Free Nights And Weekends

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We got the comments! The Brady episode struck a nerve. But of course it did. It’s a Gen X podcast and that’s our wheelhouse. In this midweek, bonus episode, we welcome back Eddie to do a little mop up and address the objectivity great observations of our listeners. 

We always appreciate the feedback and it’s gonna pay off this week. You’ve spoken and we listened. Mostly. 

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This week Free Nights and Weekends celebrates a TV show that just won’t go away. The Brady Bunch served as a chronicle of American family life in the 1970s and has been viewed by generations since. Eddie Wilson joins us to discuss the series, talk about our favorite and least favorite episodes and his brush with the real life Bradys. Well, the characters. This is confusing. But not as bad as when we just decide to call the actors by their Brady names and we run with it.

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Step right up! We're revisiting this one as we take a deep-fried dive into the Oklahoma State Fair — where childhood smelled like funnel cakes, diesel fumes, and bad decisions. Scott is joined by Garth and Ken from Fried Okla to swap stories about sketchy carnies, dunk tank jerks, and the glory of winning a live iguana you absolutely didn’t need. It’s a nostalgic, laugh-out-loud ride through 80s fairgrounds, where powdered sugar coated everything — and nobody wore sunscreen.

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When we were kids, there was a piece of undeveloped land tucked away in my neighborhood that might as well have been another county.

There was a creek, a hill, woods, a field, a rope swing and a clubhouse. We rode our bikes through it, built forts, explored, swung across the creek and spent entire summers back there.

My buddy Todd and I even figured out how to catch crawdads with nothing but a piece of raw bacon tied to a string.

To us, it was as vast as the a big ranch.

Decades later, I went looking for it. I found the land on Google Earth, drew a line around what I remembered as our wilderness. The adult me found some surprises and connected some dots.

It wasn't Christopher Robin's 100 Acre Wood.

But it was a big piece of undeveloped land sitting right in the middle of our neighborhood.

Then I found something I never expected.

I found the man who owned it.

Mr. Phillips lived across the street when I was growing up. I called him and got to tell him just how much that piece of land meant to me and a whole generation of neighborhood kids.

He had stories of his own.

His kids played back there. He remembered the forts. He remembered the rope swing. He remembered the creek. He even confirmed that “Granny Grunt,” the mysterious old woman we were told owned the property before him, was a real person.

And I got to tell him something I've carried with me for decades:

I remember those woods.

This week on Free Nights and Weekends, we're going back to the places where Gen X kids disappeared for the day, built their own little worlds and somehow managed to survive them.

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Parole denied! Oklahoma governor declines parole for the remaining member of three spree killers that shocked OKC in 1978.

In 1978, something horrific happened inside an Oklahoma City Sirloin Stockade.

Six employees went to work that night. They never came home.

For those of us who grew up in Oklahoma in the late '70s and '80s, the story became part of our collective childhood memory. We knew the name Roger Dale Stafford. We knew what had happened at Sirloin Stockade. We saw the news footage.

And we remember that giant steer out front.

48 years later, the story is back in the news. Verna Stafford, who was convicted for her role in the crimes, appeared before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board this week. The board voted 3-2 to recommend parole on one of her two life sentences. 

But this isn't a true-crime episode.

Scott and Jason talk about the Stafford murders, the victims, the restaurant, and the terrible story that became part of growing up in Oklahoma. More importantly, they talk about how Gen X learned about horrible things before the internet, social media, smartphones and the modern true-crime machine.

We heard about bad things.

We processed them the best way kids knew how.

And then we went outside.

Oh, and there's a 15 foot steer involved. 🐄

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Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame 

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Oh, and so is Dolly! RIP

Columbia House is finally calling it quits, so we’re taking a look back at the legendary mail-order music club that promised a dozen albums for a penny and somehow became a part of growing up in America.

Eddie and I both signed up. We both have stories. And apparently, we had very different interpretations of how this whole thing was supposed to work.

We talk about where Columbia House came from, why the deal was so irresistible, and what it was like getting music in the mail back before the internet made everything instantaneous.

Plus, there’s a little Gen X nostalgia, a couple of questionable decisions, and one very important question:

How did my genius plan fail?

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Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame 

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In 1978, something horrific happened inside an Oklahoma City Sirloin Stockade.

Six employees went to work that night. They never came home.

For those of us who grew up in Oklahoma in the late '70s and '80s, the story became part of our collective childhood memory. We knew the name Roger Dale Stafford. We knew what had happened at Sirloin Stockade. We saw the news footage.

And we remember that giant steer out front.

48 years later, the story is back in the news. Verna Stafford, who was convicted for her role in the crimes, appeared before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board this week. The board voted 3-2 to recommend parole on one of her two life sentences. 

But this isn't a true-crime episode.

Scott and Jason talk about the Stafford murders, the victims, the restaurant, and the terrible story that became part of growing up in Oklahoma. More importantly, they talk about how Gen X learned about horrible things before the internet, social media, smartphones and the modern true-crime machine.

We heard about bad things.

We processed them the best way kids knew how.

And then we went outside.

Oh, and there's a 15 foot steer involved. 🐄

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Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! 

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Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame 

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Every August, Gen X kids hit the reset button.

The new school year meant fresh notebooks, sharpened pencils, new sneakers if you were lucky, and the annual gamble of whether your backpack would survive until Christmas. It was the smell of a brand-new Trapper Keeper, hunting for your locker, trying to figure out where your classes were, and hoping your teacher wasn't "the mean one."

This week, we relive everything that made heading back to school unforgettable, from school supply shopping and first-day disasters to cafeteria lunches, bus rides, locker combinations, and the little traditions every kid remembers.

Grab your No. 2 pencils and join us for another trip back to the decade when school pictures had feathered hair, book covers were mandatory, and everyone secretly hoped their best friend was in the same homeroom.

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Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame 

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Was there ever a year that captured everything we loved about the 1980s better than 1984?

This week, Scott and Jason take a nostalgic trip back to a year packed with unforgettable music, blockbuster movies, Olympic drama, pop culture milestones, and the everyday moments that made growing up in the '80s unforgettable.

From Van Halen's 1984, Prince, and Cyndi Lauper, to Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid, Gremlins, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and The Terminator, it seemed like every weekend brought another instant classic.

Along the way, we revisit Reagan's landslide re-election, the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Soviet boycott, McDonald's legendary "When the U.S. Wins, You Win!" promotion, the Apple Macintosh, MTV's explosion in popularity, and dozens of memories that made 1984 feel like the year the decade truly hit its stride.

So grab your Walkman, hop on your BMX, and spend an hour reliving one of the greatest years of the greatest decade.

What do YOU remember most about 1984? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments!

If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe, leave us a five-star review, and tell someone about Free Nights and Weekends!

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Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame 

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Throwback to our 10th episode. 

First jobs are fun, right? Right? In this big 10th episode extravaganza, Scott tells the story of his first steps to the exciting world of business and high finances.  Also, he (literally) stumbles upon on a mystery of architecture and city planning in front of a seemingly innocuous Central Oklahoma single-family home. Or is it?

From the episode! ToddDankerCarpentry

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Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame