A few days back, I tipped you off to something huge (yet small for now) coming into my life, and here he is. 

Drumroll, please... 

Meet Hank! He's my little puppy I just picked up out of West Virginia. Hank is a purebred bloodhound from the Taylor Made family of pups. He's just about eight weeks old, and the cutest thing on this planet Earth, if you ask me! Seriously, I'm melting over him, and his personality is just as great as his looks. 

He's the biggest puppy from his litter, and "Brown Boy" as he was formerly known as, was the one everybody wanted. I believe he has nine siblings, boys and girls. Some of their coats are a similar black and tan, while others are mostly tan or even liver. They're all so dang cute. 

The name Hank comes from a combination of things. As silly as it may be, in the show The King of the Hill, the main character's name is Hank. Well, Hank has a bloodhound, Ladybird, and he loves her dearly. That's some inspiration. Then, of course you got old Hank Williams. That man will always be THE Hank, and a nod to him seems appropriate for my little country hound. Also, Hank just seems right. You know how it goes! 

I'm totally obsessed with my little good boy. He slept nearly the entire car ride back and didn't whine or bark. He's such a well-mannered dude already, with a laid-back demeaner. Who knows if that will stick around, or if he'll grow into a toddler with a temperament- I think it's a good sign, though, and we're going to nurture him into good behavior as best we can, too. 

Our cats are not into Hank at all, but he seems very much open to them. They'll warm up to him in time, I'm sure. He's here for the long run, regardless. 

I could go on and on about my bloodhound puppy Hank, and I'm sure I will in future blogs, but I just wanted to give you a little introduction to my new four-legged family member. He's perfect. 

We're planning on a photo shoot this weekend before blowing up social media with pictures of the pup. I can't wait to spend time with him! 

What could make this time any better? I don't know... maybe... A NEW ALBUM ANOUNCEMENT FROM MEGAN MORONEY WITH A NEW SONG OF HERS DROPPING TOO?!?!!!

Oh yeah! Her sophomore album is titled Am I Okay? and it is set to come out July 12th. This announcement came with the release of her brand-new song, Indifferent. Here's that for you to check out:

Spring is in full bloom, and the trees are no exception. Bright new buds are blossoming, and the treetops are filling out again. I'm really enjoying all the different seasonal colors, from light pink to neon yellow and more. 

Whether we climb them, build with them, eat from them, burn them, use them for shade, or simply just breathe the fresh air they provide; trees are a huge part of all our lives. So, let's take a moment to appreciate them here with my top ten trees! 

10. Blue Spruce

9. Apple

8. Weeping Willow

7. Dogwood

6. Buckeye

5. Japanese Maple

4. Ironwood

3. Cherry

2. Giant Sequoia

1. Birch

Side note: Aren't Bonsai trees the coolest? I think so. Apparently you can use the technique on most any type of tree or shrub with the proper methods, but I've heard it's not easy. I'd like to have one, but and I'm worried it wouldn't survive under my care and they're typically not cheap to come by. To get one established myself from a seedling- that's even tougher, I'm sure. 

Every Thursday, you'll find a new top ten list here as my blog for the WQMX website. They're usually my favorite to do, and the best part is when I get your feedback! I love hearing how my favorites compare to yours when it comes to these various topics, and if you've ever got an idea for a future list, I'm always open to suggestions. 

Till next time! 

She's beauty. She's grace. She's my 1981 Chevrolet El Camino, Eleanor. 

Eleanor found her way to me a few years back, and the moment I saw the truck, I knew I needed it in my driveway. I'm a car guy, simply, and I've always owned something interesting. 

I've had a Monte Carlo SS, a Camaro, and an old Valiant sedan as summer cruisers in the past, but my El Camino takes the cake. Sure, there were things about those cars I really miss: my Camaro had T-Tops, my Monte Carlo was fully optioned with leather heated seats and all sorts of nice features, and a sweet little blinker on the fender would light up when you used a turn signal in the Valiant, for example. 

Still, there's nothing like Eleanor. 

Take a look at this picture I took of her yesterday, and that alone should tell you why. After the first carwash of year, it was photo time, and wow! This might have to be my new screensaver.

I love my old Chevy, and I'm so very excited for car show season to be back around. It's awesome that there is such a strong presence of car enthusiasts here in Northeast Ohio with so many events to go to. I attend as many as I can, but always seem to miss a bunch too! 

Sooooo, if you know of any family-friendly car meets going down in the Akron area this summer, please let me know! Whether it's a one-time deal or a weekly show, send all the info on the WQMX studio text line, sponsored by Toth Buick GMC, at 330-370-2000. Maybe we'll get a list going. 

Whether or not you've got a show-worthy ride, that's okay. Hopefully we'll bump into each other at some show, and I'll let you check out what's under the hood!

Something small (for now) but also huge, is happening in my life at the end of this week. It's a long time coming, and I can't wait to share it with you!

Stay posted!

They say lightning doesn't ever strike twice the same exact spot, but when it comes to my boat; well, I guess it's the exception. I mean, it was never bound to work from the start. The hull sat untouched for over a decade in some back yard, the motor was a total roll of the dice, and I'm surely no marine mechanic. We've been very lucky with the boat, BUT... it wasn't just luck.

I dedicated much of my Friday and Saturday to getting her back up and going again. It was the worst! Remounting the motor and everything that comes with that is a total pain, and I faced a bunch of hurdles. Most notably, the throttle just isn't working out. We need about four inches of travel to fully open up the carbs, and we maybe get half of that. Additionally, there's currently no such thing as reverse, ants are everywhere, and all the other issues we overlooked previously remain. 

For example, our horn is tooting great, but we have no lights. They ought to work; it's just a matter of figuring out the wiring again. Of course, I didn't label anything, and I totally forget how we had it. 

What else...

The transom is rotted out and barely holding on, the interior needs some major loving, the whole hull is in need of refinishing, and our electric start is electric stopped. In a lake full of fancy boats and clean white shorts, I'm out there in greasy blue jeans pull-startin' and puffin' two-stroke. That old Magnolia is a basket-case, but she's mine- if it's floating, I'm boating! 

So, that's exactly what I did! I hobbled it all together, got it running at the house, then immediately took it out to the lake. The one thing I should have checked before leaving was the weather. I got soaked! When the sky is darkening and everyone else is loading up their vessels as I'm unloading... well. 

All things considered, I love my boat. As much as it frustrates me, there's hardly anything better than a day out on the Portage Lakes, in my book. All I need is WQMX on the Bluetooth and a fishing pole in my hand! 

Thanks for reading this blog, and let me leave you off with this advice: don't buy a boat. Instead, make good friends with somebody who's got one! 

I'm digging a lot of this new music here in 2024. Some hit home with me, and others not as much.

So, in no particular order, I thought it would be cool to drop here some of my favorites we're now spinning on WQMX. 

It's Thursday and that means it's time for another Top Ten list! I've made so many of these thus far, I'm starting to forget all the topics I've covered. I must double check that I haven't hit a topic yet before writing on it, unless it's a little bit off-the-wall. 

That's what I've got for you here this time around; we're branching out. It's easy for me to write about foods or music or whatever, but sometimes I like to learn a little as I write these, too. Light research on all the options available has taught me a lot about these miscellaneous top ten topics, whether that's the name of a pretty flower I enjoy or maybe a tidbit on video game history, for example. I don't need to research that I like tacos better than hotdogs, or anything like that. 

Whether you learn a little bit from these weekly ranking blogs, take a moment to do some self-reflection, enjoy comparing my picks to your own favorites, or even just get a kick out of judging my choices; thank you for giving a read. I'm real excited to get into this list, so here it is. It's my top ten patterns! 

10. Chevron

9. Toile

8. Striped

7. Polka Dot

6. Plaid

5. Gingham

4. Paisley

3. Tie-Dye

2. Houndstooth

1. Checkered

So, I woke up before my shift here at the station to a massive headache. It hurt to open my eyes even. With as little light as I could manage I got ready, ate a few ibuprofen, and hit the road. 

Now, I'm normally sensitive to bright headlights, but you can only imagine how badly I wanted to avoid seeing them. When it comes to my review mirror, at least, that's no issue; it fell off a while back. Ha!  

I made that funny realization and figured it would be fun to share with you. Maybe there's an underlying message here: clouds can have a silver lining as such and just because something seems unfortunate doesn't mean it's all bad. Things happen and my best advice would be not to fight the current, generally. 

No matter what, there's no looking back in my old 4x4! Let's turn the music up and put the pedal down- till next time, thanks for choosing Your Country! 94.9 WQMX. 

I went to the Playhouse Square this past weekend and saw Stomp! It was a real fun time. 

My uncle Dave had the idea to go, and I'm glad we did. I was on the fence about the show at first, honestly. I'm not much into theatre; I'd generally rather see even some no-name concert than most any play or musical. Stomp! was cool, though. 

I went with my uncle, my cousin, her boyfriend, and my fiancée. We had a full car. 

The venue is stunning, and I felt slightly underdressed for the event. I don't think there was a bad seat in the house, but we had a great view of the action from the middle center of the lower level. That was perfect aside from when I had to shimmy by ten-plus people midway through the show for a bathroom break. (For some reason, I was under the impression that there would be an intermission. I would've gone before the show had I known it would run nearly two hours long uninterrupted.) 

I'm no critic of any sorts, so here there will be no formal review or analysis of Stomp! There's already plenty of those out there that do a better job at that than I, especially with the legacy the show holds. If you're totally unfamiliar, it's basically just a small group of percussionists playing a multitude of non-traditional instruments with a heavy emphasis on rhythm and beat. They play on trash cans and with weird tube-like noise makers and all sorts of stuff, often using typical drumsticks. There are no words spoken or sung, but it maintains a theatrical feel with synchronized dancing and clear-cut characters. It's largely about the sounds and noises, ultimately. 

I had a great time at Stomp! and I want to give a big thank you to my uncle Dave for putting it all together, taking Mackenzie and I to the show. I really enjoy making memories as such, and this past Friday will be looked back upon fondly. 

Time to plan for our next adventure!

Here are some fun facts about today's holiday, Earth Day! 

- Origins: Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970, initiated by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin to raise awareness about environmental issues.

- Global Reach: What began as an American movement quickly turned into a global phenomenon. Earth Day is now celebrated in over 190 countries around the world.

- Massive Participation: The first Earth Day saw 20 million Americans, roughly 10% of the U.S. population at the time, participating in demonstrations across the country.

- Environmental Impact: The inaugural Earth Day led to the creation of significant U.S. environmental laws including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

- Earth Day Network: The organization founded by the original Earth Day organizers coordinates global events and activities to celebrate Earth Day each year.

- 2020 Milestone: The 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020 was marked by digital protests due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making it one of the largest online mass mobilizations in history.

- Annual Themes: Each Earth Day has a specific theme; for example, "Restore Our Earth" in 2021 focused on natural processes, green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems. For 2024, it is, "Planet vs. Plastics." 

- Educational Impact: Earth Day is used as an opportunity to educate about environmental issues, with many schools and communities organizing learning events and activities.

- A Day of Action: Earth Day is often marked by tree planting, clean-up campaigns, and petitions for stronger environmental laws, demonstrating the proactive nature of the observance. 

- Symbol: The official Earth Day flag features a picture of the Earth taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft, symbolizing peace and environmental stewardship.