On a recent episode of the Retro Buzz Podcast, my buddy Curt and I went back through some of the zombie flicks we remember from the decade. The funny thing is, I really wasn’t watching many of these movies in theaters when they originally came out. I was in college, starting a family and doing other things. My big zombie-movie education came later, when VHS rental stores seemed to be everywhere. By the late ’80s and into the ’90s, I was renting just about every horror and zombie movie I could get my hands on.

And honestly, browsing those old video stores was half the fun. Curt remembered the independent mom-and-pop rental shops from his hometown, including one where the owner would sell the old movie posters off the wall for a couple bucks. That’s one of those things you never realized you’d someday miss.

The ’80s were also interesting because filmmakers started stretching the definition of a “zombie movie.” Sometimes you had hundreds of walking corpses. Other times you had scientific experiments, voodoo, alien slugs or just one unfortunate person coming back from the dead.

So if you’re looking for something fun, creepy and gloriously ’80s to watch, here are some of the movies we talked about.

1. Return of the Living Dead — 1985

This was probably the easiest choice on the entire list. Curt called it his favorite zombie movie of the decade, and I’d put it right near the top too. It’s funny, gross, strange and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

It also helped permanently connect zombies with one particular food: brains. During our conversation, we talked about how Return of the Living Dead was the movie that really popularized zombies actually asking for brains instead of simply eating human flesh.

2. Day of the Dead — 1985

George Romero’s Day of the Dead was another one Curt immediately named when we started talking about the decade. It’s part of Romero’s famous series that began with Night of the Living Dead and continued with Dawn of the Dead.

Unlike the comedy-heavy Return of the Living Dead, this one plays the apocalypse much straighter. If you’re looking for classic Romero-style zombies, this belongs on the list.

3. Night of the Creeps — 1986

This one has one of my favorite bizarre zombie explanations: alien slugs.

Little slug-like creatures get inside people and turn them into zombies. That’s enough to make your skin crawl before the movie even gets going.

Curt put Night of the Creeps alongside Day of the Dead and Return of the Living Dead as his three essential ’80s zombie movies. I agreed completely. And you also get Tom Atkins, which never hurts.

4. Night of the Comet — 1984

If someone asked me to show them one movie that simply looks and feels like the 1980s, this might be it.

After a comet passes Earth, most of the population disappears and a handful of survivors are left dealing with zombie-like creatures. There’s also an empty shopping mall, which might be one of the most perfectly ’80s settings imaginable.

Curt remembered watching this one repeatedly on cable and still owns it on Blu-ray. It’s part zombie movie, part science-fiction movie and a giant time capsule of the decade.

5. Re-Animator — 1985

Here’s where the definition of “zombie movie” gets interesting.

Re-Animator isn’t necessarily about massive armies of zombies roaming the streets. Instead, the story revolves around bringing dead people back to life.

As Curt pointed out during the episode, zombie movies don’t always require a giant horde. Sometimes the simple act of reanimating the dead is enough to qualify.

6. City of the Living Dead — 1980

Italian director Lucio Fulci brought a very different style to zombie horror, and City of the Living Dead is a good example.

One bit of trivia from the movie that immediately got my attention was its infamous maggot scene. We talked about the filmmakers using roughly 22 pounds of live maggots, blown toward the actors with a wind machine.

That’s dedication to disgusting your audience.

Fulci’s movies were also considerably more graphic than many mainstream American horror films of the period.

7. The Beyond — 1981

Another Lucio Fulci film, The Beyond goes deep into supernatural horror and is one of those movies that hardcore horror fans seem to discover sooner or later.

Curt had seen far more of Fulci’s work than I had, and our conversation convinced me I’ve got several Italian horror movies I need to catch up on.

8. The Serpent and the Rainbow — 1988

Wes Craven took zombies in an entirely different direction with The Serpent and the Rainbow, starring Bill Pullman.

Instead of a virus, comet or chemical accident, this one digs into Haitian voodoo and the much older legends surrounding people being turned into zombies. That gives it a completely different atmosphere than most of the other movies on this list.

Our discussion also led into the interesting point that the idea of a “zombie” existed long before Hollywood created the familiar flesh-eating movie monster.

9. Dead Heat — 1988

This one’s just fun.

Dead Heat stars Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo, with Vincent Price also appearing in the movie. Treat Williams’ character winds up undead and continues investigating a case with his partner.

With Joe Piscopo involved, you probably already know this isn’t going to be The Exorcist.

It’s one of those wonderfully strange ’80s combinations of horror, action and comedy.

10. House by the Cemetery — 1981

One more Lucio Fulci movie made our discussion. House by the Cemetery isn’t a traditional “thousands of zombies coming after you” story, but it fits into that broader category of the dead refusing to stay dead.

Curt specifically brought it up as another good example of how loosely the zombie label can sometimes be applied.

And We Can’t Forget Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Okay, technically it’s not a feature-length zombie movie.

But you can’t talk about zombies in the 1980s without talking about Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

I still remember sitting in our house in Stillwater when MTV debuted it. This wasn’t just another music video. It felt like a miniature horror movie, and watching those zombies dance became one of the iconic pop-culture moments of the decade.

There’s also a personal connection I’ll never forget. While I was attending Oklahoma State University, Vincent Price came to Stillwater as a guest speaker. Someone in the audience asked him about “Thriller,” and I got to sit there and hear Vincent Price perform his famous spoken part live.

No cell-phone video. No recording. Just a memory.

And I’m pretty happy to have that one.

Three Movies to Start With

There are a surprising number of zombie movies from 1980 through 1989, and as Curt pointed out on the podcast, not all of them are necessarily good. Sometimes that’s part of the fun.

But if you’ve never explored ’80s zombie movies and only want three to start with, Curt and I agreed on these:

Return of the Living Dead
Day of the Dead
Night of the Creeps

Those three give you comedy, gore, classic zombies, bizarre zombie mythology and plenty of that unmistakable 1980s horror-movie atmosphere.

Then add Night of the Comet when you want the full neon-colored, shopping-mall, end-of-the-world ’80s experience.

Zombie movies may be perfect for October, but I’m with Curt on this one: there’s really no wrong time of year to watch a good zombie movie.

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We quickly discovered that the 70s had plenty to choose from.

Some songs are legitimately disturbing. Others just have spooky titles or that strange nighttime atmosphere that works perfectly when the days get shorter and Halloween gets closer.

And yes, we’re bending the rules once.

1. Monster Mash – Bobby “Boris” Pickett

It wasn’t originally a 70s song, but there was no way I could leave it off. “Monster Mash” was first released in 1962 and became a #1 hit, but it came roaring back during the 70s, climbing back into the U.S. Top 10 in 1973. As kids, it was one of those novelty records we heard over and over, so it absolutely belongs on a playlist representing what we actually listened to during the decade.

2. Spooky – Atlanta Rhythm Section

The Atlanta Rhythm Section version arrived in 1979 and peaked at #17 in October—perfect timing. Despite the title, it isn’t really a horror song at all. It’s about a mysterious woman, with a little Halloween imagery thrown in. The song itself goes back even further, beginning as an instrumental before lyrics were added to an earlier version.

3. Psycho Killer – Talking Heads

Released in 1977, “Psycho Killer” gives us one of the decade’s most obvious October titles. It only reached #92 on the Billboard Hot 100, but became one of Talking Heads’ signature songs. One fun bit of trivia from the episode: the song contains French lyrics and apparently began life in a much more ballad-like form before evolving into the twitchy version we know.

4. Black Magic Woman – Santana

Santana’s 1970 version has that eerie guitar sound that immediately gives it a late-night October feel. What a lot of listeners may not realize is that Santana didn’t originate the song. It came from the Peter Green era of Fleetwood Mac before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham ever joined the band.

5. Welcome to My Nightmare – Alice Cooper

You really can’t build a 70s Halloween playlist without Alice Cooper. “Welcome to My Nightmare” was released in 1975 and the album became one of Cooper’s biggest records. Even better for horror fans, the album includes a spoken section performed by Vincent Price.

Alice could probably fill half this playlist by himself. CTD also nominated “Cold Ethel,” “Dead Babies” and “I Love the Dead,” all of which prove that Cooper was willing to write about subjects most artists wouldn’t have gone near at the time.

6. Witchy Woman – Eagles

Released in 1972, “Witchy Woman” reached #9 on the Billboard charts. Don Henley and Bernie Leadon wrote it, with Leadon having started the idea before joining the Eagles. The combination of the title, the vocal and that mysterious atmosphere makes this one an easy October choice.

7. Tubular Bells – Mike Oldfield

You don’t need lyrics to make a song creepy.

Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” became permanently associated with The Exorcist. The minute that melody starts, anyone familiar with the movie immediately gets that uneasy feeling. Oldfield was only 21 when he created the music, and according to the trivia we discussed, he was apparently so frightened by The Exorcist that he wouldn’t watch the movie.

8. Frankenstein – The Edgar Winter Group

“Frankenstein” was a huge instrumental hit in 1973, but the title wasn’t originally inspired by the monster. The song reportedly got its nickname because engineers had to piece so many different musical sections together—essentially stitching the recording together like Frankenstein’s monster.

That’s almost better than if the song had actually been about Frankenstein.

9. Halloween Theme – John Carpenter

John Carpenter didn’t just direct Halloween—he wrote its unforgettable theme.

The 1978 instrumental is one of those pieces of music you recognize almost instantly. Carpenter created the music himself with synthesizer assistance and humorously credited it to the “Bowling Green Philharmonic Orchestra,” even though there really wasn’t an orchestra.

If you’re building an October playlist, this one is mandatory.

10. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath

The title song from Black Sabbath’s 1970 debut may be one of the darkest sounding recordings on this entire list. That opening atmosphere, the rain, the bell and Tony Iommi’s riff created something that must have sounded downright sinister in 1970.

11. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper – Blue Öyster Cult

One of the greatest rock songs of the decade also happens to fit October perfectly.

Blue Öyster Cult released “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” in 1976. There’s also a great connection to Halloween: the song can be heard on the car radio as Laurie and Annie drive through Haddonfield while Michael Myers follows them.

12. Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon

This is my personal #1.

I loved “Werewolves of London” when it came out in 1978 and still think it’s one of the greatest October songs ever recorded. There’s also a Fleetwood Mac connection that probably explains part of the groove—Mick Fleetwood played drums and John McVie played bass on the recording.

It started almost as a joke after Phil Everly suggested the idea of writing a song about werewolves. Somehow that joke turned into a classic.

A Few Darker Deep Cuts

CTD dug deeper than I did and pulled out several songs that don’t usually appear on Halloween playlists.

AC/DC’s “Night Prowler” from Highway to Hell is an exceptionally dark 1979 track. Cheap Trick contributed “Gonna Raise Hell” and the much creepier “The Ballad of TV Violence,” originally titled “The Ballad of Richard Speck.”

He also nominated the eerie “Prelude” from Gene Simmons’ 1978 solo album, featuring Janis Ian, which CTD remembered as especially unsettling when it unexpectedly came on during the night.

Then there’s Vicki Lawrence’s “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” It doesn’t sound like a Halloween song at first, but once you actually follow the story, you realize you’re listening to a murder mystery involving betrayal, revenge and wrongful conviction. That’s plenty dark enough for October.

The 70s Buzz October Playlist

Put all of our choices together and you’ve got a pretty great October soundtrack:

1. Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon
2. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper – Blue Öyster Cult
3. Halloween Theme – John Carpenter
4. Tubular Bells – Mike Oldfield
5. Welcome to My Nightmare – Alice Cooper
6. Witchy Woman – Eagles
7. Psycho Killer – Talking Heads
8. Black Magic Woman – Santana
9. Frankenstein – The Edgar Winter Group
10. Spooky – Atlanta Rhythm Section
11. Monster Mash – Bobby “Boris” Pickett
12. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
13. Night Prowler – AC/DC
14. Gonna Raise Hell – Cheap Trick
15. The Ballad of TV Violence – Cheap Trick
16. Cold Ethel – Alice Cooper
17. Dead Babies – Alice Cooper
18. I Love the Dead – Alice Cooper
19. Prelude / Radioactive – Gene Simmons
20. The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia – Vicki Lawrence

That’s enough music to get you through a pretty good October night.

We originally set out to create a Top 10 list, but between the two of us we ended up with nearly 20 songs and very little overlap—which probably means we could easily build another volume.

So now it’s your turn.

What 1970s song did we forget that absolutely belongs on the ultimate October playlist?

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The story started years before the song was written. My friend Staten moved to Enid when we were in sixth grade and already played guitar. Eventually he got an electric guitar, and I decided I needed one too, even though I barely knew how to play. My mom bought me a Kalamazoo electric guitar, and Staten and I spent plenty of time learning songs and messing around with chords. By junior high we had become friends with Todd Wheeler, who could sing and play piano. Once we got to high school, I met Alan Goodson, who played bass, and he introduced me to his friend Kyle Sherm, who played drums. Suddenly we had everything we needed for a band.

We practiced in garages and dens around Enid and played songs by bands like Kansas, Thin Lizzy, REO Speedwagon, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and the Rolling Stones. Eventually I wanted us to write something of our own. I usually started songs by picking around on my guitar until I found something I liked, and that’s how “Midnight Dreamin’” began. I came up with the opening and, as I remember it, the title. Staten added chords and helped develop the song, Todd added more lyrics, and eventually Alan and Kyle learned their parts. Before long, “Midnight Dreamin’” became one of the original songs we played alongside our covers.

Our band wasn’t originally called Reality. For a while we were Rocinante, named after Don Quixote’s horse. It sounded pretty cool and mysterious to a bunch of teenagers in the late ’70s, so I even had business cards printed with the name. The problem was that nobody could pronounce it, and every time we explained what it meant, the reaction was usually less than exciting. Eventually we decided we needed something simpler. Around that time we had another original song called “Train to Reality,” and somewhere along the way we decided that Reality would make a much better band name. I went back to the print shop and had another batch of business cards made.

One of our biggest moments came when we auditioned for the Enid High talent show with “Midnight Dreamin’.” Instead of doing a cover, we played our own song. Back then it was much more of a straight rock song, with electric guitars and drums kicking in after a quieter opening. Apparently we were a little too loud for at least one of the judges, and we barely missed making the show. Still, we had performed an original song in front of an audience, and for a bunch of teenage guys with guitars, that was a pretty big deal.

By our senior year, Reality started fading away. We had girlfriends, jobs and other things taking up our time, and we weren’t practicing much or playing many shows. We had pooled our money to buy a Peavey PA system, lights, flash pots and even a siren, but eventually the band broke up around 1981. Everybody went their separate ways, and “Midnight Dreamin’” basically disappeared into an old folder of handwritten lyrics and memories.

Decades later, Todd and I started The 70’s Buzz Podcast, and naturally we began revisiting a lot of those old stories. At one point we talked about having Todd’s son Derek record “Midnight Dreamin’,” but life got busy and nothing ever came of it. Then AI music tools arrived. After hearing one of our podcast listeners use AI to create full-band arrangements of his original songs, I had an idea. I called Staten and asked him to make a simple acoustic recording of “Midnight Dreamin’” and send it to me. I uploaded it into Suno and asked for a 1970s-style rock arrangement.

Hearing a full-band version of that song for the first time since around 1980 hit me harder than I expected. I got chills. It suddenly sounded like a real song again instead of something that had only existed in our memories. I experimented with several arrangements, including rock, cinematic and acoustic versions. Eventually Staten, Todd and I all agreed that an adult acoustic version was our favorite.

Before we could take things much further, Todd passed away. That changed the meaning of the project. We eventually shared the AI-assisted version on The 70’s Buzz Podcast, and people liked it, but I still wanted a recording made by the people who had actually created the song. When our 45th high school reunion came around and Staten was going to be in Enid, we decided it was finally time to do it.

Plans to use a regular recording studio fell through, so I converted part of Shaggy Duck Studio into our own little recording space. Staten brought guitars and a cajon, and we used Todd’s microphone from The 70’s Buzz Podcast to record the vocals and instruments. We borrowed a keyboard, discovered that it had all the sounds we needed, and started building the song one track at a time. Staten played acoustic guitar and sang, I added another acoustic guitar track, and Staten layered in bass, strings, drums, percussion and additional vocals. By the time we finished, we had probably a dozen or more tracks.

Somehow, inside that little studio in Enid, two guys in their 60s finished a song they had started as teenagers.

We used an old photograph of Reality to create a new logo and album cover, filed the paperwork and officially copyrighted the song. We also updated a few words in the lyrics, partly because some lines sounded different coming from married adults than they did coming from teenage boys, and partly because I could see “Midnight Dreamin’” fitting into The Banana Seat Squad if that story ever becomes a movie.

What makes the song especially meaningful to me is that Todd is still a part of it. His lyrics are there, his history is there, and the microphone we spent years talking into together on The 70’s Buzz Podcast is the same microphone we used to finally record the song. I think he would have loved that.

So after nearly half a century, “Midnight Dreamin’” by Reality is finally going out into the world. It started with a few high school kids in Enid, Oklahoma, playing guitars and dreaming about having a band. It took about 47 years longer than we expected, but we finally finished what we started.

Sometimes the old dreams aren’t really gone. They’re just waiting for you to come back and finish them.

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Over the last few months, I’ve had several people ask what I’m doing to stay in shape in my 60s. Since April, I’ve also lost about 15 pounds, dropping from around 168 to 153. There hasn’t been any miracle diet, expensive fitness program or complicated routine. For me, it has mostly come down to walking, a little weight training, eating fewer snacks and being consistent.

The biggest part of everything I do is walking. I’m usually out on the trail around 6:00 every morning, and I walk for an hour and 45 minutes to two hours. I know that sounds like a lot, and I’m certainly not saying everyone needs to walk that long. If you can get in an hour, great. If you have 30 minutes, do 30 minutes. The important thing is getting out there and moving.

I don’t stroll, either. I usually keep somewhere between a 13- and 15-minute-mile pace, so it’s a pretty brisk walk. I used to mix running into the routine, but these days I’ve decided walking works just fine for me. It gives me the exercise I want without some of the foot, heel, shin and other aches I occasionally dealt with while running.

Walking has become such a part of my life that I don’t really feel like my day is complete without it. I’m lucky enough to have a trail near my neighborhood, but if I didn’t, I’d walk the streets around my house. You don’t need a gym membership, a treadmill or a bunch of fancy equipment. You just need somewhere to walk.

There’s another benefit I enjoy just as much as the exercise: being outside. Most mornings I start while it’s still dark and eventually watch the sunrise. For the last couple of years I haven’t even listened to music or podcasts while I walk. I just think. It gives me time to clear my head, come up with ideas and mentally get ready for the day.

I Still Lift Weights — Just Not Like I Used To

I also lift weights about four days a week, but my workouts are much different than they were when I was younger. I’m not spending an hour in the gym doing five exercises for one body part and constantly trying to add more weight. My workouts now take about 20 minutes and are basically full-body routines.

I start with some stretching and bouncing around to get myself moving. From there I’ll do bench presses, leg raises, curls, lunges, a little shadow boxing and some bodyweight squats. I normally go through the routine twice and then finish with one last set of bench presses.

One thing that has become more important to me as I get older is mobility. I regularly squat all the way down and stay there for a while. I want to keep my hips, knees and legs flexible enough that getting down on the floor — and more importantly getting back up — remains something I can easily do years from now.

I’m also not interested in proving how much weight I can lift anymore. I’d rather stay consistent and avoid getting hurt. At this stage of life, my goal isn’t setting personal records. It’s being able to keep doing this stuff when I’m 70, 80 and hopefully beyond.

Losing 15 Pounds Was Mostly About Food

Exercise is important to me, but the biggest change behind losing 15 pounds was much simpler: I quit snacking.

For a while I had gotten into the habit of grabbing a cookie here, some M&M’s there, a handful of peanuts, ice cream at night or whatever happened to be sitting around. None of it seemed like much at the time, but all those little things added up.

In April, I decided I was done with the random snacking, and I pretty much stopped. That one change made a bigger difference than trying to work out harder.

I also try to keep my eating inside a fairly consistent window. Most nights I’m finished eating by about 6:30 or 7:00, and I usually don’t eat again until around 8:00 the next morning. Breakfast, if I have it, is normally a package of crunchy peanut butter granola bars.

Lunch is often grilled chicken or chicken salad, frequently from McAlister’s. I’m not obsessive about it. If Denise and I go somewhere and I want a big BLT and a piece of pie, I’ll eat it. The difference is that I’m not following that meal with cookies, candy, ice cream and another snack later that night.

Dinner has also changed quite a bit. One of my favorite meals lately has been Greek yogurt mixed with dried blueberries and Cheerios, along with peanut butter granola bars and a protein bar. I’ll sometimes follow that with a few small bags of SkinnyPop popcorn. It sounds a little strange, but I really like it, it fills me up and it replaced a lot of the ice cream and other sugary stuff I used to eat.

I also don’t drink soda, I don’t smoke, and alcohol is only an occasional thing for me. None of this happened overnight. It’s simply what my eating habits have gradually evolved into.

Consistency Beats Perfection

Lately I’ve also been adding a shorter afternoon walk of around 40 minutes. Part of that is exercise, part of it is getting outside, and part of it is simply taking a break from sitting at a computer. Instead of taking a nap or sitting around for an hour, I go walk.

Altogether, I probably spend close to three hours a day doing some type of physical activity. I realize my schedule makes that easier because I’m an entrepreneur who works from home. But even if my schedule completely changed, I’d find a way to keep walking. If mornings weren’t possible, I’d do it in the evening.

I’m currently around 153 pounds, and I’m curious to see whether doing exactly what I’m doing naturally takes me down to around 150. I’m not planning to eat less or dramatically increase my workouts. I’m just going to keep doing what has already been working.

That may be the biggest lesson in all of this. You don’t necessarily need to overhaul your entire life. Pick some things you can actually continue doing.

For me, that means walking every day, lifting weights for about 20 minutes several times a week, working on mobility, eating reasonably well and eliminating most of the mindless snacking.

Nothing fancy. Nothing extreme.

Just keep moving.

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Over the past few months, I’ve lost several people I knew, including my longtime friend and podcast partner Todd Wheeler. When people around your age start passing away, it changes the way you look at things. I’ve started thinking of every day as a bonus day. That doesn’t mean every day has to be some huge adventure, but it does mean I don’t want to waste too many of them waiting for the perfect time to do something.

A recent trip to an Oklahoma State football game reminded me of that.

Months earlier, Todd and I had talked about going to the Oklahoma State-Oregon game in Stillwater. One of our podcast listeners is an Oregon fan, and we had kicked around the idea of making a whole weekend out of it with some football, a little Route 66 and whatever else we could squeeze in. We never got everything finalized, and then Todd passed away.

For a while I figured the whole idea was over, but eventually I started thinking about something I tell other people all the time: buy the tickets and go do the thing. If I’m going to tell everybody else that, I probably ought to follow my own advice.

So I bought two tickets.

As game day got closer, there were plenty of reasons not to go. Oklahoma State had already lost. Oregon was heavily favored. OU was playing Michigan on television at the same time. My wife Denise decided she’d rather stay home, and nobody else I asked was available. I had every excuse I needed to stay home, but instead I drove to Stillwater by myself.

It turned into exactly the kind of mini adventure I’m talking about.

It was hot, then it rained. I parked about eight blocks from the stadium because I didn’t want to pay for parking. I walked through the tailgating areas, stopped by Eskimo Joe’s and ran into a few people I knew. Then I entered the stadium early only to discover the game was delayed because of lightning.

And then it was delayed again.

There I was, stuck inside the stadium for a couple of hours before kickoff, unable to leave and come back in with the same ticket, missing the OU game and wondering why I had thought any of this was a good idea. Eventually, though, the game started, and something unexpected happened.

Oklahoma State looked good. Really good.

I had originally planned to watch the first quarter and head home. Then I decided to stay until halftime. At halftime, OSU was still ahead, so I stayed longer. By the fourth quarter, Oregon had taken a one-point lead, and now I was hot, sweaty and thinking about the drive back to Enid and a birthday dinner I needed to make.

I finally decided to leave a little early.

Naturally, Oklahoma State came back and won.

The fans rushed the field, the goalpost came down and I ended up watching the final couple of minutes through FaceTime while driving home. For a few minutes I regretted leaving, but looking back, I’m just glad I went.

That whole day reminded me of the old saying, “That’s why they play the game.” On paper, Oklahoma State wasn’t supposed to win, but things don’t always turn out the way they’re supposed to. Life works the same way. You don’t really know how something is going to turn out until you actually show up and give it a chance.

Maybe you’ve been thinking about taking a trip. Maybe there’s a concert you want to see and nobody wants to go with you. Maybe there’s a contest you’d like to enter, a job you want to apply for, a project you want to start or some crazy idea that’s been floating around in your head.

Do it.

I’ve won things simply because I entered. I’ve gotten phone calls and interviews simply because I applied. I’ve been an extra in movies because I put my name out there. None of those things would have happened if I had just sat around thinking about them.

You can’t win the contest you never enter.

I’m getting close to 64, and I don’t look at that as a reason to start shutting things down. I’m thinking about new podcasts. I want to paint. I want to finish my book. I want to create more designs. I’m working out and trying to stay in better shape. I still want to learn things, make things, travel places and have adventures.

There’s no rule that says all of your best stories have already happened.

We live in a time when you can start a podcast from a spare bedroom, write a book on a laptop, create art at the kitchen table or launch a business with equipment you already own. You don’t need a giant staff or a million dollars. You need an idea, some effort and the willingness to start before everything is perfectly lined up.

None of us knows exactly how much time we have, and that’s really the point. Buy the tickets, enter the contest, take the trip, start the project and go on the little adventure.

Sometimes the thing you almost talked yourself out of doing becomes one of the stories you’re really glad you got to tell.

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I’m talking about the first annual BuzzHead Bash in Enid, Oklahoma, happening around the Vance Air Force Base Air Show on July 24, 2027. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will be in town, a bunch of the Enid gang will already be here, and I’m hoping a whole bunch of BuzzHeads from around the country will make the trip too.

Even if only a handful of people show up, we’re doing it. If one person comes, we’ll have fun. If 20 people come, we’ll figure it out. The idea is not to create some gigantic, overly organized convention. I want this to feel more like a big weekend get-together with people who have been listening to the podcasts, interacting online and becoming part of this weird little BuzzHead family over the years.

And yes, July 24 also happens to be my 28th wedding anniversary. Denise and I almost never celebrate our anniversary on the actual weekend anyway, so we’ll probably do something the week before. I’ll be in Enid and ready for the Bash.

Start Thinking About It Now

If there’s even a decent chance you’re coming, I’d love to hear from you. You don’t have to be 100 percent certain. If you’re 80 percent sure, tell me that. If you’re 30 percent sure, tell me that too.

What I’m trying to figure out right now is logistics. How many people might need rides from airports? How many vehicles will we have? Where should people stay? Where should we eat? What can we do around Enid? The answers to all of those questions depend heavily on how many people are actually thinking about coming.

You can call the BuzzHead Hotline at 601-568-2220 and leave me a message, or email me at buzz@buzzheadmedia.com.

By the way, yes, that is a Mississippi phone number even though I’m in Oklahoma. I set the hotline up through Google Voice, and there weren’t any Enid numbers available. I started looking for a number I liked and found one ending in 2220. It happened to be a Mississippi number, and oddly enough, there is also an Enid, Mississippi. So I decided it was meant to be.

When Should You Come?

My suggestion is to arrive in Enid on Friday, July 23 if you can. That would give everybody time to get settled, hang out Friday afternoon and evening and get to know each other before the big air show on Saturday.

Saturday morning we can do some Enid stuff before heading out to Vance. Once we get to the base, we’ll probably spend most of the day at the air show and stick around for the Thunderbirds. Afterward, we can head back into town and do something Saturday night, whether that means Callahan’s or wherever else we decide to land.

Sunday can be another relaxed Enid day. We can have brunch, explore a little more and let people start heading home as they need to.

If you want to make a bigger trip out of it, come Thursday. If you need to stay until Monday, that’s fine too. There’s no rigid schedule yet. Friday through Sunday will probably be the heart of the Bash, but we can build things around whoever decides to come.

Yes, We Need to Record a Podcast

At some point during the weekend, I absolutely want to get as many BuzzHeads together as possible and record an episode of the 70’s Buzz Podcast.

Imagine eight, 10 or 12 of us sitting around together with a couple of cameras and a microphone we can pass around. Everybody can introduce themselves, talk about the podcast, tell some 70s stories, talk about Enid and just see where the conversation goes.

Travis the Tailor has also suggested this might finally be the perfect time for the legendary “gummy episode.” We’ll see about that. Nobody has to participate in anything they don’t want to do. You can have a drink, not have a drink, eat a gummy, not eat a gummy or just sit there and enjoy the chaos.

But if you’re coming to BuzzHead Bash, don’t be too shy. There’s a pretty good chance I’m going to try to get you on a podcast.

Book Your Hotel Sooner Rather Than Later

One thing I would not wait too long on is lodging.

The Thunderbirds are a major draw, and when they come to town there will be people traveling to Enid from all over Oklahoma and probably beyond. Hotel rooms could start filling up, and prices could potentially rise as the weekend gets closer.

One hotel I’m looking at is the Western Inn and Suites at 210 N. Van Buren. It’s not a fancy high-rise resort, but the location is almost perfect for what we’re doing. It’s close to the West Broadway neighborhood where we grew up, close to Kip’s Warehouse and not far from downtown.

Rooms are generally affordable, and it would be pretty fun if a big group of us ended up staying in the same place. There’s even a swimming pool, which might come in handy considering this is Oklahoma in late July.

Another option is the GLō Best Western in downtown Enid. It’s more upscale, more expensive and right downtown. You would be close to restaurants, bars and much of what we’ll probably be doing during the weekend.

There are plenty of other hotels around Enid too, so nobody has to stay at one particular place. We may also want to look at Airbnb or Vrbo options if enough people want to split a house.

The important thing is to think about booking early, preferably somewhere with a reasonable cancellation policy.

Getting to Enid

There’s no commercial airport in Enid, so if you’re flying, you’ll need to fly into another Oklahoma or regional airport and make the drive.

Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Wichita are all roughly two hours from Enid. Stillwater has a smaller airport and is closer, but flights may be more limited.

Tulsa might be one of the easiest options because the drive from Tulsa to Enid is fairly simple. Oklahoma City obviously has plenty of flights, but you’ll also have more city traffic to deal with. Wichita is another good possibility and offers a pretty straightforward drive south.

Once I know who is coming and where everyone is flying, I can start helping coordinate things. Maybe several people arrive in Tulsa around the same time. Maybe one person rents a car and another person can ride with them. Maybe I make an airport run and grab several people at once.

That’s why I’d really like people to start letting me know their plans as early as possible.

If we do end up picking people up in Tulsa on Friday, there’s also the possibility of making a stop at the Outsiders Museum on the way back to Enid. That could turn the airport run into part of the adventure.

There’s More to See Than Just the Air Show

The Thunderbirds are obviously the centerpiece of the weekend, but there’s plenty more we can do.

I want to show people around Enid, especially some of the places connected to the stories we’ve told on the podcasts. We can cruise through the old West Broadway neighborhood, visit downtown and hit some of our favorite local places.

If people come a day early, we could even make a Northwest Oklahoma road trip out of it. There are some very strange and interesting places around this part of the state, including the Great Salt Plains, Little Sahara, Gloss Mountains and Alabaster Caverns.

At the Great Salt Plains, you can even dig for crystals. We could potentially spend Thursday doing a big loop through Northwest Oklahoma, seeing several of those places and getting back to Enid that evening.

It all depends on who comes and how much time everybody has.

Let’s Make This a Thing

For now, the important date is:

July 24, 2027 — Enid, Oklahoma.

The first annual BuzzHead Bash.

Come Friday if you can. Stay through Sunday. Come Thursday if you want even more Enid and Oklahoma adventures.

We’ll hang out, eat, tell stories, record a podcast, go to the air show, watch the Thunderbirds and probably come up with a few things I haven’t even thought about yet.

Most importantly, this will be a chance for a lot of people who have talked online, emailed, called into the podcast and listened for years to finally get together in the same place.

If you think you might come, call the BuzzHead Hotline at 601-568-2220 or email buzz@buzzheadmedia.com. Let me know how likely you are to make it, where you might be coming from and any ideas you have for the weekend.

I’m ready to quit saying “maybe” and just declare it:

The first annual BuzzHead Bash is happening. See you in Enid in July 2027.

PODCAST

Listen to “The 1st Annual BuzzHead Bash!” on Spreaker.

The post The First Annual BuzzHead Bash Is Happening in Enid! appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

For me, a lot of those memories are tied to the 1970s, West Broadway in Enid, banana seat bikes, old friends, neighborhood adventures, and the kind of freedom kids had back then. We rode bikes, explored creeks, built things, made up games, got into a little harmless trouble, and created memories we had no idea would still matter decades later.

One of the things I’ve been thinking about a lot is how certain objects can unlock entire chapters of your life. A banana seat bike is not just a bike. An old recording is not just audio. A childhood street is not just a street. Those things become little time machines.

When I think back on those days, I remember the feel of riding through the neighborhood, the look of old stores, the smell of certain places, and the faces of friends I hadn’t seen in years. Some memories are fuzzy, but others are so clear they almost feel like yesterday.

That’s really where The Banana Seat Squad came from. It started as nostalgia, but it became something bigger. It’s about friendship, childhood, imagination, and that short window of life when the world felt wide open. Five boys riding around Enid in the summer of the 1970s may not sound like much, but to us, it was everything.

As I’ve worked on the story, I’ve found myself reconnecting with pieces of my own past. Old friends. Old places. Old ideas. Even old recordings. Some of it makes me laugh. Some of it catches me off guard. And some of it reminds me how lucky we were to grow up when we did.

The funny thing is, technology is now helping bring some of those memories back to life. Old recordings can be digitized. Stories can be written down. Songs can be created from ideas that have been sitting in your head for years. The memories may be old, but the tools we have today give them new life.

That’s the part I love most. The past does not have to stay boxed up in the attic. You can pull it out, dust it off, and turn it into something new.

Maybe that’s why I keep going back to those childhood memories. Not because I want to live in the past, but because there are still stories there worth telling. There are still lessons there. There is still joy there.

And sometimes, all it takes is a banana seat bike, an old neighborhood, or a long-lost memory to remind you who you were — and maybe even who you still are.

Listen to the podcast to hear about some of the things I have reconnected with including:

OTSASCO Flying O Banana Seat Bike
Kalamazoo KG-2A Red Electric Guitar
Quit Smoking PSA
1960s Baby Ruth TV Commercial
Grentech Coyote II Skateboards
Vinyl Albums
Cassette Tapes From The 70s
Wild Wild West Metal Lunch Box
Recording Midnight Dreamin With AI
Finding My Childhood House in Burns Flat, OK
Tracking down the Vitex Bush or Chaste Tree
Finding Mike Stearman and Eric Wright Online
DVD’s of The Warriors and Phantasm
Scotty Dog Magnets
Bruce Bradley’s Super 8 Film From 1977
Touring Stayton and Brendan’s Childhood Houses

PODCAST

Listen to “Getting Nostalgic About Nostalgia” on Spreaker.

VIDEO

The post Getting Nostalgic About Nostalgia appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

You need to take chances and put yourself in the position to seize opportunities. Put yourself in the right place at the right time. Opportunities can include landing a better job, snagging a big client, being asked to lead a project, building a large following, getting to do Bucket List activities and more.

Over the years I’ve created my own opportunities. Several of them by accident and others on purpose. Here is a sampling of opportunities I was given because I put myself out there. Each of these may eventually be a blog post and podcast episode in itself.

Opportunities I Created On My Own

I Quit My Job & Started My Own Company

I quit a full time advertising directors position to start my own business because I created my own opportunity! I put my talents online and when people found my designs they hired me to do theirs. Without a website and online presence I never would have had that opportunity. That turned into a 10 year career and then I used another opportunity to start a second career. If I hadn’t started a little side blog years before I would have never had the opportunity to turn that into a full time business. I have now worked from home for 20 years because of opportunities found on the Internet.

I Was The Featured Story On CNN.com

In the mid 2000s I started several blogs to get my name out there. One of those blogs was this one! I was blogging about growing up in the 70s and posted several photographs of myself when I was a kid. These were great old photos from the 1970s and I used the correct meta tags on the photos so they could be found in Google images. When Farrah Fawcett died I had the only photo of a teenager holding her poster in the 70s. That kid was me! I was interviewed by CNN and several other magazines and websites. That photo has also been used in multiple documentaries. The opportunity came because I simply uploaded a unique photo.

My First Real Interview Was Garth Brooks

As a citizen journalist I had never really interviewed anyone as a real interview. After starting my community website I decided to keep up with the events happening in OKC and Tulsa. I reached out to the PR departments of the concert facilities and asked to be included on their press release list. Not long after that I received an email saying Garth Brooks was doing a press conference in Tulsa to kick off his new tour. I was invited and then told I might be able to interview Garth! What an opportunity. I traveled to Tulsa, covered the press conference and then stood in line to conduct the interview. If I hadn’t asked to be on the media list I never would have had that opportunity.

I Interviewed Gene Simmons

I heard Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS were going to be in Oklahoma to give a press conference about an upcoming casino and hotel. I tracked down the person in charge of the media and asked for a press pass to the event. They said yes and I was put on the list! I traveled to Bramen, Oklahoma and covered the press conference. I also got a cool t-shirt, press pass and other swag. Afterwards the two were available for interviews. I waited too long and the media person said they were done and would be leaving. As a desperation move I quickly asked if I could do get in a few questions. Both the media person and Gene said yes! I got the interview and took full advantage of the opportunity.

I Covered A Presidential Inauguration

I received an email saying that people could enter a pool for a chance at free tickets to the Presidential inauguration. I posted the info for my followers and at the last minute decided to enter myself. I got picked! The opportunity included two tickets plus lots of memorabilia to the inauguration. Unfortunately I didn’t have the cash to go. So I asked my followers if they’d like me to cover the event. If so, they could donate to a Go Fund Me account. I received just enough money for plane tickets. I then contacted a family I knew that were living in Virginia and asked if I could stay with them. They said yes! I ended up with a tour of the Pentagon, free rides to the subway and a place to stay. There were many opportunities created to make this trip happen.

I Interviewed Michelle Malkin… Twice

Michelle Malkin came to Enid to cover a criminal case which involved a guy from my hometown. I went to the live presentation just to cover it for my blog. During her presentation I moved to the side of the room and ended up doing a Facebook live. I also had my cameras around my neck and took photos during the talk. At the end of the event Michelle disappeared and I did not attempt to interview her. Out of nowhere a lady walked up to me and asked if I was going to make it to the press conference. I said I didn’t know anything about it and she invited me to be there because I looked like a reporter. I went up and was one of only about four journalists there. I asked Michelle several questions and then talked to her after the questioning. A couple of years later I drove to OKC to interview her again.

I Acted With Jake Gyllenhaal & Bo Derek

At one point my friends and I were thinking of filming a movie. Oklahoma has become a center for film making due to incentives. I decided to work as an extra so I could see how films were made and what equipment was used. I sent my info in for a spot in the Paul Dano movie called Wildlife. I got a part as a firefighter. I had no idea what I would be doing so I just showed up. During the filming Jake Gyllenhall appeared out of a tent and I got to spend the day filming several scenes with him for the film. My appearances even made the cut! I was looking for more opportunities and ended up being in three more movies including one with Bo Derek. These appearance were just for fun nut I did get insights into how movies are made.

I Drove A New Vehicle For Two Years For Free

Talk about an opportunity. My car at the time was on its last leg and I hadn’t had a car payment for at least a decade. When it was time for me to get a new vehicle I got an idea that I thought I would try. I went to a local dealership and asked them if they would be interested in trading out a leased vehicle for advertising. I would get to drive the SUV with no monthly payment and they would get a set amount of advertising. I also turned the vehicle into the BuzzMobile with a decal wrap and included an ad for the dealership as the vehicle sponsor. The original agreement was for one year and the dealership extended that to two years when it was about to expire. At the end of two years I was able to purchase the vehicle at a great deal and still drive it around as the BuzzMobile.

I Flew With The US Thunderbirds

Because of my media status with Enid Buzz I was asked to take the media flight with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. The opportunity arose because I have a large following and could get the message about the Air Force out to a wide audience. When they came to Enid, Oklahoma for an air show they only allowed one local media flight. This was a Bucket List occasion that never would have happened if I hadn’t been doing Enid Buzz. The video from my flight had thousands of views which could one day lead to more opportunities. Never pass up a chance to do a once in a lifetime event.

10 Ways To Create Your Own Opportunities

1. Get started doing something! There’s talkers and there’s doers. Stop talking and get busy. You pretty much will have zero opportunities if you’re not putting yourself out there. Get online and build a presence. Start networking or speaking. You got to make some noise to be heard.

2. Create original content and put it out into the world! Upload your stuff to your own website. You will then have articles and photos that will show up in searches on the Internet. If you have not started uploading content to the world wide web there is nothing for anyone to find. Post as much as you can especially about niche topics. The more original info you have online the more opportunities people will have to find you.

3. Ask! You’ll never know the answer if you don’t ask. Many opportunities will come by just asking the right question or asking the right person. Don’t give up on the first try. If you feel there’s an opportunity and you’re not getting the answer that you want ask what you can do to improve your chances. The worst thing that can happen by asking is that someone will say no.

4. Be in the right place at the right time. Many times the right person or best choice does not end up an opportunity. Many times convenience intervenes and you’re in the right place at the right time. That can’t happen if you’re sitting at home not putting forth any effort. Be in as many places as you can to give yourself a better chance of snagging an opportunity.

5. Use all platforms. It’s not that hard to repurpose your content into multiple formats and platforms. You’ll have a better chance at a random opportunity if you can be found on more platforms. Upload your content as written word, photographic images, video and audio. Not everyone will be searching for you on just one platform. Multiply your chance of being found by using every means possible.

6. Think positive! It’s never going to hurt you to have a positive outlook. People are attracted to confidence and they’ll gravitate to you if you make them feel good. People with a positive attitude will have more opportunities than someone that is always negative. Complainers and whiners are usually avoided which limits opportunity. Use the positive energy of the universe to help generate your own opportunities.

7. Create a popular personal brand. People with great personal brands will always have more opportunities than people that are ordinary and do not stand out. A personal brand will make you a leader or expert in a niche. Being the go to person in any niche gives you more opportunities to be asked to lead, speak or participate. The more popular you are the more opportunities you’ll have. It’s like a snowball.

8. Network and meet as many people as possible. Knowing more people creates more opportunities. Join organizations, groups and boards. When people know that you’re willing to be involved they’re more apt to think of you for exclusive opportunities. Knowing somebody that knows somebody can open doors that would be closed if you were sitting at home alone. Be sure to use your connections every chance you can and let them know what opportunities your available for.

9. Get crazy! Do things nobody else is doing. Guess who gets picked to be on The Price Is Right? It’s the energetic, outgoing people. Why? Those are the folks that are enjoyable to watch or be around. If you stay ordinary you’ll never stand out from those around you. Don’t get so crazy you scare people off but differentiate yourself from the crowd. Being unique will also create more opportunities than being the status quo.

10. Don’t give up. Being patient is important. Opportunities won’t pop up overnight so be patient. You have to stay committed and continue to put yourself out there. Eventually people will take notice and you’ll begin to be recognized. The longer you keep at it the better chance you’ll have at big opportunities. Many times new opportunities will lead to even more opportunities so you have to keep at it. If it were quick and easy everyone would be able to do it.

Get busy!

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and leave me a rating!

Subscribe to YouTube.com/CurtisTuckerTV

The post Create Your Own Opportunities appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

A couple of weeks ago, I was out walking on the trail here in Enid. It was a Sunday afternoon, hot, quiet, and not many people were out. I usually walk in the mornings, but that day I decided to head out later and get a little sun. I crossed the bridge near the Cleveland Trailhead, walked past the little exercise area near Meadow Point Apartments, and noticed a guy walking nearby.

As I got closer, I recognized him immediately.

Even though he had sunglasses on, I knew exactly who it was. Then he lifted them up, and that confirmed it. Standing there on the walking trail in Enid was my old dorm dad from Markley Hall at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa — someone I had not seen in roughly 45 years.

His name is Bill Grudier, and back in the early 80s, he and his wife Diana were the dorm parents at Markley Hall. I lived there during my first year at Northern Oklahoma College, from the fall of 1981 into the spring of 1982. I had graduated from Enid High School in 1981 and, honestly, I wasn’t all that fired up about going to college. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, what kind of job I wanted, or what classes I should be taking. I probably would have been happy getting a job, making money, and buying a car.

But my mom had other plans. She said I was going to college.

My sister Connie had gone to Northern Oklahoma Junior College in Tonkawa, so that seemed like a good place to start. It was close to home, cheaper than a university, and a good fit for someone like me who still needed a couple of years to figure things out. My mom was a single parent, so the lower cost, grants, Pell Grants, and work-study opportunities made a big difference. I liked drawing and art, so I decided to major in art and work toward an Associate of Arts degree.

My friend Kyle, the drummer in our band, went with me and we roomed together. Somehow, we ended up in Markley Hall, an older dorm on the far northwest side of campus. It was a little off the beaten path from the other dorms, and we lucked into one of the larger upstairs rooms at the end of the hall. Most rooms had one window. Ours had two. That made us feel like we had the deluxe suite.

Tonkawa, especially back then, had a small-town junior college feel. To me, it was almost like high school plus. The campus was small, the classes were small, and everybody ate at the same cafeteria. You could see nearly everyone on campus during breakfast, lunch, or dinner if you hung around long enough. There were guys from Enid, Drummond, Ponca City, Newkirk, Pawhuska, Stillwater, Thackerville, Venezuela, Louisiana, and all over the place. It was small enough that you knew most people, but big enough that it still felt like you had left home and stepped into a different world.

That was part of the magic of junior college. You weren’t living under your parents’ roof anymore, but you also weren’t lost in the massive machinery of a big university. It was a transition. It gave you room to grow up a little, mess up a little, meet new people, and figure out who you were becoming.

I also came out of my shell a bit at Tonkawa. In high school, I wasn’t really shy, but I was probably more introverted. I didn’t play sports or get involved in a lot of activities. At Northern, though, I started joining in more. I met people, went places, and yes, got involved in a few shenanigans.

Markley Hall had its own personality. There were basketball players, wrestlers, guys from different towns, and smaller groups within the dorm. Our little group developed a reputation. If something weird happened on campus, we were usually suspects. Sometimes that reputation was deserved. Sometimes it probably wasn’t. Well, maybe once out of every ten times, it really wasn’t us.

We got used to receiving little notes slipped under our dorm room door telling us we needed to go see Dean Perks. Those notes came often enough that I started saving them. We’d go sit in his office while he questioned us about whatever had happened that week. Most of the time, we denied everything. That was pretty much the system.

The trouble was usually harmless, or at least not meant to be destructive. We’d hang things on campus statues, sneak around buildings, shake the vending machine until the snacks fell out, or do other dumb college-kid stuff. There was an older campus security guy we nicknamed Barney Fife, and occasionally his tires may have mysteriously lost air. Again, not saying that was us. Just saying these things happened.

Tonkawa was also the kind of place where you had to make your own fun. There wasn’t a movie theater. There weren’t many restaurants. There was a Sonic and a convenience store near our dorm, which was dangerous because it meant we had easy access to fried chicken, roasted potatoes, snacks, and beer. Back then, you could buy 3.2 beer in Oklahoma, but if you wanted stronger beer, you made a run across the Kansas line to Ark City.

Ponca City was where you went for dates, movies, food, or a night out. One of the big places was Norm’s, a country western bar where a lot of NOC students would gather. There were live bands sometimes, and I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that I may have seen Garth Brooks there before anyone knew who Garth Brooks was. His band was playing around that area during that era, and nobody at the time would have had any idea what he would become.

We also made trips to Stillwater, especially because the drinking age was still 18 in those days. The strip near Oklahoma State was full of bars, people, noise, and energy. It was a completely different world from Tonkawa. One night you could be on a tiny junior college campus where everyone knew everyone, and the next you could be walking through Stillwater surrounded by thousands of students.

After I graduated from Northern in 1983, I transferred to Oklahoma State, as did several other people from Tonkawa. Some of us even rented a house together near Boomer Lake. But OSU never felt the same to me. At Tonkawa, you knew people. You saw them every day. Teachers knew whether you showed up. At a university, you could walk the same path for a year and never really meet anyone. You could sit in a class with a hundred people and disappear.

That’s one reason I still recommend junior college to young people who don’t know what they want to do yet. It’s cheaper, smaller, and less overwhelming. You can knock out prerequisites, save money, and get a little life experience before stepping onto a huge university campus. You get a chance to be a big fish in a smaller pond before you become a small fish in a massive one.

The funny thing about junior college, though, is that you don’t have reunions the same way you do with high school. In high school, you’re with a lot of the same people for years. You graduate together. You have class reunions. With junior college, you may only know someone for one year, maybe two, and then everyone scatters. Some people you stay in touch with. Some you reconnect with on Facebook. Others become memories.

That’s what made running into Bill so strange.

He had been living in those apartments near the trail for several years, and I had walked past that area countless times. But on that hot Sunday afternoon, at that exact moment, we crossed paths. He was 81 years old and looked great. Still fit. Still sharp. Still moving like someone much younger. We talked for a bit, caught up on life, and I learned that he had ended up in Enid after his partner, who had Enid ties, became ill and later passed away. Diana had also passed away.

It was one of those conversations that felt impossible and perfectly timed at the same time.

Then, just a couple of days later, it happened again.

My voting location had recently moved from the church next to those apartments to Meadow Point Apartments. I could have voted early. I could have gone at any number of times that Tuesday. But I went right after lunch, walked in, voted, came back out, and sat in my Jeep taking a picture with my “I Voted” sticker.

Then I looked in the rearview mirror.

There was Bill again, walking behind my Jeep.

After not seeing him for 45 years, I saw him twice in the same week.

That’s the part that gets me. You can call it coincidence, timing, or whatever you want. I call it the universe winking at me. It put me right back in the path of someone from a very specific time in my life, someone connected to a whole pile of memories from Markley Hall, Northern Oklahoma College, and that strange little bridge between being a kid and becoming an adult.

So this episode is a shout out to Bill, to Diana, to Dean Perks, to Kyle, Brian, Donnie, Todd, Jose, Alex, Tyson, Brenda, Janene, Lori Beth, Monte, Bill, and all the other people who were part of those Tonkawa years. It’s a shout out to the guys from Markley Hall, the cafeteria crowd, the dorm troublemakers, the basketball players, the wrestlers, the small-town kids, the out-of-state kids, and everybody who made that little junior college campus feel like its own world.

Sometimes you don’t realize how special a season of life was until decades later, when you bump into someone who was there.

And sometimes, apparently, the universe gives you a second reminder just to make sure you were paying attention.

PODCAST

VIDEO

The post A Chance Encounter 45 Years in the Making appeared first on Curtis Tucker.

One of those ideas is a retail shop called Zoinkies!

Not just a t-shirt shop. Not just a vintage store. Not just a record store. Not just an arcade. More like a retro clubhouse. A place filled with the sights, sounds, colors, smells, and memories of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.

A store you could walk into and instantly feel like you had stepped back into your childhood bedroom, your cousin’s basement, the local TG&Y, the mall arcade, the record section at Gibson’s, the school playground, and a Saturday morning cartoon commercial all at the same time.

That’s the dream.

The Zoinkies! Retro Fun Shop would be packed with the kind of stuff that made growing up in those decades so fun. Not necessarily expensive stuff. Not necessarily rare collector stuff, although there would be some of that too. I’m talking about the everyday things that were just part of life back then. Frisbees. Dodge balls. Metal lunch boxes. Lava lamps. Bean bag chairs. Banana seat bikes. Skateboards. Things that immediately bring back a memory the second you see them.

That is the magic of nostalgia. It does not always take much.

You see an old metal lunch box with The Six Million Dollar Man or Scooby-Doo or Star Wars on it, and suddenly you are not standing in a store anymore. You are back in grade school, sitting at a cafeteria table, opening a bologna sandwich wrapped in wax paper, trying to trade your apple for somebody’s pudding cup.

You see a banana seat bike and you can almost feel the sidewalk under your tires. You remember riding around the neighborhood with no helmet, no phone, no GPS, no parents tracking your every move, and no real plan other than, “Let’s go see who’s outside.”

That’s what I would want Zoinkies! to be.

Not just a place to buy things. A place to remember things.

A Store Full of 60s, 70s, and 80s Stuff

The whole store would have a retro vibe, but not in a museum kind of way. I would not want it to feel stuffy or precious. I would want it to feel fun. Bright colors. Big signs. Groovy fonts. Maybe orange, avocado green, brown, gold, turquoise, hot pink, and electric blue all fighting for attention.

It should feel like the kind of place where you walk in and immediately say, “Oh man, I remember that!”

There would be shelves full of retro items from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Some would be original vintage pieces. Some would be new items made in the old style. I would want a mix because the point would not be to create a museum where you are afraid to touch anything. The point would be to let people reconnect with things they loved.

There would be Frisbees, dodge balls, yo-yos, View-Masters, mood rings, pet rocks, lava lamps, black lights, bean bag chairs, posters, board games, and weird little impulse items you forgot existed until you saw them again.

The kind of stuff that used to hang on spinning racks near the front of a store.

The kind of stuff kids begged their parents for.

The kind of stuff you bought with allowance money, birthday money, or coins you saved in a jar.

Vinyl Records, 8-Tracks, and Cassettes

Of course, Zoinkies! would need a music section.

You cannot do a proper retro store without records. Vinyl has already made a major comeback, but in a shop like this, the vinyl section would not just be about music. It would be about album art, memories, and the experience of flipping through bins.

There is something very satisfying about standing in front of a crate of records and flipping through them one by one. Fleetwood Mac. Boston. KISS. Kansas. The Eagles. Elton John. Queen. The Cars. Van Halen. Journey. REO Speedwagon. Styx. Foreigner. Heart.

You see the cover and instantly remember where you were when you first heard those songs.

And I would not stop at vinyl.

I would have 8-tracks and cassettes too.

Not because everybody is going to go home and fire up an 8-track player, although a few people probably would. But because those formats are part of the story. An 8-track tape sitting on a shelf just looks cool. A cassette takes you back to boom boxes, mixtapes, Walkmans, pencil rewinds, and recording songs off the radio.

A cassette tape was not just music. It was personal.

You made a tape for your car. You made a tape for your girlfriend. You made a tape of your favorite songs from the radio and tried to hit stop before the DJ started talking.

That is the kind of memory a retro store should trigger.

New T-Shirts With Retro Designs

Zoinkies! would also have new t-shirts with retro designs. That part is important because not everything in the store would need to be old.

Some things would be new, but inspired by the old days.

I would want shirts that look like they came from an old iron-on shop at the mall. Big bold lettering. Cartoon mascots. 70s stripes. Distressed graphics. Fake cereal brands. Arcade slogans. Old-school summer camp vibes. Drive-in movie designs. Roller rink shirts. Groovy roadside attraction designs. Weird little characters that look like they could have been on a sticker in 1978.

The t-shirt section could be the bridge between nostalgia and modern retail.

Somebody might come in to look at old records or candy, but leave with a shirt that says something like:

We Ate Candy for Breakfast in the 70s

Or:

Saturday Morning Professional

Or:

Powered by Pop Rocks and Arcade Tokens

That’s the kind of merchandise that lets people wear the memory.

The Arcade Corner

Now we get to one of my favorite parts.

Zoinkies! would need an arcade corner.

Not a giant arcade. Not a Dave & Buster’s situation. Just a corner that feels like the back room of an old pizza place or the side wall of a skating rink.

There would be a few pinball machines. Maybe Asteroids. Pac-Man. Galaga. Maybe Donkey Kong or Centipede if there was room.

The sounds alone would make the store better. The electronic beeps. The pinball bumpers. The clack of flippers. The explosion sounds from Asteroids. That little Pac-Man waka-waka-waka noise coming from the corner.

That sound is part of childhood for a lot of us.

Arcades were social media before social media. You stood around and watched somebody else play. You put your quarter on the machine to claim next game. You tried to make one quarter last as long as possible. You watched the older kids because they knew all the patterns and tricks.

And if you ever got your initials on the high score screen, you were a legend. At least for a day.

That arcade corner would give people a reason to hang around. And that matters. The best retail shops are not just places where people buy things. They are places where people linger.

Comic Books and Retro Heroes

The store would also have a comic book section. Not necessarily a giant comic shop, but a cool section with retro comics from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Spider-Man. Batman. Superman. The Hulk. Archie. Richie Rich. Casper. Hot Stuff. Sad Sack. Mad Magazine. Cracked. Maybe some old horror comics, sci-fi comics, westerns, and movie tie-ins.

Comic books were such a big part of childhood because they were cheap, colorful, and easy to get lost in. You could buy one at a drugstore, grocery store, or convenience store and spend the afternoon reading it on your bed or under a tree.

And the ads were half the fun.

Sea-Monkeys. X-ray specs. Charles Atlas. Giant monsters. Spy gear. Toy soldiers. Magic tricks. Hostess fruit pie ads with superheroes.

A retro comic section would not just be about valuable issues sealed in plastic. It would be about the joy of digging through boxes and finding something that makes you smile.

The Retro Candy Section

This might be the most dangerous section in the whole store.

The candy section.

I would fill it with retro candy. Whatchamacallit. Zots. Zero bars. Bottle Caps. Pop Rocks. Candy cigarettes, if you can even still do that. Wax bottles. Necco Wafers. Razzles. Sugar Daddy. Charleston Chew. Bit-O-Honey. Lemonheads. Boston Baked Beans. Fun Dip. Pixy Stix. Atomic Fireballs. Chick-O-Sticks.

Candy is one of the fastest ways to time travel.

You can hear an old song and remember the past. You can see an old toy and remember the past. But when you taste something from your childhood, it hits differently.

Pop Rocks are not just candy. They are a science experiment in your mouth.

Bottle Caps are not just candy. They are a reminder of being a kid with sticky fingers and a pocket full of change.

A Zero bar is not just a candy bar. It is a weird little mystery wrapped in silver.

The candy section would be great for kids, but honestly, it would be even better for adults. Because adults are the ones who would walk in, see something they have not seen in 40 years, and immediately buy three.

One to eat.

One to take home.

And one just because.

Magazine Rack Memories

Another section I would love to have is a retro magazine area.

Old TV Guides. Rolling Stone. Reader’s Digest. Mad Magazine. National Lampoon. Life. Time. Sports Illustrated. Popular Mechanics. Seventeen. Tiger Beat. Maybe even some old Playboys in a restricted or clearly separated adult section, because whether people admit it or not, that was part of the magazine rack culture of the era.

Magazine racks used to be a big deal.

Before the internet, magazines were how you kept up with pop culture, celebrities, cars, music, fashion, sports, movies, and weird stories from around the world. You went to a store and stood there flipping through magazines like it was a public library with fluorescent lights.

TV Guide was especially huge. That little magazine was basically the remote control for the entire week. You checked what was coming on, circled shows, looked for movies, and planned your night around three or four channels.

Now everything is streaming, searchable, skippable, and available instantly.

But back then, if The Wizard of Oz or Willy Wonka or Planet of the Apes was coming on TV, you had to know when it aired. You had one shot. If you missed it, that was it.

That is a completely different relationship with entertainment.

Posters, Pinups, Rock Stars, and Black Lights

The poster section might be the most visually fun part of the store.

It would have pinup posters, rock star posters, movie posters, black light posters, sci-fi posters, fantasy art, van art, skateboard art, and maybe those big personality posters everyone had on their walls.

The 70s and 80s were poster decades.

Bedroom walls told the story of who you were. Farrah Fawcett. Cheryl Tiegs. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. KISS. Star Wars. Rocky. Bruce Lee. Pink Floyd. Led Zeppelin. Lamborghini Countach. Black light mushrooms. Dragons. Wizards. Surfers. Skateboarders.

Posters were identity.

Before people customized their online profiles, they customized their bedrooms. Your posters told visitors what kind of music you liked, what movies you loved, who you had a crush on, and what fantasy world you wanted to live in.

A poster section in Zoinkies! would not just sell wall art. It would sell the feeling of being 13 years old and finally getting to make your room look like you.

Groovy Clothes: Old and New

There would also need to be a groovy clothes section.

Some vintage. Some new.

Bell-bottoms. Ringer tees. Track jackets. Satin baseball jackets. Tube socks. Corduroy. Denim jackets. Old-school sneakers. Retro sunglasses. 70s-style button-ups. Maybe even some loud patterned shirts that look like they belong in a disco, a bowling alley, or on a game show host.

Clothes are tricky because original vintage sizes and condition can be all over the place, so I would want a mix of authentic pieces and new clothing inspired by the era.

The goal would not be to dress everyone like they are going to a costume party. The goal would be to let people add a little retro flavor to their everyday life.

A ringer tee. A pair of striped socks. A 70s-style jacket. A shirt with a ridiculous pattern. Something that says, “I remember when things were a little more colorful.”

Games and Toys

The toy and game section would be a blast.

Board games like Rebound, Stratego, Trouble, Sorry!, Life, Clue, Risk, Battleship, Connect Four, Operation, Mouse Trap, Twister, and KerPlunk.

Toys like GI Joe, Hot Wheels, Matchbox cars, Stretch Armstrong, Evel Knievel stunt cycles, Star Wars figures, Fisher-Price Little People, Weebles, Nerf footballs, cap guns, Slinkys, yo-yos, and those cheap plastic toys that somehow became priceless in our memories.

This section would probably be where people spend the most time saying, “I had that!”

That phrase would basically be the unofficial motto of the store.

“I had that!”

“My cousin had that!”

“My brother broke one of those!”

“I got that for Christmas!”

“I always wanted one of those!”

That is what makes retro retail fun. It is not just shopping. It is memory excavation.

Groovy Art, Pop Paintings, Pottery, and Macramé

Another section I forgot to include — and honestly, it might become one of the coolest parts of the whole store — would be a groovy retro art section.

Not fine art in the quiet-gallery-white-walls kind of way. I’m talking about colorful, playful, funky, conversation-starting art. The kind of stuff that looks like it belongs in a 1970s apartment, a record store window, a college dorm room, a funky coffee shop, or the background of an old variety show.

Zoinkies! would have retro and pop art style paintings with bold colors, thick outlines, cartoon energy, and subjects pulled from old-school pop culture. Think lava lamps, roller skates, cassette tapes, drive-in signs, banana seat bikes, cereal bowls, arcade machines, space-age shapes, peace signs, flowers, smiley faces, shag vans, old TVs, and weird little characters that look like they wandered out of a Saturday morning cartoon.

Some of it could be original art. Some could be prints. Some could be small affordable pieces people can grab on impulse. I would want it to feel accessible, not intimidating. Art should not always feel like something you need a museum degree to understand. Sometimes art should just make you grin.

There could also be pottery with a retro twist. Funky mugs, weird little bowls, colorful ashtray-style catchalls, planters, mushroom shapes, drip-glaze pieces, and handmade items that feel like they came from an old craft fair in 1976. Not everything has to be perfect. In fact, the charm would be in the handmade feel. A slightly lopsided mug with orange and brown glaze might have more personality than something perfectly manufactured.

And then there is macramé.

You cannot have a proper groovy retro section without macramé.

Macramé wall hangings, plant holders, owls, beads, knots, fringe, and all the earthy handmade stuff that made 70s living rooms look like someone had invited a craft festival inside. Add a few hanging plants, maybe some spider plants or fake greenery, and suddenly that corner of the store feels like your cool aunt’s house in 1978.

This section could also open the door for local artists and makers. Zoinkies! could feature people creating retro-inspired art, pottery, fiber art, prints, and handmade goods. That would give the shop a fresh inventory flow while still keeping the vintage spirit. It would not all have to be actual old stuff. Some of the best pieces could be new creations inspired by the old vibe.

That might be the real sweet spot: old memories mixed with new creativity.

A groovy art section would also make Zoinkies! more than a nostalgia shop. It would make it a place where the retro spirit is still alive and being reimagined. The 60s, 70s, and 80s were loaded with bold design, wild colors, handmade crafts, and pop culture imagery. There is no reason that energy has to stay trapped in the past.

The Real Reason a Store Like This Would Work

On paper, this sounds like a store filled with old stuff.

But emotionally, it is something bigger.

A store like Zoinkies! would work because people are craving experiences. They can buy almost anything online. They can order records, t-shirts, candy, toys, posters, comics, and vintage items from websites. That is not the hard part.

The hard part is creating a place people want to visit.

A place that makes them feel something.

A place where parents can bring their kids and say, “This is what I had when I was your age.”

A place where friends can walk around for an hour just laughing and telling stories.

A place where someone can buy a t-shirt, play Galaga, grab a Zero bar, flip through records, and leave feeling a little younger than when they walked in.

That is the real product.

The product is not candy.

The product is not records.

The product is not posters.

The product is the feeling.

Why I Like the Idea

I think I like the idea of Zoinkies! because it combines so many things I already love: nostalgia, art, t-shirts, pop culture, music, movies, comics, old toys, weird candy, and the general feeling of growing up in a time when entertainment felt more physical.

You held the record.

You read the comic.

You rode the bike.

You played the arcade machine.

You put the poster on your wall.

You wore the shirt.

You saved the ticket stub.

Today, everything is digital. And digital is great. I make a living in digital media. I love technology. I use AI. I use websites and social media every day.

But there is still something powerful about real-world objects.

A metal lunch box has weight.

A record has texture.

An arcade button has resistance.

A comic book has a smell.

A lava lamp has a glow that no phone screen can duplicate.

Zoinkies! would be a reminder that the physical world still matters.

Would I Really Open It?

That is the big question.

Would I really open a store like this?

Maybe.

Probably not in the giant, risky, quit-everything-and-open-a-big-retail-space kind of way. That sounds like a good way to turn a fun idea into a financial ulcer.

But as a smaller concept? A pop-up shop? A booth? A weekend retro market? A seasonal store? A corner inside another business? An online store with occasional real-world events?

That sounds more interesting.

Maybe Zoinkies! starts as t-shirts and retro designs online. Then it becomes a booth at events. Then a pop-up shop. Then maybe a small physical location that is open limited hours. Maybe it is part retail, part photo op, part arcade, part nostalgia museum, part hangout.

That is the modern way to think about it.

Not just “open a store and hope people come.”

Build a brand. Build the audience. Build the story. Test the idea. Let people fall in love with it first.

Then see where it goes.

Final Thought

The older I get, the more I realize that nostalgia is not really about wanting to go backward.

It is about carrying the best parts forward.

A place like Zoinkies! would not be about pretending it is 1978 again. It would be about remembering what was fun, colorful, weird, simple, exciting, and tactile about those years, and bringing a little bit of that into today.

Because sometimes we do not need another sleek modern store.

Sometimes we need a place with lava lamps, Pop Rocks, pinball machines, black light posters, banana seat bikes, comic books, and a big goofy sign over the door that says:

Zoinkies!

And honestly, I would shop there.

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