Posted August 06, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
When I was a kid, my mother took me to one of those throwback diners where the schtick was to be rude to the customers and make a scene. She had this habit of NOT ordering desert and instead would have me order the largest milkshake that was available. Then,
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Posted July 02, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
This is my first July in Des Moines without the 80/35 Musical Festival (excluding the two pandemic years). I know it was not just one factor that ended this nearly 20-year run in Des Moines. When I am having an emotionally charged discussion about this, I often put the blame
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Posted June 04, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
In 2009, I was an arrogant 24-year-old who was cutting my teeth in the film industry and getting to know the lay of the land in the Des Moines market. One name that came up constantly was Mike Pace. I even saw his name on a building that read “Mike
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Posted April 30, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
I am writing this on the Monday following Record Store Day weekend, and, with all honesty, I didn’t indulge this year. I’m already sitting on more than 2,000 LPs, which is enough wax to clog the arteries of a medium-sized city. Instead, I decided to spin some records Saturday morning
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Posted April 02, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
Hell must have frozen over, because I am writing about ShowBiz Pizza. As a kid in the early 1990s, spending a birthday or two at a mall arcade blowing a pocket full of quarters on The Simpsons and Mortal Kombat was common. If you had even cooler parents, you had
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Posted March 05, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
On Feb. 17, I lost a close friend named Barron Christian. Nearly all my professional decisions in my career were influenced by him in some way. When I met him, he was semi-retired from acting professionally. In the late 1990s, he was the “Built Ford Tough” voice. He was the
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Posted February 05, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
I was in Memphis between Christmas and New Years for the very first time, and I fell in love with the city. It didn’t feel much bigger than Des Moines, and the current music scene had it going on. As far as historical landmarks, I was able to visit both
Read More →Nostalgia doesn’t have to date back a decade or more. In fact, I am going to go out on a limb and say it doesn’t have to even go back five years. January is the hangover month for a lot of people when we are all waking up from our
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Posted December 04, 2024in Des Moines Forgotten
I have very few fears in this world. My vertigo kicks in when I am inside a tall building and looking down (or looking up, for that matter). I also have a fear of being buried alive. In movies where there is a black screen and someone strikes a lighter
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Posted November 06, 2024in Des Moines Forgotten
I’m coming out of left field for this, but the story is too good not to write about. Since it’s the month of November, we often read about Thanksgiving, family and traditions. I am going to be tradition and family adjacent with a long-forgotten, all-male camping/party spot called “Racoon River
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