Alan discusses the preservation of culture and life in Eastern Kentucky with his special guest OT Watts.  This episode explores lost culture and practices, preservation of culture, and instilling pride in Eastern Kentucky artists and folks through recollections of their youth.  Both Alan and OT grew up in Vancleve, KY (Breathitt County) where traffic lights were non-existent and stop signs were ignored.  Enjoy!

Welcome to a discussion about movies in the new world of COVID-19.  Where are we going and what can we possibly expect?  Recommendations for classic movies to watch also included - Free of charge.  Join my son, Mike Hounshell, who is a self-proclaimed movie aficionado, to listen to us blow hot air about this subject.

Camping before and after 50 years old discussed along with Dutch oven cooking with special reoccurring guest Jeff Combs.  What else you gonna do while COVID-19 is going on?

Your Podcast host is originally from Breathitt County, Kentucky and has been a city fella for over thirty years.  His guest, Jeff Combs, still lives in Breathitt County.  Join these two long-time friends as they talk how COVID-19 has impacted their communities based on their observations - the city mouse vs. country mouse.  Enjoy!

Possible new psychological thriller, crime novel from Alan Hounshell.  Copyright 2020/2021

Synopsis background:

Pregnant women have been disappearing from poor income families living in trailer parks infested with crime and drug problems across the state.  The authorities don’t seem to care and haven’t put much effort into solving the cases.  More than 120 pregnant women have been taken in the last five years from all the Kentucky Counties and some counties bordering Kentucky. 

The women are kept secured in a cabin in the middle of an abandoned strip mining operation whose closest neighbor is five miles away.  There are no roads or trails going up to the strip mine, but a small river lies two miles below it.  None know what fate awaits them or their unborn children.  There are no leads, bodies, or clues other than their demographic profile.  A serial killer is suspected, but it’s much more than that.

Paisley Hunter, a retired Chicago Police Detective, (24 year veteran) left the big city to a quieter life and slower pace of work.  She recently moved to Wolfe County, Kentucky life six months ago with her 15-year-old daughter Laura Gail.  She is raising her daughter by herself since her EMT husband Sean was killed a year ago.  It was a case that she could not solve, and it was considered a random killing.  Using her husband’s life insurance money, she buys a farm next to a mystery loving widower and opens an ice cream shop.  Paisley thinks she has found paradise, but what she has stumbled onto is murder in a small town full of eccentric characters and a local police force out of its league that is ran by the sadistic and unlikeable Sheriff Gerald R. Stone.  As Paisley tries to stay out of the investigation, it’s brought to her front door when a kidnapped pregnant woman escapes and hides in her back room storage room of her ice cream store.  The victim is stalked and killed in the ice cream shop where her body is later discovered by Laura Gail.  Working with the Deputy Sheriff Duke Starr who thinks he has a chance to solve the case, Paisley begins to investigate the abductions and murders on her own.  What she finds is a conspiracy that runs to one of the highest offices in the state and a small town serial killer who is smart, well informed, and allowed to kill for pleasure and money.  He also may have a connection to one of her old Chicago murder cases that was never solved.

As Paisley, her inquisitive daughter, the wanna-be detective neighbor, and the deputy sheriff dig deeper, they find out that the babies are being sold on the black market for $500,000 each.  Moreover,  the mothers are being pimped out to a society of men with sick fantasies about having intercourse with pregnant women.  As Paisley becomes involved, she draws the attention of the serial killer who seems to have a personal connection to Paisley.  He starts leaving her taunting notes of his escapades, his plans to abduct more women, including her daughter.  He has also started to leave body parts nicely carved up like meat in packages for her in the local grocery store’s meat section. 

Will Paisley solve the crime and stop the abduction of more women and the killing spree of a sick serial killer? 

Time to move on from the old negative COVID-19 issues and move forward with caution

The COVID-19 chaos surfing continues.  What expressions are people hiding behind their masks?  How are these single people going to date post-COVID-19?  Too early to open things up?  Lots of questions and most of us are still trying to figure out how to get a life too in this new norm.

What silver lining can you find during this pandemic?  What are you thankful for now?  These are just a few of the questions that I've contemplated during this time.

Another week of a 54 year old person getting their limits tested. How can we deal with the anxiety as a community?

Navigating and trying to adapt to COVID-19 like everyone else.  Thoughts and suggestions with a sense of hope for all of us as long as we remain calm and civil.