Happy New Year! 2022 kicks off with Episode 51 of the podcast.
It's a jam-packed episode starting with a very special interview. Crystal Joy Smith, also known as KeeKee, is with us to talk about her brand new cookbook. KeeKee's Cape Cod Kitchen is chock full of healthy, affordable, and simple recipes for those looking to make a positive change in their diet. She has combined Cape Cod, her heritage, and her childhood into a labor of love and her hard work shows.
We're returning to the amazing Outer Banks for a Road Trip to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Known for its connection to the Wright Brothers and their contributions to aviation, Kitty Hawk has much more to offer which will be showcased here.
The 1980's were a different time for the youth of America. There were many things that were commonplace for kids to do Back In the Day that would be unthinkable today. What were some of them? We'll share a few.
The latest Top 5 will feature the best sports teams of my lifetime that play outside of New England. Which teams made the list?
There's a new This Week In History featuring the birth of Apple, as well as a new Time Capsule.
Be sure to watch for my livestreams called Without A Map Friday's at 8pm on Instagram which serve as a sort of postgame show for the podcast. Find them on IGTV after they've finished.
Helpful Links from this Episode(available through Buzzsprout)
Listen to Episode 50 here.
Happy New Year! 2022 kicks off with Episode 51 of the podcast.
It's a jam-packed episode starting with a very special interview. Crystal Joy Smith, also known as KeeKee, is with us to talk about her brand new cookbook. KeeKee's Cape Cod Kitchen is chock full of healthy, affordable, and simple recipes for those looking to make a positive change in their diet. She has combined Cape Cod, her heritage, and her childhood into a labor of love and her hard work shows.
We're returning to the amazing Outer Banks for a Road Trip to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Known for its connection to the Wright Brothers and their contributions to aviation, Kitty Hawk has much more to offer which will be showcased here.
The 1980's were a different time for the youth of America. There were many things that were commonplace for kids to do Back In the Day that would be unthinkable today. What were some of them? We'll share a few.
The latest Top 5 will feature the best sports teams of my lifetime that play outside of New England. Which teams made the list?
There's a new This Week In History featuring the birth of Apple, as well as a new Time Capsule.
Be sure to watch for my livestreams called Without A Map Friday's at 8pm on Instagram which serve as a sort of postgame show for the podcast. Find them on IGTV after they've finished.
Helpful Links from this Episode(available through Buzzsprout)
Listen to Episode 50 here.
Intro
Hello World. Happy New Year. And welcome to the in my footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund coming to you from the vacation destination known as Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and this is episode 51. I'm super excited that New Year's kicking off with an amazing episode we're going to start with a special interview with Crystal Joy Smith. On her new book coming out this month KeeKee's Cape Cod kitchen, stay tuned for that, we're gonna take a road trip back down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina as we go to the very famous historical town of Kitty Hawk, we're gonna go way way back in the day to things that 1980s Kids did that just cannot be done today. And those back in the days get further away every day, we're going to have a new top five, that's going to be the top five sports teams of my lifetime outside of New England. So that'll be interesting. We're gonna have a brand new this week in history and time capsule, as we kick off the new year in style with episode 51 of the in my footsteps podcast. So welcome in and Happy New Year, I hope everybody had a wonderful and safe, and fulfilling holiday season, it was definitely way more low key than I wish it would have been. But that was the same for 2020. So it's kind of par for the course. But here we are, it's 2022. Hopefully this year will be better than the last two. Of course, this is the time that everyone makes resolutions, something they want to do or accomplish during the New Year. I'm no different I usually do make some kind of new year's resolution, some big proclamation of the big event that's going to happen this year. But in 2022, it's going to be something a little different. Rather than make a couple of resolutions for the year, what I've chosen to do is take each month and do some kind of selection of goals for the month, I'm picking five goals for each month. And what it does is it kind of keeps you on track. But it also allows you that if you were to fall off of your New Year's resolution in January or February, some people look at that as failing on your resolutions. This gives me more of a chance to like 12 New Years basically. And these goals, I only have them set up for January so far. But they can be very mundane to things that are very big. For example, for January, I have one goal that is to change my diet to something healthier, because over the last couple of years, with COVID and deaths in the family and bad jobs and things like that stress eating and emotional eating, that has become a thing with me that I didn't usually have. So I'm starting off the new year by trying to change my diet. What does that mean? Well, I'm not this isn't a health podcast, I'm not going to dive too deep into it, you can imagine the things that I need to get rid of that being said, that's a goal for this month. And it's probably going to be a goal for several months. Not saying that I'm going to fail each time. But it's more or less, I don't think it's going to take one month for me to kind of reset everything. And another goal that I'm going to have every month. And this is something that I highly recommend. It's just to be happy and grateful for what you do have in life. Because I've learned that in any situation, especially my situation, it can always be worse. And that was something that as a kid, I heard all the time from all of my grandparents. Anytime that I would bitch about things that didn't mean anything as a kid. And then as a young adult, I would always hear from my grandparents, you know, it could always be worse. Think of people that have it worse than you. And being a selfish and self-centered child, I didn't want to see it that way. But now as I'm older and middle-aged and like God, I'm starting to see that where things could always be worse. Yeah, they could be better, but they could always be worse. So I'm going to focus on trying to be happy and grateful for what I do have all throughout this year, Positivity breeds positivity. So we're gonna try that we're gonna try and like it's a new fad. You may have different goals for yourself, you may choose to do one resolution for the year, or you may choose to be something like me, where you set a few goals each month, whatever it is, just try to make 2022 the best that it can be, try to make yourself better than the day before. That's the biggest thing you can do for yourself. And I'll keep checking in with you as far as my goals for the year if they change as they go for each month, just to keep myself accountable to you all going to help me with that. That being said, I am so excited about this episode of the podcast in particular episode 51 Not just because it's the first of the year, but it's because I'm starting with a very special interview. You all know that I don't do that many on the podcast these days. So they usually me, like lectures and soliloquy says I just chat with you. Anytime I do an interview, it's with someone special, someone that deserves the exposure, someone that's got something important going on. And that's what's happening right here right now in Episode 51. Coming up right now is going to be a special interview with Crystal Joy Smith, who as of the time you hear this will have just released her very first book, which is a cookbook Kiki's Cape Cod kitchen, she has worked incredibly hard and incredibly long to create this amazing book that goes far beyond recipes. It's more than just a cookbook, and she's going to explain it right now. We're going to kick off episode 51 from Kiki's Cape Cod kitchen. So coming up right now is the interview with Crystal Joy Smith on episode 51 of the in my footsteps podcast.
Interview: Crystal Joy Smith(KeeKee’s Cape Cod Kitchen)
CS: All right, everybody. Here we are in KeeKee’s Cape Cod kitchen. It's the new year 2022 You're looking to eat better, cook more at home save money. Well, we got the answer for you. Crystal Joyce Smith, her book KeeKee's Cape Cod kitchen, is going to be available everywhere Barnes and Noble, Amazon, I'm thrilled to have her on the podcast to get to interview her about her book, how it came about, and everything that has to do with it. So welcome in crystal.
Crystal: Hey, everybody, it's your girl KeeKee here. So first off, just tell us about your book, whatever you want to tell us. So it is basically a book of my collection of my favorite recipes, different family recipes, home-cooked meals, ways to, you know, save $1 Make your weeks quicker and easier. And there's, you know, something for everybody. When people see Cape Cod on anything, they think of the ocean, they think of cranberries and seafood. But this is a collection of almost every different food group that you can think of. And it's easy to follow. And it's helpful. And that was my main goal. When I was writing a book, I wanted to be able to do something that would help people during the pandemic that was when this came out. So it was kind of just that helping hand to make life easier. In such a hard situation, it became so much more than just a Facebook page and a YouTube channel, it became the book that we have now. You kind of jumped into it a little bit there. But tell us a little more about how you got the idea for the book. I've always wanted to do something with my cooking and because in the area that I'm in, it's you know, kind of known friends family. Other events that I cook for people are, you know, always blown away not to toot my own horn or anything, but I wanted to do more with it. During the pandemic, people were reaching out to me via Facebook Messenger or phone calls text saying, Hey, we really missed your cooking at social events. And I only go to so and so's barbecue every year because I know you're gonna make jag and, you know, I want that appetizer you made a couple years ago. So when I realized this, I was like, wow, my food is really affecting people in a positive way. And that's when I knew it was always been a calling of mine for cooking and recipes. But this is really where I should be going with my free time.
CS: Was cooking a part of your childhood growing up?
Crystal: It always was. My mother is a fantastic cook, she is just unbelievable. My grandparents on both sides. They are amazing, a lot of ethnic meals. And my mother and I would sit in the living room with cookbooks out for hours and just read each other recipes back and forth. And that's where you know, the creative piece not just reading a recipe and following it, but taking that recipe and modifying it to your own tastes. And I think that when you taste something, no matter what it is, you're like, Oh, this is really great, but too much lemon juice or you know, I'd rather have more salt here or I'd add you know, a different herb or spice and that's pretty much what cooking is you're gonna tailor it to your own liking. Growing up, it was all we were always in the kitchen, always learning and like I said, you know, my mother is a fantastic cook. So I think I got a lot of that from her. And so that must have impacted your making of the book going back to your own pleasant memories of childhood. Yes, a lot of nostalgia I know that you know we're going to be doing the video and kale soup is going to is one of the recipes that we're going to feature. And I never made it before like this book journey and I was like, I know what's in it. I've never physically made it myself but I kind of just went back to my childhood and remembered the flavors and how it tasted and what should be in it. And you know, that's kind of, you know, where it is like all those recipes put down together make a person with my mother's recipes and actually your mother's recipes and friends and family. I have a whole chapter on friends and family favorites. And a lot of that was you know, part of my heritage, you know, your heritage, my friends heritage, these are all put together and that great chapter that showcases people's personal backgrounds.
CS: Do you have any personal favorite recipes in the book to kind of when people get it, they can go and know that this is like on the top of your list.
Crystal: Oh, Chris, that's like asking someone to pick their favorite child. There is, oh, there's so many different recipes, my goodness, Cape Verde and rice and beans dish that's been a favorite. For so many people over the years. There's a chapter and it's on rice. And that's one of the first YouTube videos that I made. Because white rice, if you have a red container, you can keep that in your fridge for up to a week. And every night. You can pair something else with that. And if you're doing for instance, one of the recipes is KeeKee’s easy taco rice, and you just take some rice and mix it with some salsa, serve it on Taco Tuesday, or a favorite veggie rice that you can put a couple of different veggies in it, and pair that with meatloaf Monday. There's so many different recipes in there. It's so hard to pick a favorite. I could give you a favorite for every chapter. But you know, we only got so much time on your podcast.
CS: That's all right. So there's the whole process of making a book. And I wanted to know some of the highlights and lowlights as far as the actual process of making this book kind of behind the scenes for people that have never made a book because most people have not.
Crystal: Yeah, definitely. This is my first rodeo and my first book and I'm you know, very blessed to have it, it was just wanting to write one in the first place, it was always a dream. So that dream come true was amazing. And I think my favorite part was when I when I make a recipe and it comes out spot on and I nail it right off the bat, I am just like, I'm so good, you know, pat myself on the back. And I just amaze myself sometimes with some of the things that I make. And the hardest part is I'm a real cook. Like if you guys cook in your kitchens, you're throwing stuff left and right in the pot, and you're not measuring it. And you're doing this and doing that. So I'm like, I have to keep a notebook right next to my stove while I'm cooking. So I can write this down. And then I think when I do that, it really comes out good because I know that, oh, I need a little bit more salt. So was it a half a teaspoon? Was it a full teaspoon? You know, that's those little things that, you know, was hard because writing a book in general, is tough. But then I had to make the recipes, write about them, perfect them and some of the recipes I made time and time again until it was perfect. Because I my hardest critic. But the overall process, you know, it was hard working with a publishing company because we weren't really in sync the entire time that kind of you know, it will work itself out. But it was kind of giving the reins to somebody else to trust that they were going to edit properly put the photos and the placement of everything in the correct place. So we went back and forth a lot on that. But honestly, it was truly a blessing to be able to do this.
CS: Well, so what do you say to those people that say they either don't have the time or the equipment to make home cooked meals? And they'd rather go out to McDonald's or something? What do you say to those people to kind of get them in their kitchen?
Crystal: It's actually a lot easier than people think it's, you know, following a simple instruction. And people like I can't cook in, like have you ever tried, what did you put together? What I say to people is easy equipment, you know, you can make everything with a fork, knife and spoon. And you can use the ingredients that you know you like on a different on a new type of food. For instance, I tried a different type of fish that I never had the summer. I know that I like garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika in a few different things that I'm like, let me start with that. Because I don't want to overpower the flavor of this or use a new spice that I'm not familiar with it. So is it the spice that I don't like? Or is it the type of fish that I don't like? So just start with the basics when you're trying to cook things that you know you like and you can season with, then you can broaden your horizons. As for time, it's just a lot there. I do have some time saving tips in the book. But you're gonna feel so much more accomplished and better about yourself when you sit down to a meal that you prepared. And you know, as healthier without preservatives and you know, all that other junk that you'd get at McDonald's because you feel like I sit down oh, I made this. I look at it. It's gorgeous. It tastes great. Or you're like sitting there looking at the greasy McDonald's bag and like, Oh, I feel disgusting.
CS: And that's why so for those of you listening to the podcast, there's going to be a video going up on YouTube not too long after this to basically show KeeKee in action so you can see some of the stuff from the book. I didn't want it to be just audio, you've got to see it. There's some great photos. It's delicious food. And if you say you don't have time, she will show you in the book that you do. But since it's Cape Cod kitchen, tell the listeners about your personal connection to Cape Cod.
Crystal: My personal connection going back generations, my grandfather came to America in 1914. From the Cape Verdean islands off of Africa, a lot of Cape Verde Islands were coming over to the cape for farming and for opportunity in the cranberry bogs. And that's where he started out in the cranberry bogs. And I do have some of that in the book, too, that talks a little bit about the backstory. And I actually have his original kramaric scoop from back in the day. And some of my mother's side from like, you know, the Eastern European side, they migrated here as well. So it's my connection dates back, probably four or five generations. And these are my roots, like when I look when you think about where you come from. And if you could be proud of that place. That means so much. And I'm proud of where my family has come to be working in the cranberry bogs, in the fields in the farms to where we are now. And my siblings and I and my parents stuff. We've all had successful businesses. So it really is something to be proud of.
CS: Definitely, so tell people where they can find your book.
Crystal: So my book is going to be even Google when you start Googling the first 90 days of the new year. I'm going to be featured on Google with an advertisement there, you're going to see anything from Cape Cod, KeeKee, when you put those search fields in your it's going to come up, there's going to be it's going to be Amazon Barnes and Nobles booktopia. Basically anywhere where you can buy books, you will find my book. And I will make sure to put links to it in the description of the podcast on the video on YouTube to make it easy to find. You know, as we wrap up, is there any anything else you want to share from the book, the process of making it maybe people that helped you along the way that you want a shout out, this is basically a way for you to just promote yourself because it's well earned well deserved. So I want you to get the last word about your hard work here out to the listeners. I just really want to thank the outpouring of support. It's been, it's been like it's such a hard process, but so rewarding. And everybody you know who you are, that has helped me along my, you know, along this journey, and everybody that asked me for recipes, the fans are huge. And I want to thank everybody that asked me for a recipe that reached out put it you know, their two cents and because two cents will add up to $1 if you get enough. So I think that that was huge. I think my parents did mold me in the beginning with the love for cooking. My daughter, my biggest fan, my husband, he's been along the way my siblings, they're huge. And also you Chris, you've answered countless questions over like this the course of this year I started this in January, I put out feelers on, you know, what could I do to start a book. And you know that next day, I got phone calls from the publishing companies that were interested. So it started January 5 of 2021. And now here we are with a, you know, a published book in hand at the end of the year. So it was really this whole full year. I just think of everybody that was along this journey with me.
CS: And it's been my pleasure and my honor to even have a little tiny slice of ability to help you in any way possible. Because you work so hard. You deserve it. You've been a member of the family as long as I can remember. And it's a thrill to have you on the podcast to be able to promote KeeKee’s Cape Cod kitchen. I know it's going to be huge. And I know that when you have your book events, when you have your next book, you will be back on here repeatedly. So get used to it. It's going to be a great 2022
Crystal: Yes, I have many in the works right now. So those will because those will be coming out and you will definitely Chris, you'll be hearing from me. I'll have more questions, I'm sure. Thank you so much crystal for joining us. I really appreciated the listeners will. You will do yourself a good service by getting this book and making some of this delicious food trust me.
Road Trip: Kitty Hawk, NC
All right, it is road trip time again. And if you've checked out any of the last few episodes of the podcast following along on my epic 2019 road trip, you know that we are now in North Carolina's Outer Banks and I'm showing how much I love the Outer Banks by having several episodes dedicated to several towns. We started off we did the little towns of duck and southern shores on the Outer Banks and for those of you that are from Cape Cod or familiar with Cape Cod, both those towns combined are smaller than Truro. And now we're going to get into a town that is much more well-known based on its historical connections. And at first I had said we were going to do two towns in one episode, but I decided to break them up because each of these towns deserves their own road trip episode on the podcast. So this week, we are talking about the town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, it was going to be Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills. But we're going to do that one next week in Episode 52, both Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hill. They're known for their connection to the Wright brothers and the first flight and all of those things. But obviously, there's so much more in each town. And that's what we're going to explore. Kitty Hawk itself is located just over 70 miles south of Norfolk, Virginia, and as of 2019, had a population of just under 3500 people. So it's still small but slightly larger than southern shores and duck to get there, you've got across the right Memorial Bridge, appropriately named and Kitty Hawk is kind of the commercial center, I guess, of the Outer Banks. I say that because just as you cross the water before you're even off of Route 158 to enter Kitty hawk, you can see a Walmart and that's kind of like alright, Walmart is more industrial than southern shores and duck. When I went down there, as I said, I went to duck and southern shores which are North when you get off of the right Memorial Bridge. And that's where I said when I got to southern shores, my shoes got soaked where I basically had the, the waves came right up and I had to change shoes. But I was undeterred. I went into Kitty Hawk and just kind of drove the backroads looking for another place on the water with a little bit calmer waves. And I was lucky I did I found this spot, simply called the Wright Brothers multi-use path. It's at 3613 Wind grass circle, it's a paved walkway. It's not even really a bike trail because it's only 2500 feet long. So we're looking at less than half a mile, but there are unobstructed views of Kitty Hawk Bay to the west, and I was lucky I walked out there and just soaked it in because it felt like home. It felt like Cape Cod what I was used to, after days of being in the mountains and wide open fields of New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, etc. It was good to be at a place that felt familiar. Naturally, there are not really places to park to walk this path, so I kind of parked at the end of the road dead end I assumed I was safe. But figuring I'm in North Carolina with Massachusetts plates, it would be perfect that I would walk a few 100 feet I assumed that a cop would come and ticket me but they didn't it was fine. At the north end of the Wright Brothers multi-use path is more shore road. And at 3839 More shore road there is a monument for the Wright Brothers garage. It commemorates were in September of 1900, the Wright Brothers first began to assemble their first experimental glider, which led to the first flight in 1903. So it's neat to see this. There's nothing there from the garage, but it's a cool little historical marker and it's right there same area as the multi-use path when it comes to Kitty Hawk and the next week when it comes to Kill Devil Hills. It's all based around the Wright brothers. There's more to see but you can't go very far without having something connected to the Wright Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright. Unlike southern shores and duck there are actual hotels and motels in Kitty Hawk where you can stay at I would highly recommend checking out outer banks.org and just going to Kitty Hawk and seeing for yourself because there are a lot and you know people's tastes are different. Being slightly larger than duck and southern shores. There are actually places to kind of get lost in Kitty Hawk, like the Kitty Hawk Woods coastal reserve, which is over 1800 acres of maritime forest, which is nice. There's dunes among the woods, lots of trees and sound side marshes and little islands to explore. You can walk you can mountain bike, you can take a kayak or paddleboard out onto Kitty Hawk sound. It's a neat little change of pace because on the eastern side of Kitty Hawk or all the ocean facing beaches, this is one long beach so it's neat to have that little change of pace as compared to just sitting on the beach which is great but if you're there to explore you want to see a little bit more than just the beach that everyone goes to and in between hiking and sitting on the beach and mountain biking etc. You can go get a lot of good food to eat. Check out the bad been Baja grill, the black Pelican oceanfront cafe, the pony in the boat comfort kitchen, there's a lot more like I said outer banks.org is basically a one-stop shop for all. All of these places that I'm speaking about on the Outer Banks, and there's gonna be a few more before we leave North Carolina. One thing I always tell people, when we do these road trips, I say, you know, don't just take my recommendations kind of point your car and go wherever the wind takes you. And one thing I did I kind of lead by example on this. So the North Virginia Dare Trail, which is right along the water on the eastern side of Kitty Hawk is just this beautiful stretch of road, a beachfront road with beachfront houses, some are small, some are bigger, mostly smaller, but it just gave off this vibe, this feeling that I wanted to bottle and take with me wherever I went, I actually did, I slowed my car down enough that I could take my phone and film the road as I drove, so that even though I couldn't bottle that feeling I at least have like a 15-second clip of me driving the North Virginia Dare trail and Kitty Hawk that I can always play and close my eyes. And it's like I'm there. Again, don't forget to check out the famous Kitty Hawk pier, which is 2200 feet long stretches out into the ocean. It's now owned by the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, which is right there. But that doesn't really change the pier itself. It's world-famous. The pier houses there for weddings and parties and corporate events. And people just go there and fish off it. This was a spot that I walked out on, I stood at the end, just soaked it all in, took a whole bunch of pictures, but then also just stood there and enjoy the feeling. Because the Outer Banks was a place I'd wanted to visit for a long time. And I took my time and soaked in a lot of it, which I didn't get to do with a lot of these places on the road trip. Because a lot of them I'm describing them to you if you've listened to the last several episodes as I've gone through this road trip. A lot of what I'm telling you are things that I've researched to help kind of flesh out each place because I had only so much time there. But the Outer Banks was a place that I got to absorb all of it and it was amazing Kitty Hawk was amazing. Next week, Kill Devil Hills is going to be amazing again, go to visit ob.com They've got an article there that's 25 Things to Do in Kitty Hawk. They're amazing places to go and see but also just point your car and go and just go with the vibe takes you I promise you you will enjoy it. There's really not a bad place to go on the Outer Banks. And I'll be back next week in Episode 52 As we will go right next door to Kitty Hawk to Kill Devil Hills with even more history with the Wright brothers and a lot more fun stuff to see. So be sure to come back for that as we keep going along the Outer Banks of North Carolina
Sponsor: Wear Your Wish
it's a new year it's a new day is it a new you it is time to head over to where your wishes.com and see all that is new there and clothing, accessories and so much more. As Katie marks heads toward the one-year anniversary of Wear your wish she's always adding new things and also promoting the things that have been most popular with all of our customers. There's everything from hats and sweatshirts to stones and jewelry and necklaces. Anything you could want is there. It all comes from the mind and heart and soul of Katie marks. There's fun and unique stuff like the Blow Me Dandelion sticker which is great for anyone's car, Zodiac scented candles, the Starburst logo, sweatshirts and T-shirts with the 11:11 Wear your wish. If you're from Cape Cod, it's great to support local businesses but you don't have to be from Cape Cod to represent Wear your wish it's so much more than clothing, jewelry accessories, it's a state of mind Wear your wish and its product are an example of betting on yourself and going with your heart and soul as Katie marks did. And she's always adding new products always listening to the customers. So go to Wear your wishes.com to visit where your wish and all of their products. It costs nothing to look at you will find something you like something that you will be happy and proud to have and to share. So visit Wear your wish and from Katie marks to all of you she wishes you a very Happy New Year.
This Week In History
this week in history we are going back to one of the most important dates of the 20th century as far as technology advancements go was 45 years ago this week in history on January 3 1977, the Apple Corporation was officially incorporated. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were listed as the founders of the company. Third founder Ron Wayne had initially invested actually sold back his Apple stock for $800, which I just can't believe just imagine the amount of money that he could have made, but he sold back his stock. Originally, Apple was founded on April 1 1976, it was not officially incorporated until this date, we're talking about January 3 1977. When I was a kid, the Apple two computer was in my school and we got to play things like Oregon Trail and where in the world is Carmen Sandiego. But the Apple Corporation, it can't be understated how big and important it was. It's one of the biggest companies in the world. Now. I'm literally looking at my show notes on my iPhone 11. There's the iPhone, the iPad, the Mac computers, things about Apple Watches, which I don't have, but a lot of people do. And then back 20 years ago, when the first iPods came out that changed music streaming and how you listen to music. All of that goes back to January 3 1977. When Jobs and Wozniak first incorporated the company. Jobs and Wozniak were helped out with the expertise and the funding to get Apple off the ground by a man named Mike Markkula. And they began with the apple one computer. As I said, there was the apple two the apple one was initially sold for $666.66 a lot of sixes like the devil number, and it was not a big hit. So initially, Ron Wayne, the man who was the third founder sold back his stock, he initially looked like he made a good investment by not going in on Apple to manage the company. At first a man named Michael Scott, not the character from the office was brought in as the first CEO of Apple, and his salary was $26,000, or roughly about $119,000, when adjusted for inflation. And I've named off all the products that they have put into the cultural zeitgeist of humanity over the last 45 years. But in 2020, apple became the first company to be worth more than $2 trillion. That should tell you how big this was and the amount of money that Jobs and Wozniak made. And that initial investment that led to $2 trillion in worth for the company all began 45 years ago this week in history. And now it's time for another time capsule, our first one of 2022. So each year gets further away now that we're a new year into the future. For this week. We are going back 70 years ago this week in history to January 7 1952. To see what was going on in the world then. The number one song was cry by Johnny ray and the four lads. This was easily Ray's biggest hit, and his singing style earned him the nickname Mr. Emotion. The album itself sold more than 2 million copies and the b-side of the cry single sold 2 million copies. The little white cloud that cried, went up to number two on the charts. So this was easily Johnny Ray's biggest hit. The number one movie was The African Queen. It starred Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn and was based around the 1935 novel of the same name by Cs forester. It's based around a steamship captain who offers safe passage to religious spinster's sister after her brother is killed in Africa during World War One Bogart won his one and only Best Actor Oscar Award for his performance in The African Queen. It made $10.7 million on a budget of $1 million and has a whopping 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. So this is obviously one that if you like classic movies, you gotta go out of your way to see the number one TV show was the Red Skelton Show. This was one of the original television comedy variety show starring Red Skelton who was the comedian. It ran for 20 seasons from 1951 to 1971, a total of 672 episodes. The show began on NBC for two seasons before being moved to CBS in 1953. This was back when there were only three channels really on the TV. The show was an hour then it was shortened to a half hour than lengthen to an hour again, it was on for so long. In fact, an interesting note for six years, a man named Sherwood Schwartz was the lead writer for the show. And if you don't recognize his name, he was the man that created famous shows such as Gilligan's Island and the Brady Bunch. And if you were around back then, January 7 1952, and you wanted to watch the Red Skelton Show, and you wanted to really live the high life, you could get a Sears complete home entertainment center, which was a 21-inch TV, an am FM radio, a phonograph, inside a mahogany cabinet with bookshelves for $459.95, which adjust to be $4,824. That is a lot of money for that home entertainment center. And the best part is it weighed 197 pounds. So just imagine trying to move that thing, wherever you put it in your living room, it had to stay there. And that's going to wrap up another this week in history and another time capsule. Join me again next week in Episode 52 As we find out what was going on back in time.
Top 5: Sports Teams of My Lifetime(Outside of New England)
So this is gonna be a fun one here. As far as top fives go. I've done the top five on my favorite Boston athletes of my lifetime. I've yet to do Boston-based teams, I'm waiting on that one. But this week, we're going to do my opinion, the top five sports teams of my lifetime that are outside of New England. This one was an easy list to make. Actually, I had all of these picks that are the top five. And the honorable mentions just fell out of my head instantly. And I really didn't have any doubt as far as which ones deserved to be there. These are the teams that when I look back, most of them I did not like most because they were direct rivals to the teams that I routed for in this area. But now looking back and having more wisdom and yours in my fandom, I can appreciate the greatness of these teams. And as a side note, I tried my best to make it single seasons for these teams. But it was hard to do with a few and I'll explain it as we go. But like I said the top fives are always in no particular order. So let's dive in with the honorable mentions of the top five sports teams in my lifetime outside of New England. They include the 1980s San Francisco 49ers, the early 1990s Dallas Cowboys, the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors, and the 2000-2002 Los Angeles Lakers. And right there with the honorable mentions. You've got some legends of sports there with Joe Montana, Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal, but they did not make the top five. So let's get into the top five sports teams of my lifetime from outside of New England. Number one is the United States Dream Team 1992 Basketball Olympic team. There are a lot of descriptions there. It's a semi-cheat, but the thing is, this was the greatest collection of stars I've ever seen in any sport better than any all star team you'll ever see in any sport. They destroyed everybody in the 92 Olympics. When you've got a team that starts with Larry Bird Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing. I mean, yeah, they had Christian Laettner in there. I always thought it should be Shaq, but whatever. They defeated their opponents by an average of 44 points a game in route to running away with the gold medal and being, in my opinion, the best collection of talent I ever saw. But like I said, these are in no particular order. So let's go to number two, the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. This was the team that up until the 2015-16 warriors held the record for most regular season wins they went 72-10. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and a whole bunch of others, this team was virtually unbeatable. Ironically, Steve Kerr, who played for this 95-96 Bulls team, coached the 2015-16 warriors team that won 73 games, but lost in the final so there's a connection there. They were coached by Phil Jackson and they ran through the NBA before beating the Seattle SuperSonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, in the finals. Number three is one that New England fans will know and hate if you're my age. And that is the 1985 Chicago Bears. This team is the best defensive team ever, possibly one of the best single-season teams ever I would think they went 15-1 were led by Walter Payton. Richard dent, Mike Singletary. Coached by Mike Ditka. They had these bigger-than-life personalities like Jim McMahon as the quarterback Refrigerator Perry, they had the famed 46 defense. And my god when they the only loss they had was ironically to the Miami Dolphins the same ones that they celebrate every year when a team loses because they were the last undefeated team. So the dolphins beat them. And this team they blew through the playoffs. And then of course in the Superbowl, they got up against the New England Patriots. It was the first year that I became a sports fan. So I got to watch the Patriots go to the Super Bowl and then get the ever-loving hell kicked out of them. 46-10 So yeah, I hated this team until I got older and I can appreciate their greatness now. Just like number four, the 1998 New York Yankees, this team was almost unbeatable. They won 114 games in the regular season Cruz their way to the World Series where they swept the San Diego Padres being a Red Sox fan. The Yankees were always the hated rival, so seeing them dominate like they did in the late 90s was just terrible. But what a team they had with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill. They had Jorge Posada, and Tino Martinez, and they're pitching with David Cohn, David Wells. Andy Pettit. Man, I hated them, but they were so good. And finally, number five on my list of top five sports teams in my lifetime outside of New England was the 1989 and 1990 Oakland A's team. This pic has not aged well as they were one of my favorite teams growing up the Oakland A's with the bash brothers Mark McGwire, Jose Conseco, they had other guys like Ricky Henderson, Dave Stewart, and they dominated they won the 89 World Series, they got back to it in 1990. But didn't win. But this team was just dominant, and they were cool. The only problem was that as time went on, you began to learn that the whole team was steroid cheats, which was kind of why they won so much. But 12-year-old and 13-year-old me thought they were just the coolest, especially when the Red Sox hadn't won a World Series in forever, it became easy to root for the Oakland A's. But that's my list right there. What do you think of these teams, the 92 Olympic dream team, the 95-96 Chicago Bulls, the 85 Chicago Bears, the 1998 New York Yankees, and the 1989-90 Oakland Athletics, those are my picks for the top five sports teams in my lifetime outside of New England. In no particular order. Let me know what you think what you agree with what you disagree with, shoot me a message social media, Christopher setterlund@gmail.com. And I'll be back next week with a new top five.
Back In the Day: Things Kids Did In the 1980s
We're now here in 2022, the world is different, it's so much different, it has changed a lot in my lifetime, I never thought I'd live to be the age where I look back on my childhood as being different than the way the world is now. I'm sure it's the same way that my parents and my grandparents looked at the younger generation and the generation before, as far as how things change and different cultures and technology changes and advances, scientific advancements just make the world different, it's inevitable, it is very likely that the world of 2022 is going to be very different from the world of 2042, 2052, et cetera. And so what I wanted to do, because I spent a lot of the holiday season last month looking backward into the past and positive things, positive memories from my childhood, I wanted to bring that full circle and kind of share things with the younger generation that might be listening. So what we're going to do is talk about things that 1980s Kids did and could do and we're known for that kids today couldn't do or wouldn't do. Some of the younger listeners may look at the stuff that I consider cool from back in the day and be like God, what a loser being born in the late 1970s, a child of the 1980s and a teenager of the 1990s. I have seen a lot of changes more than I thought until I looked back at how different the world is. Even though I'm not sure if it's true or not. I feel that the 1980s America in general was a safer place. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe that was my childhood naivete, but it felt that way. Back then there were you could pick up a hitchhiker the hitchhiking was normal back then. I didn't do it. Although there was one time when I think I was might have been six and my sister Kate was likely four and I believe we were playing out in the front yard. A couple houses down from where we lived. My mother was friends with the people that owned it and their kids, we hung out with them. And I can vaguely remember, my sister and I sitting by the split rail fence along the road and putting our thumbs out. Like we were going to hitchhike and a car actually stopped to pick us up. Naturally, my mother saw and came running out. I don't know if the people in there were going to kidnap us, or if they were going to just ask us what was up, but I vaguely remember that. Hitchhiking, I would not recommend it, I do not believe it's safe. Anytime I see someone and it's rare these days. But someone thumbing a ride, I would not pick them up. Because I see the world differently now than I did back then where I figure if I pick someone up to hitchhike, especially if they're sitting in the backseat, I'm gonna get choked out or I'm gonna get stabbed. And I think that weariness just comes from age that you just see more as you go on. When I think of the 1980s and into the early 90s of things that we did as kids, would not happen today. The biggest thing I come back to is going out with friends and staying out just being off the grid off the radar until it got dark, the old stay out until the streetlights come on idea. My parents, they were the same way their parents would tell them don't come back until the streetlights come on. They kind of pass it down to us, I believe somewhere in the 90s that changed. We're going out and staying out basically unsupervised. That's when bad things started to happen. I fondly remember just either walking with friends, I was 8, 9, 10 years old. Now I'm not saying that parents were irresponsible. It's just the world felt different, felt safer, almost like from the 50s through the early 90s was one set of rules and regulations and guidelines for being a kid. And then after that it all changed. I was always out on my bike with friends, I was always in the woods or at the swamp or ponds or just wandering, never had any fear of getting lost or kidnapped or attacked by crazy adults. I couldn't imagine my 10-year-old nephew Lucas just wandering off from my sister's house and just going to the store. But yet at that age, I was doing that. So it just shows how the world is different. Staying out by yourself until the street lights come on is a thing of the past. And with that being out and walking to the store. Another thing that kids from the 80s did that wouldn't be done today. It's just walking to the store to rent videos. I'm sure everyone my age out there can remember the whole process of going to an actual video rental store, whether it was blockbuster, Hollywood Video, thing around here we had video galaxy we had, I think there was one called entertainment stop on Cape Cod. But to sound like the old man and be like kids these days, you don't understand what it was like to go to a video store to want a specific movie and not have it. With streaming the movie is always there. Unless it gets changed, like Netflix will change what they have. There was always that chance that on a Friday or Saturday night, you'd go to the video store for something that you wanted and it wouldn't be there. It was like ruined your weekend. Of course, if we didn't have the video cassettes that we needed or wanted to rent at the store, we could always do the other big thing that kids from the 80s and into the early 90s did. And that was just going to hang out at the mall. Imagine that being a mall rat. That was an identity back then, down here on Cape Cod, we had the Cape Cod Mall which back then it was basically like a rectangle. It didn't have the size that it does now. But there was so many areas that teenagers could just go and sit and congregate and kind of hide out. It's weird. The mall back then felt darker, with little nooks and crannies that you could almost go and hide in now maybe that's just me thinking back to when I was 14-15 hanging out at the mall. But those were fun times hanging out with different groups of friends and then you'd bump into other kids like another click and you just chat and pass each other like ships in the night. You'd usually be just wandering the stores never buying anything. Maybe stop in the food court and get something cheap. These days though, if your kids and you're in the mall for hours, you're seen as loitering and being annoying and a past. Whereas back 30 years ago, me and my friends we were doing the same thing but it was just seen as staying out of trouble actually, if you're at the mall just hanging out. Parents saw that as more being responsible rather than out doing bad things. Another dated phrase that would come from being a child of the 1980s would be going and hanging out at the video arcade. This was a way you could really save a lot of money at the mall, you could just stand there and it wouldn't cost anything. I guess you could do it at the arcade too. But if you wanted to be a part of the action, you had to have the quarters to play the video games, I can still remember when I first started going to video arcades, all the games were a quarter put in a quarter you play. And then it got to the point where there were these more advanced games like some of the driving games would be three or four quarters for a play. So you're talking $1 back in 1989-1990. That's inflation. That's a lot more now just to play one game. It's interesting thinking back because back then there were actually self-contained video arcades, I don't know if there are any more unless they're more ironic ones. Like part of a bowling alley, or part of a restaurant I think on Main Street in Hyannis. There's flashbacks, which is sort of like a throwback place that has video games, ironically. But that was one of the in things hanging at the video, arcade. Oh, man. I think what it came down to back then, at least as far as I see in my own lifetime, is that if you saw kids, they weren't seen as about to cause trouble. It was usually just kids were kids. And like, whatever, let them do their thing. I don't ever remember getting in trouble for just being a kid. Being out on my bike or walking to the store or being at the video arcade or the mall. It was never seen as causing trouble or being a problem. And the irony is I think the people that see kids as a problem now are the ones that are my age are around my age. It's such a different time, though. When I think back that 30 years ago was 1992. Right? In my heyday. It doesn't feel like that long ago. But the world is so different. And there are so many things that kids of my generation could do and did do. That would just be frowned upon today. But then again, I mean, I'm now the middle-aged guy that sees kids that are nonstop on their phones and playing video games as being like, what are you doing with your life? But that's probably more acceptable because parents know where their kids are. But what about it? So you that are my age? Did you do any of those things? Did you go just stay out until the street lights came on, especially in summer? Or go sledding by yourself? Or go walk to the store hanging out at the mall hanging at the arcade? Or are there other things that happened back in the day that I'm forgetting because now that we're in 2022, the 80s and the early 90s. My heyday of childhood seems so different and foreign compared to today. But maybe that's just me, maybe I am just getting old now. Right.
Closing
And that's going to wrap up episode 51 of the podcast, the first one of the brand new year. Thank you all so much for coming back and checking me out here as we kick off 2022 I hope you enjoyed this episode. And if you do share it on social media, I do my part to share it. I obviously share it a lot. But you're sharing and positive reviews and word of mouth. That's how this thing grows. Tune in to the live streams every Friday at 8pm on Instagram where we dive deeper into the episodes of the podcast and just do random chats, which are a lot of fun. You gotta check them out. Besides Instagram, find me on social media on Twitter, and subscribe on YouTube, going up there within the next few days is going to be the video companion to my interview with crystal Joy Smith about her book KeeKee’s Cape Cod kitchen. It's different from the audio interview, she's going to actually cook stuff so it's going to be like a cooking show. It's a lot of fun. I had a blast hanging out with her chatting about the book, watching her in action, and cooking her stuff. And make sure to go on and get her book. It's at Amazon. It's at Barnes and Noble. Just look just go to Google Search KeeKee’s Cape Cod kitchen. There's not anyone else with that same name. It's so worth your time. For those looking to eat healthier in the new year to spend less on food-making stuff at home. She does a great job with all of that, and she worked so hard and so diligently to create her first book, her first foray into being an author and I highly recommend it. You can find any of my first six books in stores on Cape Cod, but mostly go to Christopher setterlund.com. My personal website created run updated by my oldest friend Barry Menard on there you can also find links to my in my footsteps podcast blog, which I included a few new articles on there recently about Eatonville railroad and Carver Massachusetts and the great story of the buried treasure of Mabel Simpkins Agassiz from Yarmouth port that you've got to read to believe. If you ever have any questions or comments on the podcast or for me or subjects you might want to hear about, shoot me an email at Christopher setterlund@gmail.com If you want to buy me a coffee you can go to buy me a coffee.com Find the in my footsteps podcast, any of the donations to that go right back to advertising for the podcast, just reinvesting in myself. And when it comes down to this podcast, my writing my blogs, my videos, the personal training at mind, body, spine, Chiro in Brewster, check out their website, and come see us. When it comes down to all of that it's all about being better than you were the day before speaking for myself, I don't know how you feel about yourself. But that's the way I see life. Because in life, you don't have to go from zero to 100. From no money to a millionaire overnight. It's a process the whole life is a process and just trying to be better and in a better place than you were the day before. So go easy on yourself, especially this time of year with the new year's resolutions. Like I said earlier, I'm making kind of monthly goals that I'm going to try to keep myself centered and in check. But if your resolution is something like losing weight or going to the gym, and you fall off, go easy on yourself, and just start over New Year's resolutions aren't the end all be all, I just like it because it's kind of symbolic of a clean slate. And I'm saying all of this for you out there if you need to hear it, but also for myself, because I don't I'm not perfect. I'm probably going to fall off of some of my goals. But it's important to know that tomorrow's a new day and you can just start over. And speaking of new next week is going to be episode 52. I'm excited about this one just like I was for this week's episode, I'm going to talk about the 10 year anniversary of the most embarrassing race I ever ran, which is a lot of laughs we're going to take a road trip this time it's going to be to Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina and the Outer Banks, the sister city basically to Kitty Hawk. We're going to go way way back in the day to what was on my wall as a teenager in the 1990s there's going to be a new top five, which includes the defunct car brands of my lifetime, and there are a lot of surprising ones there. There'll be a new this week in history and Time Capsule all coming up next week on episode 52 of the in my footsteps podcast. And like I always say, remember, in this life, don't walk in anyone else's footsteps. Create your own path and enjoy every moment you can on this journey because you never know just try to make each day better than the one before when it comes to the podcast. I'm gonna try to make each one better than the episode before. So thank you all so much for tuning in. I appreciate each and every one of you that takes a minute to listen to my passion project. Happy New Year. Have a great week, a great weekend and whatever you do enjoy it. And I will talk to you all again soon.