Nostalgia

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Our Morning of Americana at Gentry’s Farm and Pumpkin Patch (Featuring the 2017 Lexus IS 350)

This story takes place in Tennessee, but really, it could have happened nearly anywhere across America: Maybe the Midwest, or easily in northern California, where my wife is from.

I simply define this as a Morning of Americana; built of nostalgic ideals regarding what it means to be a proud American during the fall season.

All the elements are here: A hay ride pulled by a tractor, a corn maze, farm animals…

And of course, pumpkins!

I feel, to some degree, the fall itself is like a patriotic holiday season; as we celebrate and appreciate the splendor and even novelty of autumn. It’s a time when we are able to take moments to remind ourselves that we live in a great country, and that life itself is truly beautiful and mysterious thing.

(Can you tell that the fall is my favorite season? Sorry I had to get so poetic there more a minute.)

Our family was able to experience a good old fashioned pumpkin patch, in a much more elaborate version than the one that Charlie Brown visited.

My family of four, along with hundreds of other families last Saturday morning, as well as my sister and her family who were in town visiting from Alabama, visited Gentry’s Farm and Pumpkin Patch in Franklin, Tennessee.

So we parked the wondrous 2017 Lexus IS 350 in the dusty grass field which served as a parking lot, and made our way to the festivities.

It was especially rewarding for me as a parent, to see my 1 and a half year-old daughter react to the local, classic, Americana version of Disney World.

We started out by going on the hay ride, which took us through the pastures of the farm. My daughter was laughing with joy, which happens to be her middle name, as she pointed at all the animals in the not-so-far-away distance.

Unsurprisingly then, she was truly intrigued afterwards, when we got to see the farm animals up close. My daughter’s vocabulary is still pretty much limited to family members’ names, as well as her interpretation of what sounds animals make.

The goat must have seemed like a mythical creature to her, as she responded to him in her language: “A-bluh-ah, a-bluh-ah, a-bluh-ah!”

However, she was quite skeptical when it came time to visit the chickens; especially when one poked its head through the fence to look for food in the grass. My daughter had a “Hold me, Daddy!” moment.

As for my almost 7-year old son, he assumed the role of being a tour guide and assistant to his cousins, while wearing a suitably themed Superman t-shirt.

For our family, the fall season just isn’t complete until we have visited the pumpkin patch. Oh, that reminds me, now my son and I need to actually carve that big pumpkin he picked out, which is currently sitting on my front porach. Looks like we’ve got some work to do.

This, to me, is what it feels like to be American.

1 Comment Posted on fatherhood, food reviews, Nostalgia, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized, vegan

Our Morning of Americana at High Brow Brew (Featuring the 2017 Lexus IS 350)

Last Saturday before trekking 30 minutes to Gentry’s Farm & Pumpkin Patch in Franklin, Tennessee, my wife decided the perfect autumn morning just wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t start it out with a good cup of coffee en route to our destination.

So after choosing our favorite flannel shirts from our closets, we hopped in the Lexus IS 350 and made our way to glorious coffee.

Back in the summer of 2014, Lexus invited me to participate in their “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Press Preview in Nashville. While participating in a scavenger hunt for that, part of our route was to get a coffee at a place in Franklin called High Brow Coffee + Tea.

Turns out, High Brow Brew is just across the street from the pumpkin patch. So now, three years later, in a different Lexus, I revisited that coffee shop that perhaps I would not have otherwise being aware of.

Stepping in to this place is like entering a museum of modern day Americana. Obviously, the coffee is every bit as good as you’d expect. To appease my ancient Central American and Spanish roots, I ordered none other than the Spicy Mocha, which consists of dark chocolate ganache and cinnamon cayenne peppers; mixed with an almond and coconut milk blend.

Though she’s used to it by now, my wife thinks it’s crazy that I would willingly drink hot peppers and spices in my coffee in the morning. But for me, nothing else makes sense.

In fact, perhaps I would perceive that drinking a pumpkin spice flavored latte is bit crazy. In any other time of the year, a pumpkin is just a strange looking gourd. But during the best and shortest season of the year, pumpkin spice becomes the official flavor of not just coffee, but pretty much anything these days!

Needless to say, my wife was very pleased to have her pumpkin spice latte; especially from such a quaint little coffee shop.

My son ordered the only artisan version of a Pop-Tart I’ve ever seen. I liked the visual of it so much, I currently use an image of it for my header banner on my Facebook page.

In addition to my family of four, my sister and her family were in town as well. Being from a small town in Alabama, High Brow Brew was something special and exotic. My sister compared us being there to feeling like we were actually in Portland.

(Wow. Even as I’m writing this, I’m somewhat tempted to drive back there and get another Spicy Mocha. I already miss that place.)

After all coffee and artisan Pop-Tarts were consumed, it was time to cross the street and enjoy the rest of our Morning of Americana at the pumpkin patch. But it wouldn’t have been the same if my wife hadn’t suggested we go out for coffee first.

She’s a smart woman.

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Tom Petty’s Influence on Forming My Identity; Teaching Me to Question the System, Not Necessarily Authority Itself

I want to be clear: I am hereby giving permission to Tom Petty, who passed away yesterday at age 66, to affect my emotions.

Right now I am thinking back to exactly where I was 23 years ago, in the fall of 1994. I was 13 years-old and in the 8th grade.

While at the Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, Tennessee, I had a $20 bill in my wallet that I was eager to spend on my first Tom Petty cassette tape. Overwhelmed by all his albums, I chose his Greatest Hits album, which was still new at the time.

The 30 year age difference between Tom Petty and me didn’t matter. This 43 year-old, 5’9”, legendary rocker was one cool dude.

As I was still just learning the play the guitar at the time, his music would serve as a major influence on my musical style. By the time I got to college and began recording my own music, I actually used his 1989 album, Full Moon Fever, as the prototype for the mixing style.

Exactly 12 years ago, right after I had moved to Nashville, the Green Hills Mall had just reopened from remodeling, and were giving out $50 gift cards to the first 50 people who showed up on the grand reopening. I spent the night in the parking lot with my friends.

After realizing the Green Hills mall was more of a fancier mall, the only thing worth spending my money on was CDs; so I spent it all on Tom Petty albums.

Now as an adult, I can look back and see why exactly Tom Petty was always cool:

He was the definition of what it meant to be a rebel. He was the symbol of true rock-n-roll.

I can’t think of a more defiant line in any song recorded by any artist:

“You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won’t back down.”

Tom Petty continually questioned the system. His album, The Last DJ, exposed the politics and greed behind what it now takes to be successful in music.

His identity was based on nonconformity; especially when it came to music.

There is no question that Tom Petty served as a guide for me in forming my identity. As a young teenager, I learned that being cool and rebellious wasn’t really about defying figures in authority, but instead, about questioning and challenging “the system”.

I am grateful to have lived the first half of my life with Tom Petty as a part of it. As for the 2nd half of my life, I’ll stick with what he taught me to get through the rest.

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4 Movies That Need To Be Revived For New Generation (By Guest Blogger, Katie Porter)

Whilst researching this article, I enlisted the help of friends on social media and found myself inundated with a huge list of films that they would love to introduce to Generation Y and Z.

Everything from the iconic ET, Stand By Me, The Lost Boys and WarGames.

Don’t worry – we’re sticking to life-affirming (rather than running for the hills) for this list!

Here are my 4 movies to be revived for new generations to love and enjoy, just like we did.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

One for the teenagers. From the explosive opening chords of “Don’t You Forget About Me”, to the David Bowie quote crashing through the screen, The Breakfast Club has to be one of the most memorable movies of the 80s.

John Hughes was king of the Brat-Pack teen-flick. And there was no film that more acutely defined the social construct of the playground than this fantastic comedy, exploding the existential angst that made high-school the worst (and the best) place on the planet. It told our story – at a time when we were desperate to know who we were.

Each of the characters were a playground archetype – The Brain, The Athlete, The Basket Case, The Princess and The Criminal – played with such pitch-perfect performances that we saw a bit of ourselves in all of them.

The five, who would never normally mix, are thrust together during a Saturday detention, led by the tyrannical Mr Vernon. They discover that their differences are only skin deep, with a warmth that avoids schmaltz and a humour that makes you wish you were there.

Rammed full of quotables, my favourite has to be from John “The Criminal” Bender to the rather-too-suave, beige-suited Richard “Dick” Vernon – “Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?”

The Goonies (1985)

Steven Spielberg had hit full throttle by 1985, with a string of massive worldwide successes including ET, Poltergeist and Gremlins. His golden touch continued with this coming-of-age classic about a gang of misfits trying to save their beloved hometown from the bulldozer of evil developers.

The Goonies was the adventure that every big kid wishes they’d had. With a treasure map, classic  bumbling bad-guys, the fumbling awkwardness of burgeoning romance, and a hideous monster who turns out to save the day – this was the movie with all the gifts: funny, heart-warming and dramatic in equal measure.

And if your kids haven’t seen it yet, I totally envy your Sunday afternoon viewing for one of the best family favourites ever made.

Bugsy Malone (1976)

Alan Parker is a genius. How can you deny it when he’s been responsible for some of the most iconic movies of the past 50 years? From the high-tension drama of Midnight Express and the gritty, bitter-sweet unrequited promise of The Commitments, to the mad-cap joy of the splurge gun, the tea-cup “gin” and the speak-easy with the unforgettable Bugsy Malone. The younger generation may know Bugzy Malone as the “grime reviver”, but there’s very little chance that they won’t be dragged in to the zany world of Fat Sam’s Grand Slam with this enduring classic.

The world of the adult, portrayed by a cast of children, has a charm and that no other children’s film had ever managed. This was one VHS cassette that got worked VERY hard.

Bugsy Malone was the film that securely cemented Jodie Foster as the one-to-watch, along with a young Dexter Fletcher and, of course, Scott Baio in the title role.

With a collection of some of the most memorable songs a musical has ever produced, Bugsy Malone has to be a timeless winner that will never grow old.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

This was one of the greats. A classic tale of the squeaky-clean bad-kid who gets away with it, enjoying a sneaky taste of what adulthood might offer along the way.

Ferris and his girlfriend, Sloane, convince best friend, Cameron, to steal his dad’s prized possession: an immaculate 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder. They spend the day  sight-seeing around Chicago, eating dinner in expensive restaurants, lip-syncing during street parties (like you do), all the while shaking off the trail of the suspiciously evil head-teacher, Mr Rooney.

This movie perfectly celebrates the transition of the child into the adult, with all the optimism of what life might offer.

If you’re looking for a great movie that the whole family can enjoy time and time again, this is the one!

Parents, aunts, uncles and babysitters of the world – this is a call to action to share these classics with our younger brethren.

Have a great time catching up on some of the movies that made us who we are, with (hopefully) a similar effect on the generations after us.

Katie Porter is an aspiring writer, movie lover, and part of the team at Seatup. In her free time, she enjoys exploring her home state Colorado and plays in women’s amateur rugby league.

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I am Not Returning My Diploma to Liberty University, Nor Did I Vote for Trump

Perhaps the truly most rebellious stance to have these days is to be neutral… about anything. We live in an undeniably polarized culture where being “outraged” by the behavior of other people is all the rage.

Meanwhile, my goal is to remove myself from a predictable system where I am forced to choose one side (and their ethnocentric agenda), then demonize the other side (along with their own ethnocentric agenda). I refuse to maintain a mindset in which I have to constantly have an emotional response ready for the half of the population…. who is perceptually wrong.

In case you are unaware, a growing number of Liberty University graduates are choosing to return their diplomas to Liberty University, on the basis that the current chancellor, Jerry Falwell Jr., has been openly supportive of controversial President Trump’s policies and responses.

The “Return Your Diploma to LU” movement, which currently contains more than 700 members, even has its own hashtag; which is #grandstander.

This is a buzzing story.

Journalists from secular publications have been quick to reach out to the members of the group. I know this because I’ve been keeping up with the comments on the closed group.

Meanwhile, I personally am proud to have graduated from Liberty University in 2005 with an English Degree. My attendance at Liberty University helped shape my views, my identity, and my future. I am proud, not ashamed, of my diploma from Liberty University.

Of all ironies though, the fact I did not vote for Donald Trump goes back to Dorm 15 at Liberty University back in 2003. It was during my years at LU that I secretly converted from a Republican to a Libertarian.

My friend Ryan, who lived in the dorm room next to mine, was able to convince me through his emotional intelligence, that America will only continue to be more divided and polarized if we continue to only choose one of two popular political sides (with its own non-negotiable agenda), opposed to the other side.

I do not condemn anyone participating in the “Return Your Diploma to LU”.

Nor did I actively support President Trump being elected; in fact, it was during my attendance at Liberty University that I retired my allegiance to the Republican Party.

But who knows, maybe had I not gone to Liberty University, I would still be a Republican today and would have voted for Trump?

Maybe the ultimately irony, though, is that in my attempt to remain neutral in a polarized society, I could still end up causing someone to be outraged.