No, it's not a monster truck rally as the title of this blog might suggest. It is, however, just as exciting if you're somebody like me. I'm talking about the WQMX Akron-Canton Hunting, Fishing, and Outdoor Show going down at the Maps Air Museum near the Akron-Canton Airport this weekend! It's happening both Saturday and Sunday, and we'd love it if you came on out. 

Scott and Sarah kick things off Saturday morning from 9 AM until 11 AM, and that first day of the show goes until 4 PM. Sunday, Maps will open up for you at the same time, but everything will wrap up at 3pm, instead. Day two then features Ben McKee from 11 AM until 1 PM, when he'll tag in Eric Matthews and me to cap off the event. 

Admission to this annual show is just five dollars with children aged twelve and under free. It's an awesome venue in that massive hangar decorated with museum planes strung from the rafters and aviation history throughout. Come listen to knowledgeable speakers and watch demos, check out the latest and greatest in all sorts of products like boats and campers, collect some freebees and maybe win some prizes, and stock up on all your outdoor needs. 

Maybe you're like me looking for some fishing gear to freshen up your tacklebox before hitting the lakes this Spring, or you're an archer wanting to pick up some targets. Find it all at the WQMX Akron-Canton Hunting, Fishing, and Outdoor show this weekend. Once again, I'll be there from 1-3 PM, so stop on out! 

It's Springtime! Critters are waking up from hibernation, flowers are beginning to poke their way through the dirt, birds are chirping, and that one thing is back in the sky... I think it's called the sun? 

It's about that time of the year for us to let the rays beam in through the windows. If your home is anything like mine, this natural light reveals all the dust and grunge. There's the inevitable clutter everywhere from snow shovels, boots, and coats. We're tracking in mud like crazy with the ground now thawing and the mixed precipitation. Our two little kitty cats shed more hair than a St. Benard, too; I swear! Etc. 

So, yeah. Let's get to freshening up the place. Whether it's mopping, mowing, or making the bed, we all have chores we hate and some we don't mind as bad. Maybe there's even a few you enjoy doing.

With that, here's my top ten chores!

10. Doing Laundry

9. Cleaning the Bathroom

8. Dusting

7. Vacuuming/Mopping/Sweeping

6. Taking the Trash Out

5. Cleaning Windows

4. Clearing the Gutters

3. Making the Bed

2. Mowing the Lawn

1. Doing Dishes

My absolute least favorite chore: pulling weeds.

How about you, though? 

As always, thanks for checking this out, and thanks for listening to Your Country 94.9 WQMX. We'll handle the music so you can get to doing some spring cleaning chores! If you've got a smart speaker around the house, just tell it to play 94.9 WQMX and keep crossing off those to-dos with all your favorite songs to motivate.  

Every artist has their medium. Songwriters play pianos, painters lay oil-based colors, sculptors chisel marble, and photographers capture the world with cameras. When it comes to dry-erase markers on a whiteboard, though; it's hardly a medium... and that works out since I'm hardly an artist!

I like to think I'm creative more so than artistic. As a casual multi-instrumentalist, I'd probably label myself a musician, if anything. I suppose I'm something of a wordsmith, too. So, while you probably won't catch me at the Hobby Lobby, nothing says I can't do a little flower drawing.

Here it is, on the WQMX studio whiteboard just in time for Spring! 

On my way into the station here this evening, the old Blazer hit a milestone. I've been looking forward to catching this moment. We just crossed over to two hundred twenty-two thousand, two hundred twenty-two miles. She's still just getting broken in! 

High mileage isn't uncommon in these S-10 platform vehicles and I'm fortunate to have some of the best options for longevity with the 4.3 V6 and 5-Speed manual transmission. According to the guy I got it from, the engine in it is not original to the vehicle. I'm not sure whether that's true, but it runs great. 

My ride is a testament to a few things. First and foremost, road salt is a vehicle killer. The main reason my '98 is still in good shape is because it came from out west. Secondly, mileage (not unlike age), is just a number. Sure, it means something, just not everything. What really matters is how the car has been taken care of. Even though I'm the fourteenth person to hold the title for my Blazer, I can tell it's been loved. Car washes and oil changes are paramount, minimally. It all boils down to having pride in what you drive, and although it's not the newest or nicest, I sure do. 

So, cheers to the Blazer for making it all these miles, and here's to the next 222,222! 

These past couple of days have been a whole lot of fun. Friday, I sold my brother's old junky car, and later on, my fiancée and I had a night in. We ordered some 'za, did a few things around the house, and settled down for the night with a movie. It was a great time! I love spending time with Mackenzie, and I was lucky enough to get to do so again through most of the day on Sunday. Before delving into our St. Patrick's day festivities, though, let me touch on Saturday. 

Saturday was AMAZING! It was a blast at our 4th Annual WQMX Red, White, and Bowl charity event in support of NEOPAT. Balls were bowled, money was raised, and fun was had all-around. The VIP acoustic performance from Ryan Larkins was so awesome. He's quite the musician; from his guitar playing to his vocals, he hit the mark. Ryan was easy to talk to and it was so cool for him to socialize with all of us and let me pick his brain about songwriting and such. His faith, family, and career are what drives him, and you can really tell he's got a genuine passion for making country music. If I wasn't a fan of his before, I sure am now! 

After all that fun Saturday afternoon, I stopped by my buddy's place to have him help me take a look at my 4x4 system in the Blazer. I could write a whole blog raging at General Motors for how terrible every part that goes into locking my front end is, but I'll spare you that one. I need some new parts....

Saturday night was for the boys. My friends and I socialized at my place for a couple hours, doing nothing in particular. We just hung out; you know? It's always fun catching up, but we didn't have much of a late night. 

Wrapping back around to Sunday, it was a fun day (literally). Mackenzie and I caught up with Sarah Kay at the Dusty Armadillo for their special St. Paddy's Sunday Fun Day. There were a lot of people there wearing green and smiles. It was popping! 

Afterwards, we met up with Mackenzie's friends at Quarter Up, that bar/arcade place in the Falls. It's never a bad time there, too. I annihilated a mac and cheese hot dog, enjoyed some suds, and fed those arcade machines a financially irresponsible number of quarters. 

A gnarly headache appeared and cut the rest of the day Sunday short for me, and it was homeward bound for a nap from there. That nap was ultimately harmful however, as I just couldn't get to sleep in the evening before my shift here. I'll be rubbing my eyes through the overnight, but we'll make it till dawn as always. 

I'll tell you what, I am drained! My social battery needs some recharge and I certainly need some Z's. With nothing worthwhile to do outside in this yucky cold, it's the perfect type of day to enjoy some TV shows and rest up. So, that's exactly what I'll do here for this Monday. 

I sure hope you had a fun and safe holiday weekend too! Be sure to check out our socials for pictures of all the great stuff that went down weekending with WQMX. 

Let's begin with some context. 

A week or two ago, my brother was driving his junky car. He was on his way back from helping me out with a ride when another vehicle pulled out in front of him and nearly caused an accident. Driving defensively, he slammed on the brakes! Well... the front wheels stopped before the rest of the car. By that, I mean that the subframe crunched itself out from how rusty it was, and the car had a Lightning McQueen "Ka-chow" moment. 

With front tires trying to go two different directions, he was able to fight the steering and bring the car back to home base. Thankfully, he wasn't far. That Cobalt's down bad and it is just something beyond what we care to fix. There is still a lot of good left to that car though, especially in the wheels and tires, the interior, the battery, and the motor. Because of that, I didn't immediately want to have it hauled off for scrap. Those tires aren't yet a year old, and it doesn't even have a check engine light, you know? Heck, it's got an almost full tank of gas! 

So, what to do with the old jalopy? We called some scrap yards for comparison, and one actually made a really fair offer. From there, the ball was in my court. The deal was made that I could keep whatever I could get out of it above scrap price if I took on the task of selling it myself. As much as I'd like to do some shenanigans with it in the woods, I thought this wasn't a bad gig, so I went ahead and posted it. 

I thought maybe there would be that one guy out there who (for no good reason) is super into Cobalts. That, or maybe there's some hustler who'd strip anything worthwhile off the vehicle before bringing it to be crushed. You do you! Never did I think I'd have upwards of fifty people pounding at my door with all sorts of offers. Instead of becoming irritated with all the Silly-Willys offering me half of what the salvage place did, I just laugh. You can't let them get to you. It really is a hot mess on the web though, with stupidity in all different flavors finding its way to me. 

Here's some notables- One person asked if I could bring the car to them in Toledo.... huh? Another fellow asked if it would make it up to Cleveland. Big Dog, I wouldn't have trusted it to make that trip before it broke and I wouldn't even bring it up the street if avoidable at this point. I said that straight up in the listing, too. Aside from those, there were a few offers so low I'd rather watch the vehicle rot away in the back yard than give it up to them. Whatever energy I pick up on, I'll reciprocate. You hit me with the automatic "Is this available" message and I'll come right back with a good ol' thumbs up emoji, for example. 

On the other hand, there's a select few people who just get it. The individual who I've made arrangements with was to the point and fair with his offer. He threw out a number that worked for me and asked when he could come pick it up with his car hauler. Perfect!

So, hopefully that all works out. For the little effort I've put in, if I make one hundred bucks or so, that's cool by me. It's definitely annoying, but I'm the guy to come to when it comes to these sort of interactions. From the powersports I've bought to the cars I've sold, this is far from my first rodeo. Regardless, at the very least, this provided the motivation for my brother to buy a new car and he seems to love it. I'm stoked for him, and we are so ready to get that old pile of rust out of the driveway. 

Sayonara, Loretta the Cobalt, and good riddance! 

Welp, we have just about made it through another Ohio winter. Woohoo! 

Since spring is just a few days away, now is a good time to talk about flowers. If you don't like flowers, you're probably one of those people who hates dogs and ice cream and pizza too, right? 

Seriously, though, flowers bring us joy. Whether they're in a bouquet, a garden, a field, or even growing through cracks in concrete; we love to see them. And unless you suffer from seasonal allergies, we love to smell them too! If there's any sort of special occasion in life, flowers are usually there. Whether it's a school dance, Valentine's day, a congratulations, or a funeral; flowers are pretty much universally appropriate. 

Just this week, I've seen a few flowers popping up around my property. That, to me, is a strong indicator that this warmer weather is here to stay. Maybe it won't be seventy degrees, but I think we're just about done with the freezing. -Now that I've written this, feel free to blame the upcoming blizzard on yours truly! 

Let's get into the meat and potatoes here with this list of my top ten flowers. 

10. Iris

9. Marigold

8. Daisy

7. Daffodil

6. Lavendar

5. Rose

4. Tulip

3. Dandelion

2. Sunflower

1. Lilac

So, what do you think? How do my favorites compare to yours? I'd love for you to tell me about it on the WQMX Studio Line! If you're a night owl, you can call in to reach me live from midnight until 5 AM. Otherwise, drop a text on our line (sponsored by Toth Buick GMC) at 330-370-2000 any time, and I'll be sure to see it! 

P.S. Have you seen the new music video for Lainey Wilson's Wildflowers and Wild Horses? If not, you can check that out below. 

With summer around the corner, this is really important...

Please, look out for Motorcycles.

Put your phone down and keep alert as you drive. Please don't be the reason someone doesn't make it home to see their family.

Look twice, save a life.

These aren't just catchy mottos. They're a plead from those who know what happens otherwise. I don't keep a LOFM magnet on my car because it looks cool. I do it because I ride. My father rides. My friends ride. I'd bet someone you know and love does too.

So, please, look out for motorcycles.

It's back! After a long couple of weeks without the old thing, my Blazer has found its way back home. I'm elated. 

With that, here's some songs that remind me of my vehicle for various reasons. 

It's been a good while since I've practiced playing any instrument, so over the weekend, I decided to pick up old faithful: my bass guitar. It's like riding a bicycle! 

I've started plucking strings again because my friends hit me up to learn some songs. We've got guitars, bass, drums, and vocals; so, the potential is there for something cool to come about. The main objective is to just have a good time and jam, but if we end up sounding alright, maybe some recording will find its way to the internet. We're by no means a band, just some dudes coming together to play music! 

Making music makes memories, and whenever I get the chance to come together with friends to do so, it's always a great time. I can't wait for it next. First, though, I need to keep practicing. Gotta get back to it- till next time, thanks for reading!