A View from the Front Porch

"A View from the Front Porch" is a memoir of my life growing up in rural South Carolina in the groovy 1970's. Or at least the way my 2020's brain remembers it! From the old, green, creaky wooden swing on my Grandaddy's front porch to the barnyard of un-rideable pigs, unfriendly wasps, and perilous cow-poop, this is the hilarious tale of a pre-teen farm boy with way too much time on his hands and too little common sense to know any better. All at once heartwarming, hysterical, and embarrassingly true, "A View from the Front Porch" will remind you of a simpler time, when sittin', swingin' and growin' up were just a part of everyday life!

A true labor of love to write, "A View from the Front Porch" is available now.

While "A View from the Front Porch" is all about the 1970s, I am a humongous fan of the 1980s! And there's nothing I like more than 80s music and pretty much everything about it. So let's have some fun. Every several weeks, we will add some fun fact or trivia question centered around the best era of music EVER. If it's a question, we'll post the answer on Sunday. If it's just a fun fact, you'll have a chance to respond with your thoughts. So, have at it, get excited, and, by order of the Dean, HAVE FUN!

Previous FUN-Filled Question:         

   The most agonizing situation for an act is making it to #2 on the charts, never making it to #1. One song in the 1980s spent a monumentally frustrating 10 weeks in the runner-up spot. Which of the following “Could’a Beens” accomplished that ignominious feat?

A. The Girl is Mine (Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson)

B. Waiting for a Girl Like You (Foreigner)

C. Open Arms (Journey)

D. Hurts So Good (John Cougar)

EXTRA CREDIT: For those who REALLY know their 80s Billboard trivia, which two songs kept this one out of the #1 spot for those agonizing 10 weeks?

ANSWER: (B) In 1981, “Waiting for a Girl Like You” was actually waiting for a girl named Olivia Newton John to get her “Physical” self out of the #1 spot! By the time she did, Hall & Oates jumped in with “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do).” As redemption, Foreigner did score their only #1 hit two years later with “I Want to Know What Love Is.” FYI, McCartney and Jackson spent 3 weeks at #2, Journey spent 6 long weeks at #2, and JCM spent 4 weeks In the runner-up spot. 

New Fun-Filled Question (posted on September 21, 2026):         

Beginning in July 1970, “American Top 40” was a staple of weekend radio, counting down to the #1 hit from Billboard Magazine each week. In the history of the program, which is still running today, there have been three hosts. Which personality below was NOT a host of AT40?

A. Casey Kasem

B. Rick Dees

C. Ryan Seacrest

D. Shadoe Stevens  

Without searching the internet or consulting ChatGPT, see if your 80s music knowledge is as good as you think it is, and we will celebrate those who got it right next time! And like I said...have FUN!