hacked.

If you really get hacked, somebody got into your actual account, figured out your password, locked you out, and started using your real profile. That’s one thing.

But what happens a whole lot more is somebody just copies your name, grabs your profile picture, creates a new account, and starts friending your friends.

So to people who don’t look closely, it looks like it’s you.

But if they slow down for two seconds, they’ll usually see it’s a fake account with almost no friends and no real activity. A lot of these fake accounts don’t have a clean Facebook username in the URL. Instead, it’ll say something like profile.php with a bunch of numbers after it.

Now by itself that may not mean much to a lot of people, but when you combine that with the low friend count, no history, and the immediate message, it starts to become pretty obvious.

The Funny Part

Now here’s where it got funny.

This scammer was so bad at what they were doing, and so committed to the act, that I was able to keep them tied up for a long time. And the more I kept them going, the funnier it got to me.

I didn’t get anything from them except entertainment.

But I kept thinking, every minute this person is wasting on me is a minute they are not spending trying to fool somebody else. And if I can burn up a bunch of their time, then that’s a win.

So that’s basically what happened.

I ended up scamming the scammer out of their time. And honestly, for how dumb this scam was, that felt about right.

They really started believing I was going to come through for them.

I started pulling little tricks on them all weekend long. I kept stringing them along. Kept acting like I was almost ready.

Kept making them think those Apple card e-codes were just around the corner.

And they hung in there. Hour after hour. Message after message. Still hoping. Still trying. Still thinking they were working a real target.

Meanwhile, I’m over here basically reverse-scamming the scammer by eating up their time and laughing about it.

And again, the podcast includes the back-and-forth.

That’s part of what makes this episode fun.

You’re not just hearing me talk about it after the fact. You get to hear about the actual exchange, the ridiculous stuff they were saying, and the ways I kept them dangling out there chasing those mythical Apple card codes.

A Few Easy Signs to Watch For

If you’re on Facebook and don’t want to get caught by one of these idiots, here are a few easy clues:

If somebody you think you already know sends you another friend request, stop and check.

If they message you immediately after you accept, be suspicious.

If the account only has a few friends, that’s a big clue.

If the page has no real history, hardly any pictures, or looks half-finished, that’s another clue.

If it says they just joined Facebook a couple of days ago, come on.

And if they’re talking about giveaways, lottery winnings, grants, blessing people with money, or any of that nonsense, it’s almost certainly fake.

Final Thought

I know some of these scams seem so obvious that it’s hard to understand how they work on anybody. But they must be working on somebody, because these people keep doing it.

So I thought this was worth talking about for two reasons.

One, it’s funny.

And two, maybe it helps somebody out there recognize the signs a little quicker the next time one of these fake accounts pops up.

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The post How I Ended Up Wasting a Scammer’s Whole Weekend appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

It’s funny how we all carry around a quiet list in our heads.

Not a bucket list… the opposite.

A list of things we’ve never done.

Some of them are intentional. Some just never happened. Some we’re oddly proud of. Others… maybe we’ve avoided for reasons we don’t fully understand.

But here’s the thing—people hold onto these “nevers” like a badge of honor. Not in a bragging way, but in a this is who I am kind of way.

So as you read through mine, start building yours in your head.

You’ll be surprised what shows up.

My “Never Have I Ever” List

I have never had a latte, frappe, cappuccino, or even a full cup of coffee.
Never needed it. Never wanted it. Somewhere along the way, I just skipped that entire culture—and now it feels like I’ve watched it from the outside my whole life.

I’ve never met my two half-sisters.
Life’s strange like that. Some connections exist on paper… but never in real life.

I’ve never been to my dad’s gravesite.
That’s one of those things that makes people pause. Sometimes it’s not about avoiding—it’s about leaving things as they are.

I’ve never seen The Sound of Music.
A classic, they say. Apparently everyone sings along… except me.

I’ve never seen an episode of The Office.
This one shocks people. It’s like I’ve missed an entire cultural language everyone else speaks.

I’ve never had an illegal drug stronger than marijuana.
That line was always clear. Never crossed it.

I’ve never had a tattoo.
For a guy who’s spent a lifetime creating art, I’ve never put any on my own skin.

I’ve never broken a bone.
Either good luck, good decisions, or both.

I’ve never had to take a prescription drug.
That one surprises even me. Just never been part of my story.

I’ve never run a half marathon or marathon.
I’ll walk, I’ll move—but I’m not chasing 13 or 26 miles for fun.

I’ve never served in the military.
Plenty of respect for those who have—just not the path I took.

I’ve never been in jail.
Another line that never got crossed.

I’ve never purchased a Beatles album.
Yes… The Beatles. The biggest band in history—and I somehow went another direction.

I’ve never gambled more than $20.
Just enough to say I did it. Never enough to care if I lost.

I’ve never been to a chiropractor.
No snaps, cracks, or adjustments for me.

I’ve never purchased a gun.
Another personal line—just never felt the need.

I’ve never broken 100 in golf.
Golf has a way of humbling you… and I’ve stayed humble.

I’ve never surfed.
Not much opportunity in Oklahoma… but still, never chased it.

I’ve never been on WhatsApp or OnlyFans.
Skipped a couple of modern trends entirely.

I’ve never owned a pickup truck.
In Oklahoma, that might be the most shocking one on this list.

I’ve never flown first class.
I’ve been on planes—but always in the regular seats with everyone else.

I’ve never watched a full hockey game.
I’m sure it’s exciting… just never stuck around long enough to find out.

I’ve never bet on a sports team.
I’ll watch, I’ll root—but I’m not putting money on it.

I’ve never participated in a protest.
Just never been part of that scene.

I’ve never seen a ghost.
No strange encounters. No stories to tell. Just… nothing.

I’ve never been fired.
Every job I’ve had ended on my terms. That one I’ll take a little pride in.

I’ve never been hypnotized.
No swinging watches, no barking like a dog on stage.

I’ve never had a piercing.
Not even once. Kept it simple.

I’ve never personally bought a brand new car.
Always let someone else take that first big depreciation hit.

I’ve never fainted.
Never passed out, never hit the floor. Always stayed upright.

The Real Point of This

This list isn’t about what I’ve missed.

It’s about the life I’ve lived.

Every “never” quietly says:

• what you value
• what you avoided
• what never interested you
• and what simply never showed up in your path

And if you’re honest… your list probably says a lot about you too.

Now It’s Your Turn

Start thinking about your own list.

Not the big obvious stuff—but the little things:

• The trends you skipped
• The experiences everyone else seems to have had
• The lines you never crossed

Because when you really look at it…
those “nevers” might define you just as much as everything you have done.

And that’s where it gets interesting.

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But then there are other things that just slowly fade away.

No big announcement. No farewell tour. No official last day. They’re just there one year, less common the next, and then one day you realize they’re basically gone.

That’s what happened to a lot of the little everyday things many of us grew up with. Not giant historic moments. Not major inventions. Just regular pieces of life that used to be woven into our routines. They were in our homes, our cars, our stores, our neighborhoods, and our weekends. They helped shape the look, sound, and feel of ordinary life.

Some of them were practical. Some were fun. Some were tacky. Some probably needed to go. But taken together, they gave everyday life a texture that feels very different from the world we live in now.

Here are 25 everyday things that have quietly disappeared.

1. Video and DVD rental stores

There was something special about walking into a video store on a Friday night and browsing the shelves. You didn’t just click a title and start watching in ten seconds. You wandered around. You judged movies by the cover. You hoped the new release wasn’t already gone. And if you found a hidden gem, it felt like a victory. Video rental stores turned movie night into an event.

2. Phone books

For years, every house seemed to have a big phone book somewhere near the kitchen phone. If you needed a number, you looked it up yourself. Businesses, neighbors, restaurants, repair shops—it was all packed into those thick pages. Younger people today may never understand how normal it was to flip through a phone book to find a plumber, a pizza place, or an old friend.

3. The lady in the elevator

There was a time when some nicer stores, hotels, and office buildings actually had an elevator operator—a well-dressed lady or gentleman who sat or stood inside the elevator and controlled it for you. It sounds almost unreal now, but it was once considered helpful, proper, and classy. Even elevators used to feel more personal.

4. Record stores

Record stores were more than stores. They were destinations. You could spend an hour flipping through albums, looking at cover art, reading song lists, and discovering music you didn’t know existed. Record stores had personality. They smelled like cardboard, vinyl, and possibility. Buying music used to feel like a ritual, not just a download.

5. Black & white TVs

A black and white TV was once a totally normal thing to have, especially in a bedroom, kitchen, or second room. The picture wasn’t sharp. The screen wasn’t big. And nobody cared. It was still television. Those old sets remind us how much less people expected from entertainment—and how grateful they were just to have it.

6. Fish and birds being sold in department stores

Back in the day, some department stores had pet sections where you could buy goldfish, parakeets, turtles, and other small animals. It seems strange now to think of shopping for socks, a lamp, and a pet bird in the same building, but that kind of thing used to happen. Department stores were full of surprises.

7. Ticket stubs to concerts and events

Physical ticket stubs used to be tiny souvenirs. People saved them in drawers, wallets, scrapbooks, and memory boxes. A worn ticket stub from a concert, movie, or ballgame could instantly take you back to that night. Digital tickets are convenient, but they don’t carry the same emotional weight as a little printed piece of paper you actually held in your hand.

8. Parking meters

Parking meters are still around in some places, but old-school meters with the coin slot and turning knob used to be everywhere downtown. You’d dig for change, feed the meter, and hope you got back in time. They were a small but familiar part of city life, especially in shopping districts and old downtown streets.

9. Local radio DJ’s on 24/7

There was a time when local radio really felt local. DJs had personalities. They lived in town, talked about local events, gave shout-outs, took requests, and felt like part of the community. Today, much of radio is voice-tracked, syndicated, or automated. It still exists, but the era of live, local personalities being part of daily life around the clock has faded.

10. Software not subscriptions

You used to buy software once and own it. That was the deal. You bought the box, brought it home, installed it, and used it until your computer couldn’t handle it anymore. Now, so much of the software world runs on monthly or yearly subscriptions. It may be more convenient in some ways, but it also means you often feel like you’re renting tools instead of owning them.

11. Full size spare tires

Cars once came with real spare tires that could actually get you somewhere. Not a donut. Not a repair kit. A full-size spare. It gave you peace of mind, especially on long drives. Today, many vehicles skip them altogether to save space, weight, and cost, but it’s one more example of practicality quietly shrinking.

12. Saturday morning cartoons

For kids growing up in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even into the 90s, Saturday morning cartoons were a weekly event. You didn’t stream cartoons whenever you wanted. You got up early, grabbed a bowl of cereal, and planted yourself in front of the TV. It was a ritual. It was part of childhood. And it gave Saturday mornings their own kind of magic.

13. Tall TV antennas above everyone’s house

There was a time when neighborhoods were dotted with tall metal TV antennas rising above rooftops. They were part of the visual landscape. If your reception was bad, somebody might even have to go outside and turn the antenna while someone inside yelled, “Right there! Leave it!” Those antennas remind us of a time when television didn’t come through a cable, dish, or app.

14. Ash trays

Ash trays used to be everywhere—living rooms, restaurants, cars, motel rooms, waiting rooms, and office desks. They were so common that nobody thought twice about them. Some were plain, some were decorative, and some were oddly stylish. Their disappearance says a lot about how much daily life and public habits have changed.

15. One liter pop bottles

One-liter glass or plastic soda bottles used to feel standard. Families bought them, reused them, returned some of them for deposits, and poured drinks into actual glasses at home. There was something satisfying about a cold one-liter bottle sitting in the fridge. The packaging of soda has changed over the years, but those bottles were once part of daily life.

16. Music on cassette

Cassette tapes were portable, personal, and wonderfully imperfect. You could make mixtapes, record songs off the radio, and carry your music with you in a way that felt more hands-on than streaming ever will. Cassettes got tangled, wore out, and sounded rough sometimes—but they were part of the experience. Music felt physical.

17. Evening newspapers

There was a time when many towns had both a morning and an evening paper. The evening paper gave people something fresh to read after work, often covering local news, sports, and late-breaking events. As media habits changed, evening editions quietly vanished in many places. It was one more rhythm of daily life that disappeared.

18. Drive-In movies

Drive-ins were more than a place to watch a movie. They were an atmosphere. Families piled into the car. Teenagers hung out. Kids wore pajamas in the back seat. The giant outdoor screen, the snack bar, the little speaker hanging on the window—it all felt uniquely American. Some still exist, but far fewer than before.

19. Green Stamps

S&H Green Stamps were once a big deal. People collected them from grocery stores and gas stations, licked them, stuck them into booklets, and saved them up to redeem for merchandise. It took patience, but it felt rewarding. Green Stamps turned ordinary shopping into a kind of game.

20. Fuzzy covers on toilet seats

These were once surprisingly common in homes, especially in the 70s and 80s. Fuzzy toilet seat covers and matching bathroom rugs somehow became acceptable decorating choices. They were colorful, soft, and a little odd. Looking back, they feel like one of those trends that could only have existed in a certain era.

21. Wood-paneled walls

Wood paneling used to be everywhere—living rooms, dens, basements, offices, and family rooms. It gave spaces a warm, dark, cozy look, even if it also made some rooms feel like caves. For a long stretch of time, wood paneling was considered stylish and modern. Now it instantly evokes another era.

22. Bench seats in cars

Bench seats used to make the front of a car feel like a couch on wheels. Families could slide across the seat, couples could sit close, and riding in the car had a different physical feel than it does now. Bucket seats may be more efficient, but bench seats had a roomy, relaxed vibe that’s mostly gone.

23. Spinner racks of paper maps

Before GPS and smartphones, spinner racks of folded road maps were a familiar sight in gas stations, truck stops, and convenience stores. If you were taking a trip, you might stop and buy a state map or road atlas. Traveling required more planning, more guessing, and more unfolding giant sheets of paper in the car.

24. Dragging the local strip

For generations of teenagers, one of the main things to do on a weekend night was to “drag the strip”—cruising up and down the same street, seeing who was out, waving at friends, checking out cars, flirting, and just being part of the scene. It sounds simple, but it was social life on wheels. In many places, that tradition has largely faded away.

25. Fake plastic fruit on the table

There was a time when decorative fake fruit bowls sat proudly on kitchen tables and counters. Grapes, bananas, apples, pears—all plastic, all shiny, all pretending to be edible. It was home décor, somehow. Today it feels funny and a little kitschy, but once it was a perfectly normal touch in a lot of homes.

Looking back, what’s interesting is that most of these things were never considered extraordinary while we had them. They were just normal. Everyday. Familiar. Part of the background.

But when enough of those little background things disappear, the feeling of everyday life changes with them.

That’s really what nostalgia often is. Not just missing the big moments, but missing the texture of ordinary life. The objects, routines, sounds, and sights that quietly framed our days. A record store. A one-liter pop bottle. A phone book on the counter. A Saturday morning in front of the TV. A ride down the strip with nowhere important to go.

None of these things seemed huge at the time. But together, they helped make life feel a certain way.

And maybe that’s why they’re still worth remembering.

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That’s what this podcast episode is all about.

These are the kinds of things people do that are a little out of the ordinary—using places for purposes they weren’t exactly designed for, turning everyday moments into little adventures, or simply finding fun in ways the rest of us may have never considered. Once you start thinking about it, the world is full of this kind of off-label living.

Here are 20 quirky things people do that you may never have thought of.

People drive to movie theaters and buy popcorn, then leave and take it home just to enjoy the real movie theater taste without seeing a film. I used to do something similar in my own way—I would drive daily to a convenience store just to get cups of pellet ice to use at home. Sometimes it’s not about the destination at all. It’s about that one oddly specific thing you want.

Some families and groups of friends go to casinos and play hide-and-go-seek rather than gamble. While most people are focused on slot machines, cards, and the noise of the gaming floor, these folks turn the whole place into their own oversized playground.

A popular hobby involves enthusiasts watching and photographing aircraft from public viewing areas, parking lots, or other designated free locations. For many, it’s not just about planes—it’s about the sound, the precision, the motion, and the excitement of watching something massive rise into the air.

Some people use airport terminal lobby areas to relax, work, or simply watch the flow of travelers. Airports have a unique energy to them. Even if you’re not flying anywhere, there’s something oddly enjoyable about sitting there with a drink or laptop and soaking up the busy atmosphere.

Some adventurers fly to Oklahoma, pile into vans, and chase tornadoes during peak storm season. What sounds terrifying to most people is pure excitement to them. They travel hundreds or even thousands of miles just to witness nature at its most intense.

People visit upscale hotel lobbies just to sit and enjoy the atmosphere without ever staying there. There’s something about a beautiful hotel lobby—the lighting, the furniture, the quiet hum of activity—that makes it feel like a little temporary escape into another world.

Neighbors often attend open houses not because they’re moving, but because they want to compare the home’s kitchen, layout, updates, or design choices with their own place. Sometimes it’s curiosity. Sometimes it’s inspiration. And sometimes it’s just plain nosiness.

Some people travel specifically to look for graffiti and street art, especially pieces that are hard to find or tucked away in unexpected locations. To them, it’s like a treasure hunt mixed with photography, urban culture, and discovery.

Many people go to bookstores to read books or magazines right there on the shelves without purchasing them, treating the store a bit like a library. For some, it’s about saving money. For others, it’s just about enjoying the quiet atmosphere of being surrounded by books.

People go to Disney EPCOT mostly to eat food, look at art, people-watch, and soak up the atmosphere without riding much of anything. For plenty of visitors, the park is less about thrills and more about wandering, tasting, exploring, and enjoying the feeling of being somewhere imaginative.

Wedding crashing by strangers is a real, though uncommon, phenomenon. Some people have actually shown up at weddings they weren’t invited to just for the food, the fun, the music, or the thrill of slipping into an event unnoticed. It sounds like something from a movie, but apparently it does happen.

Some families stay at local or nearby hotels just to relax and swim in the pool. No big vacation. No flights. No major expense. Just a simple overnight getaway close to home that feels different enough to count as an escape.

People go to protests, parades, and big public events just to see if they can get on TV in the background. They’re not always there for the cause or even the event itself—they just want the fun of spotting themselves later on the evening news.

Certain groups of people spend time in cemeteries reading headstones, exploring the history, and taking in the quiet surroundings, even when they are not attending a burial. For some, it’s about local history. For others, it’s peaceful, reflective, and strangely calming.

Trainspotting involves visiting railway stations or trackside locations to observe, photograph, and record identification numbers of trains. It may sound unusual to outsiders, but for enthusiasts it combines travel, timing, engineering, and the thrill of catching a particular locomotive.

Lots of people join fitness clubs just so they have a place to gab. Sure, they may use a treadmill once in a while, but for some people the real attraction is social. The gym becomes less about sweat and more about conversation, routine, and community.

Some people go to a drive-thru just so they can secretly buy the order for the person behind them. They never meet the person. They don’t stick around for thanks. They just enjoy the quiet fun of doing something unexpected and kind.

Customers have been known to rearrange items in stores and then leave without buying anything. Maybe they like organizing. Maybe they’re bored. Maybe they just can’t stand seeing things out of place. Either way, they end up tidying shelves that don’t belong to them.

Some people travel so they can make pencil rubbings or take photos of manhole covers. In many places, especially overseas, manhole covers are designed with elaborate artwork, city symbols, and decorative patterns. What most of us walk over without a thought becomes, for others, a niche form of collecting and appreciation.

Urban exploration, also known as “urbexing,” is the exploration and photography of urban buildings, usually abandoned structures. Empty schools, warehouses, factories, hospitals, and forgotten spaces become the subjects of curiosity and art. For urban explorers, it’s about mystery, history, decay, and seeing places most people never see.

The truth is, people are full of these little quirks. And honestly, that’s part of what makes life fun. Not everything has to make perfect sense. Not every activity has to fit neatly into a category. Sometimes people just enjoy things in unusual ways, and those odd little habits end up being more interesting than the normal stuff.

Once you start noticing these kinds of behaviors, you realize the world is packed with harmless weirdness. People are constantly finding creative, funny, and unexpected ways to enjoy everyday places and experiences. And chances are, if you think about it long enough, you probably do a few quirky things yourself.

That’s what makes this such a fun topic. We’re all a little unusual in our own way.

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The post 20 Quirky Things People Do That You May Never Have Thought Of appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

Back in high school in the 1970s, my friends and I had a real garage band. We never really played out anywhere, but we had a blast. We practiced, we jammed, and we even wrote a few original songs. It was loud, messy, and perfect.

Now here we are decades later… and the world is wild.

Because of the advancement of AI, we can take a song we wrote and played back then and have it reproduced in a professional-sounding manner today. Not “replacing” the humans — just upgrading what we already created, like taking an old demo tape and finally making it sound like it always deserved to sound.

One of those songs is “Midnight Dreamin’” — which we’ve copyrighted and will be releasing soon. And honestly? I’d love for someone to record it and put it on an album.

But while I was writing my book, something else happened.

I kept coming up with these little short phrases — random words, memories, and ideas that were pure 70s. They were basically “sticky note reminders” so I wouldn’t forget to work them into the story.

Then a few years ago, I read through some of them and realized:
This isn’t just book fuel… this is song fuel.

So I decided my ultimate 70s book needed a matching ultimate 70s song — a true homage to the decade. A song packed with references that people who grew up in the 70s will instantly recognize… and younger people might not understand at all, but they’ll be curious.

That’s the point.

The lyrics are fun. They’re loaded with little time-capsule moments. And it’s the kind of song you want to sing along with even if you’re like, “Wait… what in the world is a clacker?”

Now that the lyrics are finished, I’ve pinned down the sound I want and sent everything to Stayton. He’s going to record it as an original song made 100% by humans — the way we would’ve done it back in the day.

Then I’m going to feed that human-made recording into an AI program and use AI as a tool to add extra instruments and polish it into a professional recording.

After that, the plan is to pitch it to artists who might want to record it and release it — just like “Midnight Dreamin’.”

This song is copyrighted. And once we have the final locked-in version, I’ll release it so you can help me get it into the right hands.

In the podcast episode, I walk through the verses and explain the references for anyone who didn’t grow up in the 70s — and for those of us who did, it’s a straight-up trip down memory lane.

And at the end of the episode, I’ll play part of the song so you can hear what it might sound like.

Alright… let’s get into it.

[Open]
Hey, Hey, Hey! These were the seventies! – This is an homage to the Fat Albert Saturday morning cartoon

[Verse 1]
We were marooned with a Skipper, – Although made in the 60s we watched the Gilligan’s Island reruns religiously

Used a fondue dipper, – Fondue was a quintessential party food in the 1970s

Heard a Monkee named Davy Jones. – The Monkees was a TV show ending 1968, reruns kept the group’s popularity alive in the 70s

—

There was a bunch named Brady, – The Brady Bunch was possibly the most popular kid sitcom in the 70s

That bionic lady, – The Bionic Woman is a classic 1970s sci-fi action series (1976–1978) starring Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers

A trek with a doctor Bones. – Star Trek found a new audience in the 1970s, making it a cult classic and establishing the fan base of Trekkies

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
We took a stairway to heaven, – “Stairway to Heaven” is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 8 November 1971

Thanked 7-Eleven, – “Oh Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven” is a famous, long-running advertising slogan for the 7-Eleven convenience store chain

We Hustled just for fun. – “The Hustle” is a disco song by songwriter/arranger Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony. It went to No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100

—

The Banana Splits danced, – The four Banana Splits are Fleegle (a dog), Bingo (a gorilla), Drooper (a lion), and Snorky (an elephant)

While Tattoo romanced, – Hervé Villechaize, the actor who played Tattoo on Fantasy Island, he yelled “De plane! De plane!”

During seasons in the sun. – “Seasons in the Sun” is a 1974 international hit song by Canadian singer Terry Jacks, topping charts in over 12 countries

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
We ate boxes of Zingers, – Dolly Madison snack cakes (chocolate, vanilla, raspberry) often advertised with Peanuts characters

Wore t-shirts with ringers, – Ringer T-Shirts exploded in popularity in the 1970s

Hung angels made by Charlie. – TV’s Charlie’s Angels were Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Jaclyn Smith, also popular pinup poster girls

—

There was a band out of Boston, – Boston is an American rock band formed in 1975 in Boston, Mass

A punk named Rotten, – Johnny Rotten was British-born singer and lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols

The Beach Boys were gettin gnarly. – The Beach Boys are an American surf rock band

[Bridge]
Amazed by Evel’s feats, – Evel Knievel was a defining 1970s cultural icon, famous for death-defying motorcycle jumps

Sat on banana seats, – Banana seats, defining 1970s youth culture, were long, padded, and tapered bicycle saddles

Everything was avocado green. – Avocado green was a defining, ubiquitous color in 70s interior design, symbolizing earthy tones

—

There were Barbies, G I Joes, – Iconic 1970s “dolls” for boys and girls

And bell bottom clothes, – Bell bottoms were iconic wide-legged pants, symbolizing counterculture, disco, and rebellion

Jarts with Clackers were obscene. – Jarts and Clackers were iconic, high-risk toys of the 70s that defined a “survival of the fittest” era

[Verse 4]
We welcomed back a Kotter, – Welcome Back, Kotter was a popular sitcom about a teacher and his unruly students known as the “Sweathogs”

Knew Presley’s daughter, – Lisa Marie Presley was a famous child in the 1970s, known as the only daughter of Elvis Presley

And found old Scooby Doo. – The iconic theme song phrase from the 1970s cartoon is “Scooby-Dooby-Doo, where are you?”

—

Space Food sticks with Tang, – Space Food Sticks and Tang were space-themed products marketed to children as futuristic and astronaut-approved

The Orphans were a gang, – The Orphans are a minor, low-ranking street gang in the 1979 film The Warriors

Bonds compatriot was Q. – Q provided James Bond with a variety of specialized gadgets for his missions as 007

[Chorus]

[Verse 5]
Meat Loaf by the dashboard, – “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” released on Meat Loaf’s 1977 album Bat Out of Hell, is a, 8-minute rock epic

Vader was a Sith Lord, – Darth Vader first appeared as a terrifying Sith Lord in the 1977 film Star Wars: A New Hope

Halloween was a movie. – John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) is the definitive 70s slasher movie, featuring Michael Myers’

—

Knee high were our tube socks, – Tube socks were knee-high length, white cotton-blend fabric socks with distinctive red, blue, or yellow stripes at the top

Kids played with Pet rocks, – The Pet Rock was a 1975 fad that sold over 1 million, $4 smooth stones as, “hassle-free” pets

Shag made everything so groovy. – Shag carpet, known for its deep, plush, long fibers, came in vibrant or earthy colors

[Chorus]

[Verse 6]
We were raised on Watergate, – The 1972 political scandal at the Watergate Hotel that caused President Nixon to resign

Told we had to clean our plate, – Children were expected to eat everything served because “there are starving children”

Quint had the biggest jaws. – Quint is the grizzled, obsessive shark hunter in the 1975 film Jaws who operates the boat, the Orca

—

There was Saturday Night Fever, – The 1977 disco movie that defined the 70s dance craze starring John Travolta

The Wright dream weaver, – Gary Wright released the song Dream Weaver in 1975

Bandit broke the speeding laws. – Smokey and the Bandit movie in 1977. Smokey drove a Pontiac Trans Am

[Chorus]
Sunshine rays were never wasted, – Meaning we rarely let a sunshiny day go by without being out in it doing something

Ripe melon juices never tasted, – Kids were always eating watermelon and cantalope in the summer

As sweet as the memories, – Growing up in the 70s left us with the best memories

Of those seventies summers. – Carefree 70s summers were the highlight of the year

[End]
Those were the seventies,
Oh how we love the memories,
Take us back to our old friends,
One last time before it ends.

That’s it! Listen to the song at about the 44:22 mark of the podcast or video below. Let me know what you think!

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