My New Friend

 I was new to blogging when I began Chubby Chatterbox in 2011. Back then, I’d never even read a blog. I was looking for a way to find an audience for my storytelling, and starting a blog was my son CJ’s idea. I had no idea who my friends out in the Blogosphere would be. Read about it (here).

 

The Best Turkey Ever!

 

This story is the closest thing I have to a Chatterbox Classic. I don’t post on Thursdays so here it is today. I haven’t posted it in a while. If you’re reading it for the first time, I hope you enjoy it. If you remember it from the past, congratulations; your long term memory is still intact. Read about it (here).

The Harrison Stamp Company

Lawyers for the Harrison Stamp Company considered suing me when I was eleven years old, until they tangled with my mother. Read about it (here).

Bordello Chair

 

This is the history of a chair, nothing as important as a throne or relic, but it has been in the Chatterbox household for forty years—our so-called bordello chair. Read about it (here).

The Raft of the Medusa

 

What do you do if you’re athletic and good-looking, talented enough to catch the public’s attention, and you’re engaged in a scandal serious enough to get you horsewhipped and thrown in a French jail? If you’re Theodore Géricault (pronounced Gericho) and you’ve impregnated the young hottie your uncle recently married, you lock yourself away in a studio for two years, shave your head to avoid the temptation of showing your face, and paint one of the masterpieces of western civilization.Read about it (here).

Whirling Dervishes

 

I was in Cappadocia to see the famous Whirling Dervishes. The experience moved me more than I could have imagined. Read about it (here).

Not So Smooth Sailing

 

Travel can add stress to any relationship, especially new ones. Mrs. Chatterbox and I have always gotten along with remarkably little friction, but one incident when we were newlyweds comes to mind, a time when things didn’t go well. Like most marriage squabbles, I can’t recall the cause for the dust up. Read about it (here).

 

Tons of...Fun?

 

Unlike most kids on the street where I grew up, my brother and I weren’t given an allowance; our parents (my mother) didn’t believe children should be paid to do household chores.I had to find another way to earn money. Read about it (here).

Danger!

 

This was one of those rare moments during any of our travels when I felt our lives were in danger. Years later while watching a Harry Potter movie, I’d be reminded of this icy moment of terror when Harry and company, while traveling on the Hogwarts Express, were stopped by Dementors trying to search the train. Read about it (here).   

Manly Me!

When my wife bought me shampoo designed for men, I performed a bit of research to see what the difference was between shampoo for men and shampoo for women. Check out the results (here).

An Old Radio

The old radio in my grandfather's basement spoke to me. Find our what it said (here).

The Panama Canal

 

“Yes, but only if we can cross from one ocean into another,” I answered when Mrs. Chatterbox asked if I was interested in seeing the Panama Canal. Most cruises only take you to Lake Gatun at the halfway point, where you reverse direction and return to your port of origin. For me, crossing the entire Isthmus of Panama was the whole point of any Panama Canal adventure. Read about our adventure (here).