Podcast 270

Florida Christmas. We’re in a ‘News Lock’. This happens in between major events, when the media machine keeps churning away on the same topics, even though everyone has moved on. And while The Bob Davis Podcasts continues to keep an eye on world and national events, the great thing about podcasting is, there’s no point in joining the crowd, repetitively pounding away on the same nonsense, and saying nothing new. We’re getting close enough to Christmas, 2014 to say its the holiday season. The trials and tribulations. The expectations. The disappointments. And, the good things too. (Editor’s note: One of the things that comes up this time of year for me is the road trips my family used to take to Florida every other year, to spend Christmas there with my grandparents. It was oddly free of the pressures and intensity of ‘The Season of Peace’. I think its because we were on an adventure, and the main topic of conversation was where to stay when we got to Valdosta.) Take a break from the ‘News Lock’ and reminisce about your own family’s Christmas road trips. From the used cars my father insisted on buying, including the 63 Chevy, 66 Buick ‘Vista’ wagon, the 64 Elektra and the 68 Elektra, a lifetime exposure to secondhand smoke, the luxury of the Howard Johnson’s, versus the TravelAll (Dad’s favorite, cause it was cheap!), Uncle Roy in Jacksonville, the Orange Groves and finally…finally, the Ocean. Plus, discount shopping with my Grandfather, spilling Raisinets on Grandma’s expensive couch, Christmas lights in the humid night air, walks down the beach, and Jelly Fish. Lots of Jelly Fish. And the places we visited on those trips. Kennesaw Mountain (Editor’s Note: Which I thought was in Kentucky, but in fact it is in Georgia), Caverns, Saint Augustine and the Mansions of South Florida. In today’s high speed culture, most people fly if they go anywhere, and its too bad because there is much to be learned on a road trip. Sponsored by X Government Cars and by Depotstar

Podcast 219

Skype Call In. Still getting great response to the ‘Road Trip’ or ‘On The Road’ podcasts chronicling the Bob Davis Podcast’s journey from Chicago to Phoenix, through Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota. With all the major news going down these days; The resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder, the airstrikes in Syria and Iraq and an election, one would think people would want to talk about the issues. Nope. There’s still a definite ‘escapist’ bent in people’s minds. Maybe because of the dying summer. Maybe because we know winter is coming again in the Upper Midwest. Some great conversation about travel experiences, when we were young, and old. Memories of heading to Florida from Chicago in the ‘way-back’ of the old Chevy Wagon, by way of Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida. What does travel when you’re very young, especially travel by car across the country, teach a person about life, and travel in the future? You learn to chill out and take it as it comes, because trying to batter your way through, really doesn’t work on the road. Bonus discussion about social media and the tools the Bob Davis Podcasts can use to get calls into the podcasts. Do you use Skype? FaceTime? Yahoo Chat? Some other tool? Let us know. Too bad we can’t stream on FaceBook or Twitter. Still — the main reason to do these ‘call in’ podcasts is to be prepared, and let listeners know the Bob Davis Podcasts is prepared to give you a chance to share your opinions and views, when a major story breaks, as one inevitably will, that people are burning to talk about. (New software makes the calls sound even better, which is one reason we love us some Skype). Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul.