Keepin' It Real with Cam Marston
Weekly observations on travel, work, parenting, and life as it goes on around me. Airing Fridays on Alabama Public Radio.
Episodes
Cam Marston bought an electric bike last weekend, and this morning he rode it to his writing spot without pedaling once. He calls it the best commute of his life — and that's exactly what's got him worried. Here's Cam.
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I got an electric bike last weekend. I had ridden my brother in laws a year ago when we were vacationing on the Carolina beaches and ...
Cam Marston has been digging into what makes retirement happy — and it turns out, part of the answer is that spouses need a break from each other. Here's Cam...
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My work continues to lead me deeper into retirement studies. My small team and I are creating a non-financial retirement assessment that anyone can take and get a gauge on how well positioned you are...
The World Cup has taken over America this summer — and it's brought more than just soccer. It's brought raccoons drinking gin.
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The World Cup sure has been wonderful to watch. I've loved all of it, though I'd be hard pressed to clearly explain offsides. The broadcasters show replays of goals that have been taken back and the commentators say "Oh yes, that's ...
Cam Marston has a confession today — eighteen months ago, he and his wife made a pact to declutter their house for good. Here's why it didn't survive contact with a U-Haul trailer.
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About eighteen months ago, my wife and I made a deal in a hotel room overlooking the Atlantic. We called it the Fort Lauderdale Acc...
This week's Keepin' It Real comes from a place of real pain. Cam Marston reflects on the loss of two young men from his community, and a grief he says words can't quite reach.
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"There are no words" is an expression often used to truly describe deep grief. It's a feeling in your gut, your stomach, that you notice only when t...
Cam Marston spent Father's Day at church alone, then had dinner with his own dad — and somewhere in between, figured something out.
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Father's Day came and went last weekend. It coincided with my wife and my anniversary and the summer solstice – all on the same day. That must mean something. My wife chose t...
Cam Marston's new puppy has expensive taste — and this week, while the rest of his family's out of town, Cam's discovered his actual job has become full-time appraiser of whatever's currently in her mouth.
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Our new puppy got the TV remote control this morning. I noticed it around lunch when I went to see if there were any World Cup games on. I tried the...
Most of us have been told that goals are the key to success — write them down, stay focused, never quit. But Cam isn't so sure that's the whole story.
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I've just completed a goal setting webinar. It was thought provoking and well run. Two things stood out. First – we are halfway through 2026. The webinar host adjusted the what was supposed to be a goal setting workshop with a one-year timeline ...
Cam Marston made a promise to his kids years ago, certain time would let him off the hook. He was wrong — and this week, he's paying for it, in the best possible way.
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Many years ago, my wife and I made a commitment to our kids that I thought would pr...
There's sad news at Cam's house. Friends are reaching out to help his family through their grief. Losing a loved one is never easy and friends just want to help by doing something.
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Busy hands surround my wife and me these days. Recent bad news has brought the need for friends to reach out and want to help us get through it. "I'm so sorry," they say. "What ca...
Cam's been studying retirement trends for his work lately. One thing's for sure, he's not ready!
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More often than not, when I ask someone who has retired in the past two years, their answer is nearly exactly the same. They say, "Well, retirement's not all it's cracked up to be." Why? They worked so hard for it, now they have it. So, what's missing? My work has steered me into retirement studies. Most peopl...
On this week's Keepin' It Real, Cam has been away lately but just got back from Spring Break with his kids. Imagine a cruise ship wrecked on a beach and they turned it into a hotel….
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Imagine a Carnival Cruise ship out at sea and loaded with passengers headed full speed, for the coast of the Dominican Republic and crashing ashore not far from Punta Cana. The...
On this week's Keepin It Real, Cam has learned that there are moments in time where a simple guttural sound really really matters. And they can't accumulate because they expire quickly. All this relates back to an incomplete Christmas present.
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I got an ant farm for Christmas. My kids laughed and they told their friends and they laughed but my family came thr...
On this week's Keepin It Real, Cam has been pitched by a software company to duplicate himself. Who would want another of him? Even he questions his own worth from time to time.
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I've just come from my accountant's office where I handed all my tax information to the lady at the front desk. The manilla envelope was much lighter this year than in years past.
On this week's Keepin It Real, Cam realizes that he really had no choice over what he gave up for Lent - it was given to him and he's not happy about it.
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Our new puppy continues to rule the house and my life. She was trained by the breeder to urinate on a pee pad which is exactly what it sounds like – an absorbent mat for dogs to urinate on indoors. At...
On this week's Keepin It Real, Cam wonders what the life span of a titanium knee is and whether his father might need one or two more with the way he's going.
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My eighty-nine-year-old father is scheduled to get a knee replacement next week. Let me say that again - he's eighty-nine and getting a new knee and is eager to return to his very active life when the ...
In a few coastal cities in the deep south, in the weeks before Lent begins, a strange behavior begins to appear. Honorable and respectable people step into a different personalities for a short time. They do it together, and it's a heck of a good time.
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Grown people acting like fools for a few days might very well be good for the soul. I'm not sure how large ...
On this week's Keepin It Real, Cam Marston admits that from time to time when he's on his knees at church on Sunday he asks himself what in the world he's doing. Has he, maybe, lost his mind.
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The Mayan god of rain was called Cha ac. When drought hit the jungles of Central America fifteen hundred years ago, Cha ac was called upon to send rain. So, the Mayans, led b...
On this week's Keepin It Real, Cam is coming to the end of a month of no alcohol - Dry January. February begins soon, though. And Cam's wondering whether he'll continue on or not.
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My dry January has just a couple days left. This is the third consecutive year I've participated in Dry January and I've remembered again how much I like it. Th...
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