{"id":2814,"date":"2021-01-18T15:12:32","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T22:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/?p=2814"},"modified":"2021-01-19T06:36:23","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T13:36:23","slug":"shug-and-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/?p=2814","title":{"rendered":"Shug and Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>His mother called him Shug (as in \u201csugar\u201d). So we all did. And we still do\u2014although his size and somewhat rugged appearance don\u2019t fit the name. Picture the Marlboro man with a few more years and a few more pounds.<\/p>\n

Shug is one of my oldest, best friends. So when he moved back to his home town a couple of years ago, we picked up where we left off\u2014with conversations filled with laughter and plans.<\/p>\n

Yes, plans. More about that later.<\/p>\n

Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton said it best: \u201cYou just can\u2019t make old friends.\u201d How true! I\u2019m blessed with numerous friends, many of them new. And I love that.<\/p>\n

But old friends are special. Because they know the stories, which is the fodder for most of my talks with Shug. Stories of old teachers, of band trips, our Boy Scout experiences, the junior high bowling league.<\/p>\n

Shug stole our team\u2019s best female bowler (our only female bowler)\u2014he says she came willingly\u2014anyway, he, she and his cousin Dale ended up in a televised league in Amarillo. I guess I can\u2019t blame J. The two boys she left behind certainly weren\u2019t good enough for Channel 7.<\/p>\n

I said Shug and I talk of Boy Scouts. He was in Troop 31, and I in 66, rival groups that didn\u2019t exactly like each other. We still argue over it. Shug says 31 was more refined\u00a0 (read crisp, snappy uniforms) and disciplined. 66 was known for its rugged outdoor activities where we replaced \u201csnappy\u201d with a more Daniel Boone look. I say he\u2019s right. Daniel Boone versus Bart Maverick (a deadly shot but a city dude look).<\/p>\n

And we talk of Lucy (not her real name), whom I have always liked, but she was Shug\u2019s chief, childhood critic. Thus, the nickname we\u2019ve given her.<\/p>\n

Charlie Brown: \u201cDid you see the new trick I taught my dog?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucy: \u201cLook, Chuck. You didn\u2019t teach Snoopy anything. He taught you. He\u2019s the one with brains.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like a good friend, Shug has taken an interest in my writing career (I\u2019m getting to the plan). He\u2019s a writer, too. Was once a newspaper publisher, along with a pig farmer, interpretive guide at a state park and a wagon master of a real wagon train. Seriously.<\/p>\n

Shug has had over 30 careers. I call him P.T. Barnum. Give him a business idea and he can promote it.<\/p>\n

Which is why I\u2019m partnering with Shug in a new venture, a podcast called The Fun Side of Retirement. I\u2019ll share current research on the subject. We\u2019ll delve into Baby Boom nostalgia (remember the summer of 1958?) and we\u2019ll share stories\u2014which should be a hoot.<\/p>\n

Because I like true stories, and Shug? Shug says made-up tales are more fun, and, besides, you don\u2019t have to do research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

His mother called him Shug (as in \u201csugar\u201d). So we all did. And we still do\u2014although his size and somewhat rugged appearance don\u2019t fit the name. Picture the Marlboro man with a few more years and a few more pounds. Shug is one of my oldest, best friends. So when he moved back to his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2814"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2820,"href":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2814\/revisions\/2820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikebellah.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}