Hello my valued readers! I hope you have had a great weekend. As you watch football, let me roll out my offer for Don’t Blink Reader Appreciation Week.

Two and a half years ago, I challenged you all to share my blog on social media. If you did, I sent you a personal card through the mail. It worked great and I shipped off numerous envelopes across the country.

Almost 1,000 days later I want to do something similar. However, this time around there will be no condition of promoting my blog. If you enjoy reading Don’t Blink and would like a personal “hello” from me, all you have to do is let me know via a simple message. You can accomplish this by:

1. Sending me a message on Facebook.
2. Sending me a direct message on Twitter (@brentreser).
3. Sending me an e-mail to my personal address at brent.reser@yahoo.com.

Would you like to receive something in the mail from the author of Don’t Blink himself? Just complete one of the options above.

The message you send my way can be as simple as just leaving your address. Once it reaches me, you will be added on my list and in short order a simple but sincere form of correspondence from me will reach your mailbox.

The conditions are few. I am giving you 24 hours to submit your request to me. The deadline is September 14, 2015, at 5 p.m. ET. Only one request per reader. There will be a 100 person limit if the demand reaches that high.

I sincerely appreciate my loyal and involved readers. Throughout this week I hope to write other posts that somehow say thank you as well. Have a great week everyone, I hope to connect with you through the U.S. Postal Service soon. Don’t Blink.

It has seemed like the time between last Thursday and this Thursday has flown by. But that is a good thing because I always look forward to my Thursday Rundowns. Off we go…

Putt Putt Mania – I mentioned in the recap of my brother’s weekend here in Myrtle Beach that we played some putt putt over the few days he was here. Perhaps the word “some” is a little bit of an understatement. We played four different courses, totaling 72 holes of miniature golf fun. The courses we played were eclectic and diverse. On Friday night we played Mt. Atlanticus, on Sunday we played Shipwreck, and on Monday we played a doubleheader with a round at Jurassic Mini Golf first and then a round at Jungle Lagoon second. I enjoyed showing Glen one of Myrtle Beach’s signature pastimes. The competition wasn’t bad. Glen won the first two rounds but I registered a victory of my own at the Jurassic course. When it came to the fourth location I was ready to equal him in wins but it wasn’t to be. SIDNEY came out of nowhere and defeated us both.

We took a photo at each course we visited. Going clockwise starting with the image in the upper right hand corner: Mt. Atlanticus, Shipwreck, Jurassic, Jungle Lagoon.

I Spy – When you work in higher education, the best type of recognition you can get is from students. Our Atheneum Newsletter here at Coastal Carolina has an “I Spy” feature that highlights a staff or faculty member each month. The featured employee is nominated by someone of the campus community. A student here wrote in about me. Because of that, I was spotlighted in the September issue. To view the story, click here. Thanks Lindsay for nominating me and thanks to Lauren for the great piece.

Click the image to read the article on me.

Happy Birthday, Mikayla – My niece turned a year old this past Saturday. I still remember September 5, 2014, sitting on the couch in my apartment receiving updates on how the delivery was going. My mom told me that at this particular hospital chimes would play whenever a new baby was born. She sent me several texts that traveled across the country telling me that the baby had not yet entered the world. Finally, she sent me a text that simply said “I think I heard chimes.”

Although Mikayla had her first birthday last weekend, the celebration is this Saturday. I received an invite to her party but will unfortunately not be making the cross country trip. Sidney and I sent gifts home with Glen and we will definitely be there in spirit. Happy Birthday, Mikayla!

This is the invitation I received for Mikayla’s birthday party.

Football, Football, Football – Tonight the NFL season gets underway. This excites me quite a bit my greater love, college football, has been going on the past couple of weeks. I genuinely love football season and can’t wait for this first weekend of both college and NFL games. Until Coastal enters the FBS I can still cheer for my favorites at that level as I root for Notre Dame and Washington State. Of course the Chants are my favorite when it comes to the FCS and I still have a soft spot for the Montana Grizzlies. When it comes to the NFL, it is all about the Seattle Seahawks! How about a third straight appearance in the Super Bowl?!

Wedding Update #9 – The biggest update I have for you is that tomorrow it will be exactly NINE MONTHS until Sidney and I tie the knot. Also, the flower girl dress that Sidney’s beautiful niece will wear has been picked out. For those in Myrtle Beach who have an idea of the area, we will be having our reception at Waterway Palms Plantation.

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Tomorrow is September 11. Please take a few minutes to think about all those who lost their lives or were impacted. Have a fabulous weekend. Don’t Blink.

I don’t think my Labor Day weekend could have went any better. As I mentioned on Thursday, my brother visited me all the way from Spokane for a few days of fun. Besides all the entertainment that was planned, I also wanted to really show him my life here in Myrtle Beach. Looking back at it all on this Tuesday night while Glen is flying through the sky to the west coast, I can undoubtedly say that the trip was a smashing success.

As I often do with these type of things, I like to give a recap of the happenings by going one day at a time. So, if you don’t mind, I will do the same thing this time around.

Friday – September 4

Sidney and I went to the Myrtle Beach Airport to pick up Glen after his long day of flying. He landed at 7 p.m. and after welcoming him to the South we went to the luggage carousel to pick up his bag.

Glen and I pose for a picture right after he arrived in the Myrtle Beach Airport.

It never came.

So yes, the trip started off a little rough but that would be the end of the hiccups. His luggage would arrive in the wee hours of the next morning so until then he could just borrow my clothes. We went to my apartment and chilled out for a few minutes and then we went out into the Myrtle Beach night. We first went to Chick-Fil-A and ate dinner, a meal Glen was looking forward to. After we ate our chicken sandwiches and fries we headed off to the Mt. Atlanticus putt putt course where he received his first taste of both the eclectic miniature golf courses and the stifling humidity that characterizes this area. The latter didn’t bother him too much though as Glen beat Sidney and I in his Myrtle Beach putt putt debut.

Playing some putt putt at Mt. Atlanticus was a fun way to start Glen’s vacation.

After golf we headed out to Myrtle Beach’s adult playground, Broadway at the Beach. With various themed bars and fun night clubs, it is an area perfect for someone Glen’s age. We had a fabulous time hopping around the various establishments. The highlights were playing the arcade games inside Broadway Louie’s and then entering a certain complex that has about three or four different clubs located under one roof. Once we finished at Broadway at the Beach we took a taxi back to my neck of the woods and I showed Glen around our neighborhood watering holes and introduced him to the extended hours that bars enjoy in Myrtle Beach. We walked inside my apartment after an amazing night at 4 a.m.

It was a long but very fun night.

Saturday – September 5

I hassled Glen to get up early and we started heading in the direction of Conway. We stopped at Waffle House for breakfast so Glen could experience another Southern institution. After eating a heavy meal that was much welcomed after the previous night, we visited the Coastal Carolina University campus. I had the privilege of showing him around as he got to see Prince Lawn, our athletic fields, my office, and much more.

I got to show Glen our teal football field.

Once we finished at CCU, we went out to Sidney’s parents’ house to retrieve Glen’s luggage. We had Delta deliver it to the home of her parents because we wanted to make sure people were home when the delivery person came by. Glen got to meet Sid’s dad as we watched tennis in the living room for a few minutes. We returned home and watched the first three quarters of the Washington State vs. Portland State game. We then went to 4:30 p.m. mass at St. Andrew Parish, allowing Glen to see the church where he will serve as the best man at in eight months. After the service we stopped at a produce stand on the side of the road and purchased boiled peanuts. From there we went back to Broadway at the Beach so I could show him the area during the daytime while also taking him out of the Celebrity Circle bar district.

Glen and I enjoying Broadway at the Beach.

After Broadway at the Beach we went right to Sid’s house and ate some peanuts. From there we went to the Murrell’s Inlet Marshwalk for a relaxing evening. It was a 90 minute wait at the restaurant we wanted to eat at so we had the luxury of walking around the whole marsh area at our own pace. After Glen saw the sights, including the place where I proposed to Sidney, we went to this really cool bar called Wahoo’s and watched people dance while also checking the television screens showing football games. At 9:30 p.m., we finally received a text message from Drunken Jack’s telling us that our table was ready. We made the short walk over from Wahoo’s and enjoyed a fabulous dinner in a great atmosphere. Glen got to try hush puppies and eat some great meat. After we finished our meal we returned to Sidney’s house where we watched highlights of the day’s football games.

We had a wonderful evening in Murrells Inlet at the Marshwalk.

Sunday – September 6

I once again did my best to get Glen up at a reasonable hour and then we were off to the beach! I took him to Springmaid, the beach area close to my place where locals go. We had a nice morning stroll up and down the shore. We finished our walk and then went to a putt putt course called Shipwreck. Despite my noble efforts, Glen once again beat me. We shook hands and then went to a place called Damon’s for lunch. We sat on the outdoor patio overlooking the beach as we ate and had a couple cold ones. Now well-nourished, we went on with our day.

We enjoyed some time at the beach, shot some putt putt at Shipwreck, and ate yummy food at Damon’s.

We drove up Kings Highway and stopped at a few of the souvenir shops so Glen could start getting an idea of the inventory available. This journey helped lead us to the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk. We had a nice time walking around, checking out the arcade, and browsing through the Gay Dolphin (a giant gift shop). The weather was beautiful and the scenery nice. After Glen did some major purchasing at a nearby gift store we left the area and stopped at a random bar halfway to my apartment. Sidney joined us here as we had fun listening to one of the gruff customers chat us up the whole time we were there.

Glen pinned his hometown on the big map in the bar.

After our time in the dive we hustled home and showered. We needed to look and smell nice because we were going over to eat dinner with Sidney’s family. We went over to the house of Sidney’s sister for the meal. Glen had the opportunity to meet all of Sidney’s sister’s family, Sid’s parents, Sid’s aunt, and her cousin. We smacked our lips as we ate an incredible spread that included ribs, macaroni and cheese, corn, green beans, rice, and rolls. I ate so much that I couldn’t even do dessert. Glen was definitely shown Southern hospitality.

My plate of food at Sidney’s sister’s house. Glen had a plate similar to this!

We said thank you to Sid’s family and the three of us went to the Boathouse, a bar in Myrtle Beach with a gorgeous backyard area that overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway. The venue was crazy and packed with lots of people watching to be done. We stayed for a little bit and then returned home to my apartment where we watched “Big Brother” and “Bar Rescue.” We then went on a six stop bar tour where some of the establishments were in desperate need of Jon Taffer’s assistance. It was a lot of fun though as we picked up a story from each place we visited.

Monday – September 7

Labor Day started with us driving the short distance to the beach but it started to rain. We reversed course and drove to Sidney’s house, stopping at Bojangles on the way to pick up breakfast. We ate our food in Sid’s living room, giving Glen a taste of yet another Southern staple as we munched on chicken and Bo-Berry biscuits. In an effort to wait out the rain, Glen and I went to the movie theater to watch the 11 a.m. showing of “The Gift.” Although the movie wasn’t stellar by any means we accomplished our objective as it was beautiful outside by the time we exited the theater. Sidney met us outside the doors and we briefly looked around the mall. After our quick tour of the shopping center, it was time to play more putt putt.

We drove to Jurassic Mini Golf where we played 18 holes with the dinosaurs. This course was a lot of fun and it helped also that I won! It was hot and humid but that didn’t detract us from wanting to play more. We drove to the Jungle Lagoon course where we once again had a ball. Out of the four courses we played, this was our favorite. Sidney pulled out the victory this time around, making it so that all three of us won at least once during Glen’s trip. After 36 holes of putt putt in the Labor Day sun, we were thirsty. We had Sid pick out a bar for us and we went inside for a couple more cold ones.

We had a ton of fun playing putt putt. This is Glen and I at Jungle Lagoon.

Glen and I then set off to do what we had originally planned to do earlier that morning…go back to the beach. We went to Springmaid again and had just a relaxing time. The conditions were perfect and nothing said “Myrtle Beach” more than those 45 minutes we spent yesterday afternoon carving stuff in the sand, picking up seashells, and going in the water. When it was time to move on we went to one final souvenir shop to purchase a last minute item. I then took Glen on a tour of my apartment complex and we ran a couple errands.

Glen and I enjoying a perfect day at the beach.

We returned to my place and showered. Sidney came over and met us and we all sat down and watched Jeopardy. After the show we went to dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse and had a terrific final meal. After we had stuffed our bellies we chose a movie out of the Redbox and came home. The film we selected was “Unfinished Business” and it definitely went unfinished by us. We didn’t even watch an hour of it before stopping it and watching the remainder of the Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech football game instead. By that time it was past midnight and we were ready to go to bed. We knew we had enjoyed an incredible 3+ days so instead of going to bed sad that vacation was coming to a close, we went to sleep fulfilled.

Last night, Sidney presented Glen with this sign to take back to Spokane with him.

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This morning I had to say goodbye to my brother as he slept soundly. Because I leave for campus at 5:30 a.m. each morning and his flight didn’t depart until 11 a.m., he had to get a cab to take him to the airport. I felt a little guilty leaving him to take a taxi but I know he understood and didn’t care that much.

Probably my most favorite picture of the trip. Glen and I in our Myrtle Beach polos right before we went to dinner at the house of Sid’s sister.

During my drive to campus and pretty much this whole day, I constantly thought about the great weekend we had. Words can’t describe how nice it was to spend time with my brother here in Myrtle Beach. I had waited a long time for him to come visit me and we had more fun than even I thought we would. Thanks to my best friend Sidney for doing all she could to make sure I had such a memorable experience with my other best friend. Hanging out with those two in tandem provided me with so much joy. Finally, in closing, we used the hashtag #GlenDoesMyrtle the whole trip to chronicle our Myrtle Beach adventures on social media. Glen, my good sir, you have earned the right to change that hashtag to #GlenDidMyrtle. Thank you, well done, and I love you. Don’t Blink.

We all have our friends who we follow on social media who take full liberty to air out their griviences and opinions. We may get annoyed and we may just laugh while saying to ourselves “Oh man, here we go again.” These are the people we complain and make fun about.

So while I never lose sleep over the digital rants of those I know, I sometimes feel a little unsettled by those strangers who have the tendency to let loose with bizarre statements fueled by obsessive dedication.

I remember while working at the University of Montana, there was a certain person who would mix his strong beliefs and inappropriate language into awful Facebook comments. He would publish his garbage underneath our Facebook posts, many times not having anything to do with the featured content (this was an athletics page for crying out loud). I gave him a long leash before I finally blocked him. Just because I banned him from our Montana Grizzlies page didn’t mean I had seen the last of his Facebook mug, however.

I would frequently see his comments appear on unofficial Griz Facebook pages. I would also always see his filth on every social media account belonging to a local Missoula news outlet as well. What was up with this person? It went way beyond acting as a troll.

I wish I could say this was the only occurrence I have seen of this. Not even close. You don’t have to work in social media to see these Facebook crazies make their daily rounds on pages with large followings and high engagement. They rant, they spam, and they threaten.

Just this past summer, Myrtle Beach held a major country music festival. It was a massive event, one that was heavily covered by the local media. As it was the event’s first year, minor hiccups did occur. I observed one certain Facebook user, disgruntled over the festival’s high ticket price, ambush not just the festival’s Facebook page but every single page of our area’s various television outlets covering it. This particular lady, who didn’t even attend the festival, went on an absolute crusade creating long winded posts (copying and pasting many of them) that she plastered on all these different Facebook pages. The dialogue that ensued between her and users defending the festival always turned nasty.

I have too many examples to write about here, but you know exactly what I am talking about. The same questions probably run through your head that run through mine. Why are these people so angry? Why don’t they care about their reputation? Don’t they know that everyone can see their name/identity? Are they sane?

By the way, that last question is a legitimate one. Have you ever done what I have a hundred times and gone to the profiles of these folks? Their timeline is filled with rambling status updates, incredibly offensive memes, and photos of them flipping off the camera. After seeing the carnage they do on public Facebook pages I am always able to confirm their instability by checking their personal page and seeing the same trash. Defacing the digital presence of others shows that you are inconsiderate and rude. Making a joke out of your own digital presence shows that you are crazy.

I mentioned at the start of this post that these type of social media users make me feel uneasy. Can you see why? Not only do they have strong and polarizing views, they most likely also have a mental illness. What happens if these people ever do damage through other means besides just causing social media unrest? Now I know most of these people would never act in such a way but the thought does cross my mind.

The other day I was looking at a Facebook page for a Spokane news station. Under one of the posts I saw a vile comment. I had to look twice but it was completely obvious…the same person who terrorized social media accounts in Missoula was now spreading his “wisdom” to a new audience in a new town 200 miles to the west. How he still has a Facebook account is beyond me. These people are relentless. We have to balance between ignoring these people while at the same time keeping a watchful eye. Don’t Blink.