The Mason Minute

Are you lonely? I don't mean this as a joke. It's a serious question. And it's a question that a mental health group recently asked people across America. Here in Tennessee, 14% said they identified that way. I thought that number was kind of low. Come to find out, Tennessee's one of the states where people feel the least isolated. The state with the highest percentage of lonely people is Mississippi. There, 71% of people claimed to feel that way. Sure, we can feel alone at times, but to actually say it in a survey, that's a lot. And it's a scary...

We all have opinions. It doesn’t matter what the subject is; when pressed, most people will share their feelings. But in the world of social media, you now have a soapbox to share your opinion anytime you want. We witnessed it this week with the death of political activist Charlie Kirk. But for some, sharing their opinion causes them problems, not only online, but with their employer, and the one thing that many forget is that while it’s okay to have opinions, that doesn’t mean you need to share them with others. Sometimes, it’s best to say noth...

I know I say it all the time, but times have changed. Sure, a lot of it has to do with society, our culture, and even technology. But sometimes it's the simple things. When I was growing up, you could find a few cents in your piggy bank, or grab some change from your parents, and go to the store and buy a candy bar. How simple things were. Of course, in my parents' era, a candy bar was a nickel. In my preteen years, it was a quarter. It's not the same for kids today. Chocolate prices are going...

I often wonder what percentage of today's kids get braces. If you look closely at my picture, you can see I didn't get them as a kid. My two bottom teeth in the front are crooked, and there's a gap between my top two front teeth. I really don't think that much about it. I'm not that bothered. But something has changed throughout the years, and I noticed it the other night while watching some YouTube videos of some old rock bands. I saw how many of those musicians had bad teeth and needed dental work. Back in those days...

If you work in the 9-to-5 world, you likely hear people tossing around buzzwords like office culture and return to office. Every company is still dealing with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been over three years since many people returned to what some called the new normal. But working from home, which was the norm for a few years, became the preferred way to work for many employees. And while many companies put up with it for a while, they now want business to get back to normal. But what does that mean today? It looks like th...

Some are saying that we are experiencing more hatred right now than at any other time in the history of America. I haven't been here for nearly 250 years, but I sometimes wonder if it's true. It's challenging to compare how everyone truly felt during the civil rights era, World War II, or even the Civil War. With yesterday's killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, some say this proves the point. I just look at the calendar and think back 24 years. It was a time when Americans came together. One thing we all can agree on is that these are very...

For most of us, things like electricity, water, and gas are some of the most essential things in our lives. Over the last few decades, many of us have added high-speed Internet to that list. We've reached the point where the speed and stability of our connection are most important. With all the devices and all of the streaming we do, we need something dependable and very fast in our neighborhood. We've had a few options over the years. Some are good, some not so much. But for the last few years, there have been rumors that Google Fiber was...

It's hard to believe that Nashville has been a part of my life for so long. I made my first trip to Nashville about this time, 46 years ago. And I never thought I'd end up here full-time. But soon I'll be looking at 20 years here in the Music City. And while I'm not a lifer, I've seen a lot of change here in the city as it's grown. I spent some of my formative years in Virginia Beach, so I know a little bit about tourist destinations. And that's what I've seen Nashville become. As I drive to work every...

I don't travel as much as I used to. And these days, when I do travel, it's usually for family functions. So, fortunately, there's not a lot of dressing up. But I'm still challenged figuring out what to pack on a regular basis. I've always been envious of my friends who travel for a living, and I have no problem sticking a week's worth of clothing into an overnight bag. That's never been an option for me because of my size. And when the weather starts to turn and the clothes get heavier, my suitcases get larger. We are on...

It’s the first Sunday of the NFL season, and pretty much like I do every Sunday, I’ll have one of my TVs on the NFL Red Zone. But it may be the last time I do it. ESPN has entered into a partnership with the NFL to claim a stake in the NFL Network and its associated properties. And while the ink on the paperwork isn’t even dry, ESPN has already announced they’re going to be running ads during the Red Zone. I understand advertising pays the bills, but when ESPN already has 35 different channels, can’t they kee...

My wife and I've been together a long time; a little over 30 years at this point. We're coming up on our 28th anniversary. And at this point, there's not much she doesn't know about me or doesn't understand. I like to think it works both ways. Early on, she quickly learned that even though I'm fair-skinned, I often forget sunscreen when I'm in the sun for long periods of time. For years, she's been wanting me to get a floppy hat to wear when we're outdoors in the midday sun. It took a long time, but I'm finally breaking down...

The college football season is just getting started. The NFL begins this weekend. Some say you can feel fall weather in the air. That’s just wishful thinking, at least for now. I saw something online the other day that bothered me, and it had nothing to do with politics. It was ESPN predicting the matchups for this year‘s bowl games and 12-team playoff. It came out a day or two after the football season started. Are we this desperate to get people to pay attention to us? Did they write these things just to get us upset? I wish...

For many of us, times are tight. The cost of everything is going up, but our wages aren't going up at the same rate. Nobody knows how this all plays out, but it's not just affecting people. It's affecting businesses, too. Many of our favorite restaurants have been in the news lately. Naturally, Cracker Barrel comes to mind. But there's been a lot of talk about the success of Chili's over the last couple of years. Many restaurants are responding to our pleas and seeking ways to generate revenue while offering good value. Some restaurants are already making changes; expect...

As you know, I spend much of my life online. All of us do. It's hard to believe I've been living online for over 20 years. And the more time that we spend online, the more advanced bad actors become. Because of that, we have to have secure passwords, pass phrases, or passkeys. But wait, there's more. You also need to have two-factor authentication set up for all of your logins, too. Plus, some websites or apps also require verification codes. Now, it's not enough to have just two steps; there has to be a third step. And experts tell us...

I sometimes think we're a country that's become obsessed with winning and losing. But more importantly, we sometimes get more joy when others lose. I notice this phenomenon frequently in sports and, of course, in politics. Over the weekend, it was the kickoff to the college football season. One team wins, one team loses. However, some fans are already calling for certain coaches to be fired after just one game. And it's all because their team lost. We take these things too personally when, in reality, we have no direct involvement. There have always been fanatics among sports fans, but...

Every now and then, I love a good conspiracy theory. And the ones I love are usually marketing-related. I’ve long been fascinated with the story of New Coke. Was it all a marketing ploy? Will likely never know. With all the discussion of Cracker Barrel the last few weeks, some are saying this was all a marketing ploy. They had been researching the interior remodel for a long time and were aware of the controversy. However, the sudden change in their new logo raises questions about whether they ever truly intended to alter it in the first place. I’m no...

I’ll be the first to admit, I probably watched too much television. I come from the generation that grew up on the boob tube, and of course, having a father who worked in the business for over 25 years, it was an essential part of our lives. Scrolling through the TV guide the other day, I thought of something. With all the cable channels we have, what if there were a rule that said you can only have one channel playing any specific show at a time? Now that we have streaming services, we can binge-watch anything we want, but ho...

I had to go out and get license plates for one of my cars yesterday. And every time I do it, it's a challenge. You can apply for your vehicle registration online or by mail. But it's often easier to do it in person. I went to one of the county clerk's satellite offices to obtain my license plate sticker for the upcoming year. And because it was the last weekday of the month, the parking lot was full and the lines were long. But once I parked, I was able to get in and out in just a matter...

Growing up, I excelled in my science classes in school, but I never truly enjoyed them. I could handle the memorization, but I never understood why some people are so concerned with some parts of science. The fascination that some have with dinosaurs and prehistoric times is something I don’t understand. Some scientists are suggesting that Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals began interbreeding tens of thousands of years earlier than previously thought. That’s fascinating, but does it really matter? While we may learn about what happened in our past, it doesn’t necessarily change what’s happening in the present...

I hear this all the time, and even say it myself, but we’re living in extraordinary times. Now I don’t know if this is something that happens as you age, or if things really have gotten weird. And this isn’t a rant about politics. It’s about clarification. I’ve noticed a trend on social media recently. Companies, both big and small, are making announcements about internal issues that most people wouldn’t know about if they weren’t being shared with us. When a problem employee leaves a business, the company goes online to announce that they’re no lon...

Let’s be honest, most of us spend too much time on the Internet and on social media. I know I do. Additionally, my job requires me to spend time on social media. So I’m on a variety of social platforms from sunup to sundown, and often late into the night. And yesterday I witnessed something I’ve never seen before. I was on Facebook when all of a sudden, everything on the page reset. It was as if someone had hit a big refresh button, and I wasn’t even scrolling. I was actually reading something, and then, in a fla...

I don't do much grocery shopping these days. Years ago, I discovered that staying away from the supermarket helps me avoid buying unnecessary things. I don't know how much it's helped my waistline, but that's what I tell myself. My wife went to the store yesterday and let me know we were switching the cut of ground beef we buy. We always opt for the leanest ground beef, because it's just a bit healthier. But when she came home yesterday, she told me we need to make a change. That's because ground beef is now over $10 a pound. And while...

School has begun in many parts of America. Some high schools went back as early as the first of August. And many colleges have also returned. Last week, numerous schools across the country received bomb threats. All were deemed false alarms. These have happened for decades. And more times than not, it’s just somebody trying to cause trouble. One of our local schools had a bomb threat on Thursday, and after investigation, it was deemed a false report. But the interesting part is that many of these events, including the one here in Nashville, were called coordinated threats... Click He...

I've long been fascinated with new technology. While I understand the fear that some people feel when accepting something new, I wonder why we tend to embrace everything the way it's always been. Take reading, for example. For so long, we read things like newspapers and books. It didn't matter if those books were hard or soft-bound; they were familiar. It's the same thing with newspapers. But now, thanks to technology, we can do all those things with a tool like an e-reader or Kindle. I think I got my first Kindle over 15 years ago, and it still surprises me...

I know that I've said this before, but I love brunch. It's the best of two worlds: breakfast and lunch. I've never understood why brunch is better than breakfast, but it's a whole different feeling, and it's just due to the time you eat. Decades ago, there were always one or two big downtown hotels that served a brunch buffet on the weekend. And it didn't just happen in major cities. Cities of all sizes always had one or two swanky hotels that were known for this extravagance. I haven't experienced one in years, but for those towns that still...

It’s been all over the Internet for a few days and even made the national news. Cracker Barrel has decided to change its decor as well as its logo. Gone is the old man sitting next to the barrel, and they even changed the shape of the logo, too. People are upset. But these changes have been coming for a long time. Cracker Barrel is struggling. Their clientele is getting older, and the folksy restaurant with the big old gift shop doesn’t appeal to young people. They’ve spent the last few years trying to figure out what they n...

I didn’t learn this until the other day, but bananas are the most popular fruit worldwide. In America, they’re neck and neck with apples. I like them, but I don’t enjoy eating them by hand. I prefer them sliced on top of cereal, baked into bread, or paired with ice cream, lots of sauce, and whipped cream. They’re one of the most affordable fruits. But growers tell us we should be preparing for a banana shortage. Climate change is partly to blame. They’re only grown in certain parts of the world, and 80% of them come from just...

I know I sometimes talk too much about my first-world problems. Yesterday, I was complaining about smelly dumpsters. Today, I'm talking about something that goes hand-in-hand with those dumpsters; that's cement mixers and dump trucks. I've complained about dump trucks before, about my frustration with their signs telling you to stay back 200 feet. Due to the constant construction, there are a lot of cement trucks in Nashville. And this isn't just a Nashville problem. It happens no matter where there's construction. Cement mixers don't move quickly and often have trouble staying in their lane... Click Here To Subscribe Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon...

Nashville is a town that’s always under construction. Not only are we building more houses, condos, and apartments, we’re also building more restaurants, hotels, and high-rises. And with all this construction comes a constant rumble of dump trucks and trucks carrying dumpsters. I drive to work using city streets, and I frequently find myself behind trucks carrying these dumpsters to the city dump. And while they usually have business materials in them, they still stink. The smell is awful.  I would think they wash them out, but it sure doesn’t smell that way... Click Here To Subscribe Apple P...

I'm not exaggerating, but it seems the whole world is obsessed with pickles right now. Walking through the grocery store, I see more pickle-flavored products than ever before. Fast food restaurants like Sonic currently have limited-time-only burgers, tots, and drinks that are pickle-flavored. For me, pickles are something I throw on a burger or eat alongside a sandwich. But I don't feel the need to have everything pickle-flavored. Like many trends, this could come and go. But I get the sense that this one could last for a while. At this point, it's hard to say. But one thing's for...

If you’re like me, you check your email multiple times per day. In a perfect world, we’d only get messages that we want. But a lot of our mailbox is now filled with junk mail and marketing messages. I’m pretty selective about who I share my email address with. So I’m usually interested when one of these stores sends me an email. But I’ve noticed a recent trend. One of my favorite clothing stores will email me to tell me that something I looked at previously is now on sale. But when I click on it to buy...

Through the years, I’ve had the good fortune to eat at some fantastic restaurants throughout America. And while they were great meals, some even memorable, most were just expensive. But there’s one memory in life that stays with me, and that was eating dinner at one of those inexpensive steakhouses back in the day. And it wasn’t because the steak was that good, it was that all you can eat salad bar, and those big fat yeast rolls. In my younger days, when I barely had enough money to get through the month, it was always exciting when I...

I'm an emotional person. I have always been good or bad. I wear my heart on my sleeve. And while there are times, I wish I didn't show any reaction, it's just not who I am. People who know me and love me say it's one of my better qualities. I'm sure others disagree. We live in a world where people don't ever want you to see their emotions, at least the real ones. But when it comes to pure emotion, there's nothing truer, more real, and more honest than the Little League World Series. You don't have to be...

We get a lot of severe weather in Nashville. Many experts say that it has to do with our climate and where we’re situated amongst the states. And as climate change affects us all, these storms seem to be getting worse. We rarely get simple rain showers; we get severe ones filled with thunder and lightning. And many of them happen overnight. We had some severe weather the other night, and at about 2 o’clock in the morning, something, perhaps lightning, hit a nearby power pole. We lost power. And obviously, this wasn’t a quick fix for the power...

I truly marvel at all of the changes that have happened throughout my lifetime. I’m not just talking about a man going to the moon, I’m talking about technology. Advancements like our smartphones and the Internet have significantly impacted our lives. It’s hard to imagine the time before the Internet. Kids today don’t know what life was like before the Internet. A small part of the Internet is going away, specifically the one that once helped get us onto the Internet. AOL announced it’s dropping dial-up modem service at the end of September. Most of us haven’t...

Your parents taught you how to brush your teeth when you were roughly two or three years old. And you do it multiple times a day, day in and day out. But no matter how old you are, you’re likely making some mistakes when it comes to how you brush. Most people spend less than a minute brushing their teeth, even though dentists recommend spending at least two minutes to do it correctly. Even though dentists tell us we need to floss, most people still don’t do that. But did you know that there’s a specific time of the...

Two businesses that consistently thrive, regardless of the economy, are convenience stores and fast food restaurants. But recently, both of those types of businesses are struggling. Experts say one reason is that people aren't drinking as much soda anymore. Both make a lot of money from their soda fountains. That's why you could always get free refills and jumbo sizes for low prices. But some stores and restaurants in the Midwest are trying to combat that, but it's a secret. They're pouring what's called heavy soda. And while you think most people would promote the fact they're doing this, it's...

I've been under the weather for about a week and a half, and haven't had much of an appetite. And for a guy like me, that's extremely rare. For a few days, nothing sounded good. I had to eat something, but the desire wasn't there. I didn't want chicken soup or even a grilled cheese sandwich. When my wife went to the grocery store, she brought home some Jell-O, hoping it would help. I couldn't tell you the last time I had it. Back in the 1960s and 70s, Jell-O was in every household. As kids, we'd have it for...

I've long been fascinated with cravings. Some people crave sweet, while others crave salty. Some have expensive tastes and only desire the finest foods like steak or caviar. Of course, I'm odd, and I crave things like corn dogs. I loved eating them when I was younger, and you used to be able to find them everywhere. There were shops in the mall, and many fast food joints; they were pretty easy to find. But these days, they're not very common. Outside of the frozen food section in the grocery store and Sonic, I don't know where to go... Click...

It’s an understatement to say the pandemic changed our views on work. This battle isn’t just baby boomers versus Gen Z. Today, everyone’s opinions on the work-life balance have changed. Many companies struggle with the desire to get everybody to return to the office. More people than ever prefer to work remotely. And some are satisfied with a hybrid schedule. But when we’re in the office, there’s a whole new group of challenges we must face. A few months ago, we discussed a new type of employee, the quiet quitter. And now, experts have identified another wo...