A Shaggy Life Shaggs

Hey Shaggheads! I’ve got a doozy of a blog post and podcast episode for you today! In the span of a few hours on April 21, 2024 I went from being a Dance Dad of two collegiate pom girls to being a Dance Dad of none. Almost two decades and it was over in a flash.

Ever wonder what it’s like to live the dance life and be a Dance Dad? Here’s a snapshot of life with a dancer. I will admit that this description is not typical. We were blessed with not one but two dancers and they were blessed with tons of talent so they were featured in a high number of performances.

We lived a life of dance on steroids. To understand where we ended up you’ll need to know where we started. Here’s our story from the beginning…
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Hey 70s Shaggyheads! Here's a really fun episode that mixes the podcast with a visual of my old neighborhood om Google Maps! This is most likely one episode you are going to want to watch rather than just listen to.

Go to YouTube.com/@curtistucker or CurtisTucker.com and you will be able to watch this episode.

I basically take you on a ride down W. Broadway and point out all of the fun places we hung out in the 70s. There were five of us living on W. Broadway and we'd go from one house to the other.

Not that much has changed since the mid 70s so come on an adventure down memory lane in Enid, Oklahoma.
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BONUS EPISODE! Hey Shaggheads! I just realized that I had never done a podcast episode about my first eclipse and what it was like to be at totality. Todd and I had done an episode on BuzzHead Radio talking about our experience as eclipse virgins. If you had not heard that episode here it is. We also talk about looking forward to the 2024 eclipse which is a little funny. I am embedding this file on CurtisTucker.com with the blog post about our trip. #eclipse #eclipsechasers #eclipsevirgins
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Whelp, I guess once you go chasing two different eclipses seven years apart you could be considered an eclipse chaser. A person who chases eclipses is known as a umbraphile, meaning shadow lover. Umbraphiles often travel for eclipses and use various tools to help view the sun including solar viewers also known as eclipse glasses, as well as telescopes.

I was totally oblivious to chasing an eclipse and what the zone of totality was until 2017. After I started reading about the stories people were having at totality I figured it would be a great adventure to experience myself.

With very little planning Todd and I hopped in my car and drove to Fairmont, Nebraska to sleep in the SUV, in a park. We were in awe of everything because we had no idea of what to expect. It was a very outdoorsy one-with-nature feeling.

I started planning the 2024 eclipse chase at least a year before it happened. The main objective was to drive to Grapevine, Texas and stay with my best friend and all watch it together. His house was in the zone of totality but not near the center. My original thought was to be as near to center as we could get.

I kept reminding everyone to plan for April 8, 2024 and ask off of work months ahead. The plan was for my wife and other best friend to all drive down to Grapevine. From there my plan was to drive east towards the center of totality.

Up until a couple of weeks I wasn’t sure where we’d be watching the eclipse from. As I researched cities in Texas I started to lean towards Terrell, TX. They seemed to be close to the center line on a highway with lots of activities happening.

-------> Read this section on the blog or listen to episode! ----------

On my morning trek the next day I was able to process the entire event and my mind started racing. When I got back to my studio that day after I didn’t want the experience to fade away and I got a crazy idea. The next huge cross country eclipse will happen on August 12, 2045 and totality goes right over my house with a full five and a half minutes of totality! Even though Enid is not on the center line we are close enough for the longest amount of totality I have ever experienced.

I immediately got the idea to start promoting the 2045 eclipse in Enid with a website, t-shirt and possible podcast. There are two things I wholeheartedly believe and they both deal with next eclipse. I believe everyone should experience totality at least once in their life which gives everyone 21 years to plan and save money to make it to Enid. The second thing is that I believe you should always have something to look forward to especially some big event.

A huge eclipse in Enid, Oklahoma in 21 years is the perfect motivation for people to get excited about. I’m going to create some t-shirts for eclipse chasers to wear letting everyone know they are already planning the next big cosmic event. I plan on selling t-shirts and updating the website to keep the buzz going.

I’ll do another blog post and podcast episode as soon as I get all of my Shaggy Ducks in a row on this new adventure. I know this sounds a little crazy but it will be fun to see how this evolves over the next 21 years. I have several of ideas for the website already as well.

The website is EnidEclipse.com and there is also a Facebook page created. Bookmark the website and go like the Facebook Page. I’ll have the t-shirts available soon! See ya!
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Seeing a good movie in the 70s had a pretty long lasting impression on me as a young buckaroo. This is my Top 20 list of those movies that left really great memories. These are not the best movies from the 1970s, but these are my favorites and the ones that were released at memorable moments in my life. I actually saw these first 10 films at a movie theater in the 70s so all of these were before college.
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This is the story about the yellow rent house we lived in from about 1974 to 1978. That would have been from sixth grade through ninth grade covering my entire junior high years. I created dozens of great childhood memories while living in this two story home. It’s where I was living when I met my best friend Stayton. It made me one of the five Broadway boys which all lived on W. Broadway.

1902 W. Broadway wasn’t that special as far as a rental house was concerned but it sure has a million memories that were created within its walls. I think of the good times I had with my family and my friends while growing up there. It’s nice living in town and purposely driving by just so I can take a trip down memory lane.
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