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Welcome to the new re-grand opening of And That’s the Way It Blogs! In the past, I have posted complete articles on various topics as required by a class assignment. This time, I have decided to peel back the roof on the world and look inside, then share that peek with you. I might do a little ranting, or just muse on topics; but I hope, at the least, that you will find it entertaining.

That’s Why They Call It “The Boob Tube”

The so-called “reality stars” of television today never cease to amaze me. Now the “internet star” is starting to rise in popular culture to a disturbing degree. The traditional stars of television were mostly skilled actors with talent. However, stars of today are not required to possess talent or sense in any form. Straight from a laundry mat in New Jersey comes “The Situation”, a man who is dumb enough to get on national television and make tasteless jokes about Donald Trump. The Situation might find himself in a sticky situation.

The problem with these reality and internet “stars” is they actually think that they are famous. Snooki, also from Jersey Shore, was recently on a talk show where her appearance was almost as disastrously as The Situation on the Donald Trump Roast. A Huntsville, Alabama man became an internet star after going “ghetto” on a local newscast, which was viewed by millions of people around the world. He went on to make appearances on national television programs including The George Lopez Show. Need a look at how reality fame can overinflate a person’s ego? Just watch Dance Moms or Toddlers and Tiaras.

(photo courtesy of Hannibal Visitors Center)

Traveling America’s Roads

In my years, I have had an opportunity to travel extensively throughout the United States and North America. In 1998, I had the great honor of taking an extended trip across the northwestern portion of the US with my mother and grandmother. My grandmother’s last wish was to travel through the mountain states and visit as many national parks as possible. In order to fulfill her last wish, we packed a van and hit the open road with only a basic outline of a travel itinerary. The trail that we decided to take had been blazed nearly two hundred years prior by the great American explorers Lewis and Clark.

The first city that we visited was Hannibal, Missouri. Hannibal is a small town nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River. Hannibal is the birthplace to one of America’s greatest writers, Mark Twain. Visitors to Hannibal can see the home where Mark Twain grew up, and roam the same pathways that he once strolled as a child. After visiting Hannibal, it is easy for one to see where Twain’s inspiration for his stories was found.

(Photo courtesy of US Dept. of Transportation)

The river provides a special connection between Hannibal and the Shoals in Alabama. A mighty railroad life bridge that once spanned the Tennessee River in the Shoals was disassembled and moved to Hannibal, where it once again provides a safe crossing for trains. The rivers of America have always been important transportation routes, but Twain has shown us in his writing how these rivers can also provide a doorway into a child’s imagination. TJB