Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” Other times, the bravest among us are the ones who act first, putting aside their own comfort and safety to help a stranger in need. Truck driver David Frederickson did exactly that. Frederickson and his son were traveling along I-10 near Biloxi, Mississippi when suddenly, right in front of them, a car t-boned a semi, striking the semi’s fuel tank and causing a large fireball. If you watch the video, taken from Frederickson’s dash
Read more →Archive for the Thought for the Weekend Category
Thanks to the magic of the Internet, we have a billion facts and figures at our fingertips. Although the information superhighway is pretty amazing, it’s also full of potholes and wrong turns: believing everything you read could get you into trouble pretty fast. Wikipedia, for example, is the sixth most visited website in the world. It bills itself as “the free encyclopedia,” but there’s just one problem – you get what you pay for. According to a recent study from Penn State, 60% of Wikipedia entries contained factual errors. Even the Wikipedia entry titled
Read more →This Sunday kicks off yet another Shark Week, which currently holds the honor of longest running event in cable television history. Originally broadcast in 1987 on the Discovery Channel, it was meant to raise awareness and respect for sharks. These days, between the memes, the over-the-top commercials, and the drinking games, Shark Week has become more spectacle than respectful. Now, I love sharks just as much as the next person – in fact, the summer it was released, I went to see Jaws in the movie theater five times! – but even I have
Read more →After enormous success with The Flintstones, the folks at Hanna-Barbera decided to go in the opposite chronological direction, creating the futuristic space-age world of The Jetsons. The cartoon, which debuted in 1962, was intended to depict the year 2062, and The Jetsons were the very first television family to live in a world ahead of its time. From robot maids to flat-screen televisions, flying cars to video conferencing, the show’s creators envisioned a world that’s not too far off from where we are today. Need Proof? George Jetson had: a “televiewer” screen (instead of
Read more →Anyone who lived through the 80s will remember Fred the Baker, the popular Dunkin’ Donuts mascot whose catchphrase “Time to make the donuts!” became a household saying. Fred, played by actor Michael Vale, was so beloved he starred in more than 100 commercials over the course of fifteen years. In one commercial, Fred shows his son the ropes of donut making. As they rise before dawn and shuffle to the bakery, Fred imparts the secrets of the perfect donut: “Always be generous”, he says while sprinkling lots of powdered sugar on the donuts. Donny
Read more →Summer is known as blockbuster season in the film industry, the time of the year when all of the fast-paced action films and gut-busting comedies hit the big screen. I love summer blockbusters because they’re the kinds of movies that help you kick back, relax, and beat the heat for a few hours. Movies didn’t always work like this, though. Until the 70s, films usually debuted in big cities first, then trickled down to smaller towns and suburbs, relying on word-of-mouth to pave the way to ticket sales. On June 20th, 1975, that all
Read more →Did you know what today is? Yes, it’s July 11, or 7/11, otherwise known as 7-Eleven Day. According to the 7-Eleven corporate website, approximately 25 percent of the U.S. population lives within one mile of a 7-Eleven store. It is the largest chain of convenience stores in the world with close to 53,000 stores in 16 countries. And, in homage to last week’s Thought for the Weekend, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that 7-Eleven has the largest ATM network of any retailer in United States.Born in 1927, when an employee of Southland
Read more →We love our freedoms here at Matchmaker, but we also love our food. Last year, we reminded you that truck drivers make our holiday cookouts possible, including one holiday food more American than any other – the apple pie. It’s the perfect centerpiece for the Fourth of July picnic, on a red checkered tablecloth against the blue sky and topped – of course – with creamy vanilla ice cream. Apple pie is a symbol of the best things America has to offer – prosperity, happiness, and good clean fun. The legend of American apple pie has
Read more →As you may already know, I play guitar and sing in a band. Our group is fortunate to get more work than we can handle; in fact, this summer we’re booked to play almost every single weekend. I like to think that practicing my passion for music by being in a band keeps me young. My wife might counter with this joke: “A child says: ‘Mommy, when I grow up I’d like to be a guitar player.’ His mother replies, ‘Well honey, you know you can’t do both.’ I feel like my best (and
Read more →Tomorrow marks the first day of summer, and here in the Southeast, the heat is already on! This year’s brutal winter-complete with epic snow and ice storms across the country feels like a distant memory. But despite the gradual arrival of sunshine and warm weather, in my house, one question remained a constant: “Do you wanna build a snowman?” That’s right, even with the approach of summer, our house remains Frozen, as my daughters obsess over Disney’s hottest movie and memorize the lyrics to every song. With the story of the movie following a
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