Day 32 – Today I was invited to a dove shoot. Unfortunately, I’ll be in Washington during the event, so I had to turn down the invitation.

Now, I am married to a manners queen. Elizabeth knows everything about etiquette, and, while I’m not ignorant about the topic, her focus on manners is something that’s helped me.

So, I started thinking. What’s the polite way to turn down an invitation? Then, what if you don’t have a good reason? Being out of the town is a pretty good excuse for not going somewhere, but I know that there are times when I have to turn down invitations (formal or informal) because I’m just too busy or too tired.

[Read more...]

Day 31 – I made it to one month. That’s one full month, 31 days, of blogging. Sure, blogging every day has been tough, but it has been well worth it.

Tonight, we shot Pub Politics: Episode 72. Before the show, I noticed two children sitting in the corner of the bar with their parents. I told my co-host Phil and guests Alphonse, Ann and Will to watch their mouths. Then I thought to myself, really? Should we only be watching our mouths when children are present?

I immediately thought of these words by the Avett Brothers from “Tear Down The House”: [Read more...]

Day 25 – What a long day.  I got up at 3:30 am today to catch a flight to Texas.  That came on the heals of a long Pub Politics and an amazing dinner at Saluda’s in 5 Points. If you ever go to Saluda’s, get the pork chops. AMAZING!

Yesterday’s events came out of nowhere. On Tuesday night, I was complaining to my buddies about the situation in Columbia, joking about one day running for City Council. Less than twelve hours later, my City Councilwoman announces that she will not seek reelection.

It was a big topic on WACH Fox and during Pub Politics yesterday. Speaking of which, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out last night. It was an amazing crowd and I’m so pumped that we FINALLY got the sound working. It’s amazing what a few hundred dollars in microphones and cords can do for a set up. Everyone in the bar and online could hear. The recording sounds really good too.

[Read more...]

Day 23 – So an earthquake hit today. That’s interesting.

In other news, I’m just angry enough to run for City Council. I just got back from having cocktails with Matt Nichols, John Sturm and Phil Bailey, where I overhead the bartender talking about all the hoops he had to jump through to open up Henry’s on Devine Street. He also mentioned seeing a study ranking Columbia as the 19th most unfriendly business city in the nation.

[Read more...]

Day 21 – WOW! What a day. Thank you to everyone who has called, emailed, texted, Facebooked and tweeted about the article that ran today in The State and the Post and Courier. In particular, it was fun to hear from family members in Charleston who woke up to the front-page article. You guys are so awesome!

[Read more...]

Day 11 – Last night we shot Pub Politics Episode 69 from the Free Times Best Of Party and I have to say, it was definitely one of my top five favorite episodes. With Phil out of town, Tyler Jones stepped in from the left. Former SC Rep and President Obama appointee Anton Gun was our host. The show went as normal, talking about the current issues and then took a deep dive as we discussed party affiliation v faith the conflicts that often arise. I can’t wait for you to see this one.

Man, those girls and Flock and Rally know how to throw a party. If you’re looking to throw a southern conservative party, turn to my wife Elizabeth Donehue. If you’re looking to host an all out, might I say “liberal”, throw down, call the Flock and Rally team. Everything from their invitations to their decorations are mind blowing. Themed drinks, such as last night’s vodka snow cones, and amazing food are staples of their Columbia parties.

[Read more...]

DAY 4 – It’s Day 4 and today I’m finally launching Man Project. This is something new to me and I’m quite nervous sharing all this personal information. I just hope I can inspire you to do a little more with your life as I attempt to do a little more with mine.

William Butler Yeats wrote, “Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.”

I find that statement to be very true in my life. I find happiness when I’m growing my business, my marriage, my faith, my intellect, my abilities, my body and my relationships with other people. Over the next year I am going to concentrate on growth and log my progress and the tricks I learn on this blog.

[Read more...]

DAY 1 – I love bowties. They make me happy. I feel like a whole new person, a pimped out person, every time I put one on. No, I don’t want to sell (or rent) prostitutes, but who doesn’t want to feel like a pimp? I don’t need some tricked out Buick. I just need my bowties.

I’m known for my bowties, but here is a confession, one of many you will find on this blog… for years I could not tie my own bowtie. Every morning I walked up to Elizabeth asking “will you tie my bowtie?” Then one morning she was out of town and I had a TV appearance later that day. I couldn’t ruin my image with a straight tie. What the heck (btw, I’m trying to quit cursing) was I supposed to do? God forbid I do something like this myself.

[Read more...]