I mention my Boy Scout memories because one of the most vivid memories I had was my mom going with my troop on one of our excursions. (My mom was a stay at home mom, so she was often participating, driving or attending various childhood events.) This excursion was my first encounter with a cave, and all I remember the whole trip was worrying about her safety. It was wet, muddy and slick and I had much more trouble than my mom did to be honest. Because of that, I didn’t go near a cave for many years after that. Then, one day, some friends invited me to go caving in Colorado and I figured, sure, why not. After patrolling around, squeezing through a few tight spaces and slithering on my stomach, I realized that there were no worries as long as I had a good headlamp and backup. So, now when I see the chance to explore a cave, I kind of get excited, like for the first of these five things to do in Flagstaff.

Explore Lava River Cave

I think the words “mile long lava tube” may be four of the coolest words to put together, assuming the lava isn’t molten at the time. (Rim shot.) Even in the hottest parts of summer, Lava River Cave tends to stay around 35 degrees Fahrenheit just inside the entrance.

Tour Lowell Observatory

The Lowell Observatory is over 100 years old and is the location where Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto. Today, there is a telescope trained on the sun and at night, you can check out Saturn and star clusters, weather permitting.

Hike around Wupatki National Monument

There are five prehistoric pueblos in the Wupatki National Monument. All trails are half a mile long or less, so you can see all five with less than four miles on your hiking boots. If you want a little more flair, there are guided hikes scheduled daily through the summer.

Grab a beer at Beaver Street Brewery

The Beaver Street Brewery has two Great American Beer Festival medal winning beers on tap, but the one that gets my curiosity going is the Bramble Berry Brew. That’s probably because raspberry is one of my favorite flavors. Hopefully they’ll have raspberry cobbler available for dessert when I visit.

Check out cliff dwellings at Walnut Canyon National Monument

The Island Trail at the Walnut Canyon National Monument seems like a great way to get a bit of exercise while learning a little. The mile long trail sounds like it is a bear to get back out of the canyon, but seeing 25 cliff dwelling rooms would be worth it.

Any suggestions for things that I missed? Any additional recommendations for the area? Just let me know in the comments.

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Mackey, unlike the twentysomething tech prodigies we’ve written about in previous columns, is a product of the 1960s, and was involved in that decade’s active counterculture. He lived in an urban co-op/commune and was a member of three different food-co-ops, believing that “the co-op movement was the best way to reform capitalism because it was based on cooperation instead of competition.”

But like many other businessmen from that era, Mackey got tired of dealing with myopic hippies and opened his own vegetarian food market, Safer Way, in 1978. Two years later, he merged his business with Clarksville Natural Grocery, run by Mark Skiles and Craig Weller, who are credited as co-founders of Whole Foods along with Renee Hardy-Lawson, Mackey’s one-time girlfriend.

Whole Foods took off once those two businesses merged, and Mackey guided its development from regional chain to international powerhouse, buying up smaller competitors (including Wild Oats Market) along the way. Mackey used Whole Foods’ momentum to set standards for humane animal treatment, creating the Global Animal Partnership for that purpose.

Mackey used Whole Foods as a platform for other philanthropic efforts, too. He launched the Whole Planet Foundation, the Local Producer Loan Program, and Whole Foods’ Health Starts Here employee wellness initiative during his tenure as CEO.

Mackey is mindful of wage gaps, as well. In 2006, he reduced his salary to $1 a year and donated his stock portfolio to charity, which he explained by saying that “I have reached a place in my life where I no longer want to work for money, but simply for the joy of the work itself” in a letter to the company. He also instituted caps on executive pay, which is refreshing when you’ve worked for as many incompetent administrators as I have.

So yeah, there’s more to John Mackey than what’s been reported about him. He might not be the social democrat he was in college, but he’s still trying to use that self-starter spirit to make the world a better and healthier place. He talks more about that in this interview with Reason TV.

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Luckily, there are a few guys who’ve managed to avoid those undesirable outcomes, and one of them is this week’s subject: Terry Funk.

To start, Terry Funk is insanely tough. He was born into wrestling; both his father Dory and his brother Dory Jr. (who perpetually looks like he just woke up from a nap) were wrestlers, and the family ran a small promotion in their hometown of Amarillo, TX despite frequent traveling and living on the road. Dory Sr. was widely considered one of the toughest wrestlers of his generation, and he passed that trait down to both his sons.

In Barry Blaustein’s Beyond The Mat, Terry—who was 53 at the time—saw a doctor about his aching knees, and was told that he had basically worn down the cartilage in both of them and needed surgery. The doctor was visibly taken aback by the fact that Terry could walk without intense pain. Terry politely refused the surgery and wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling that night without complaint.

The other thing about Terry is that he is completely out of his mind. He was always the wild child of his family, even before he got into wrestling; he once stole a box of grenades from a local National Guard armory and threw them around his dad’s backyard to liven up a Fourth of July barbecue.

As a wrestler, he was a gifted performer who could wrestle or brawl as the situation demanded, and his interviews were classics. Since he was often a villain, Funk made sure he pissed off the fans to the point where they’d pay money to see him get beaten up. Sometimes this meant pouring motor oil on his head to simulate being a “Florida cracker.”

And other times it meant insulting fans in Puerto Rico until they threw bottles and rocks at him.

For an example of his toughness and craziness working together, look no further than Funk, already at an age where most men can’t get through a game of rec league basketball without pulling something, taking on Mick “Cactus Jack” Foley in a explosive barbed wire board match back in 1995.

These days, Funk is 68, retired, and could probably still kick my ass, which is why he’s this week’s Awesome Man Throughout History.

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Now that I think about it, is there a holiday eve that is worse than the holiday? If you go to a Memorial Day or Labor Day party, are you more likely to have it on Sunday when you don’t have to get up the next day for work, or try to party late into a Monday night, Tuesday morning? It’s the same thing with the 4th of July if it is a weekday, and there are still plenty of fireworks shows that happen on the 3rd because more fireworks over more days are just better. As much as I love Thanksgiving, it’s the night before that is the party night as people return to their home towns to get liquored up to create that hangover to handle the family festivities the following day. I’ll probably have to give you Valentine’s Day, and the occasional Saturday St. Patrick’s Day, but I think New Year’s Eve is the ultimate argument stopper. I win. To celebrate my win, I choose to celebrate Alice’s movies in a tribute to her and Eves everywhere. *

* After thinking about how eves are superior to days, I imagine Alice Day to be the drunk, homeless, out of key singing, grubby, smelly, pooping on the streets of Los Angeles in the middle of Sunset Boulevard, Earth-2 manifestation of Jessica Day, the imaginary character played by Zooey Deschanel that is part of the “New Girl” universe. If there is an Alice Day out there in the real world, I’m sure she’s swell.

5. The Raven

Yes, it’s Edgar Allen Poe as played by John Cusack and Alice, but it’s the two Brendans that got me interested: Gleeson and Coyle. If you want to see a great little funny movie, check out “The Guard” with Gleeson, and one of my favorite TV shows right now, “Downton Abbey” stars Coyle.

4. Decoy Bride

Not only does it have Alice, it also has the lovely Kelly MacDonald to go with the Tenth Doctor.

3. Big Nothing

I’m really beginning to appreciate Alice’s choice in co-stars. (Let’s just pretend that she gets a choice and it’s because she’s so beautiful. Sigh.) This one has Simon Pegg of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.”

2. Starter for 10

This movie has “Doctor Who” and “Sherlock” connections as Doctor Donna Catherine Tate and writer of both shows Mark Gatiss co-star with Alice. Plus, it has James McAvoy from “State of Play,” “The Last King of Scotland” and the guy who brought the young Charles Xavier to the screen.

1. She’s Out of My League

Were there ever truer words spoken about Alice? Her co-stars include two funny and beautiful actresses, Jessica St. Clair from the unfortunately short-lived “Best Friends Forever” and Krysten Ritter, who had a great guest role on “Breaking Bad.”

Agree? Disagree? Which movies would make your Alice Eve top five?

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So, what does this have to do with Durango, Colorado? Well, after my mind fluttered through addresses and other wake-up time thoughts, I looked at the 57 destination essays that I have done that have focused on cities. I wouldn’t say it’s random, as I generally look for interesting cities in different areas of the country, but it isn’t particularly planned either. That said, 16 (28%) of the essays have started with the letters “A,” “B” or “C,” and it makes me wonder if there is a kind of Benford’s Law for the first letters of words. In comparison, the towns beginning with “L,” “N,” “R,” “S” and “T” for those of you that watch “Wheel of Fortune” with their parents, also started 16 of the 57. I did find Zipf’s Law, which says that the most common word is used twice as much as the second most common word and three times as much as the third most common word, but nothing having to do with the first 3 letters of the alphabet.

Durango marks my first realization of this ordering. Now that I’ve noticed it, how will it impact the choices I make in the future? All I know for sure is that it doesn’t have anything to do with these five cool things in Durango.

Take in everything at Mesa Verde National Park

If I were to rank every national park I’ve visited, Mesa Verde would easily rank in the top 10 and more than likely the top 5. Off the top of my head, and for today only as these things change, Grand Tetons, Arches and Denali are in, and that’s where it gets tough as Death Valley, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Redwood, Canyonlands and Mesa Verde all battle to win my affection. I think Mesa Verde gets a bit of a lead for being the only historical park in the lot.

Eat steak for lunch at Ken and Sue’s

Ken and Sue’s serve a five-ounce filet on a homemade Kaiser roll with horseradish for lunch and it’s only $11. Sold.

Go back in time with the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

According the site, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad travels to places only accessible by foot or train. Considering you’re sharing a narrow canyon with an old train and a fast flowing river and it is almost a 3,000-foot elevation gain, I think by foot may be rhetorical except for the most dedicated hikers.

Crank up the adrenaline rafting class V rapids on the Upper Animas River

However, speaking of the river, if you go up, you have to get back down, and flying down in a whitewater raft through class IV and V rapids may not be the way to sightsee, but it definitely would be the fun way down.

Eat steak for dinner at the Ore House

As hungry as I expect to be after that kind of rafting trip, I doubt I can eat the Chateaubriand for two at the Ore House, but I’m sure it would be a tasty try.

Any suggestions for things that I missed? Any additional recommendations for the area? Just let me know in the comments.

Fans of Sriracha aren’t shy about literally singing the sauce’s praises either, if this terrible fan-made rap song is any indication.

But despite the company’s unorthodox relationship with the public, Huy Fong Foods founder David Tran is an entrepreneur if there ever was one, and his success story is a testament to how much one can achieve through hard work and a quality product.

Tran was born in Vietnam, and became a sauce maker in the mid-1970s, selling an oil-based sauce made with peppers from his older brother’s farm. He bottled this sauce in recycled baby food jars scavenged from U.S. military bases and sold them through local distributors. HYPERLINK “http://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=8973″According to Gold Sea, it gained local notoriety as an ideal condiment for roast dog. Better hope PETA never hears about that one.

Unfortunately, Tran’s Chinese ancestry made his life difficult in Vietnam, so he saved up enough money to buy space for himself and his family aboard a Taiwanese freighter called the Huy Fong, which took them to America. After initially landing in Boston, Tran and his family moved to Los Angeles, where Tran started making his current Sriracha by hand in his tiny office and selling it out of his van.

Tran’s goal wasn’t to make money, although he has, but to make really good hot sauce; in his opinion, American hot sauce was terrible. He also wanted to make something as ubiquitous as ketchup, something that people reached for without thinking because it made food taste better.

Curiously, Tran didn’t think his sauce would sell to anyone besides other Asian immigrants, but once it did, he kept his company’s growth slow and steady by keeping prices low. Tran hasn’t changed his wholesale prices in 30 years, and Sriracha is about $4 per 28-ounce bottle.

Tran doesn’t compromise on his ingredients, either. His packaging suppliers tried to get him to change it for American customers’ tastes, and Tran’s response was “hot sauce must be hot. If you don’t like it hot, use less…we don’t make mayonnaise here.”

David Tran’s success was built on determination and a quality product, both of which are highly endorsed by TSB as ways of making your mark as an entrepreneur. We also endorse Sriracha when you have a cold, because it clears you out like nothing else on this planet.

Of course, it doesn’t really mean anything except if you’re looking to book a venue and Heather or Conger already has done it. I suppose if we still believed in astrology it might be important, and that’s still a good conversation point if you find a girl that believes in astrology and you can stow away your skepticism and have her “read” you. The same birthday is just one of those fun things to know like you can get to first base in baseball through catcher’s interference or the presence of the Wilhelm scream in movies. But, to commemorate this coincidence, my gift is to give Heather six movies instead of the usual five and it’s not just because I couldn’t decide between the last two. Really.

6. The Hangover

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this movie, but I have to admit that it has some funny parts and is certainly a career catapult for Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms, all of whom are funny actors.

5. Swingers

This movie gains in popularity for me, even though I’ve mostly forgotten it, just because I frequent some of the locations like the Los Feliz Par 3 and The Dresden Restaurant. Then again, when I say I’ve mostly forgotten it, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the answering machine scene because Mike is so not money.

4. Drugstore Cowboy

This movie vanished from Netflix recently and I hope it shows up again. This is Gus Van Sant’s first major film and it also has Matt Dillon and Kelly Lynch to go with Heather.

3. Bowfinger

When a movie combines comic geniuses like Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy, I can’t help but let my expectations soar. While this movie didn’t reach those inaccessible heights, it did make me laugh, especially after I learned more about Scientology.

2. Boogie Nights

For most people, this would probably be number one. It’s a great movie with a great cast including John C. Reilly, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Don Cheadle, Julianne Moore and Heather and it hits all the right notes with music, sets and wardrobe to make the era come alive.

1. Diggstown

This is one of my favorite sports movies of all time and in my mind lately as Deadspin has been running a series of articles about Randall “Tex” Cobb by Pete Dexter through a new section called “The Stacks.” It’s kind of cool to think of Heather as Cobb’s daughter.

Agree? Disagree? Which movies would make your Heather Graham top five?

I always thought that legendary comedian Lenny Bruce had originally said that line, but I recently learned that it was Joe Ancis, Bruce’s roommate, friend, and primary comedic influence, who said it. I did a little digging, and it turns out that Joe said a lot of things that Lenny would become famous for saying. I’m not saying that Lenny stole Joe’s act, but I am saying that Joe Ancis was the definition of an unappreciated genius, and that he’s this week’s Awesome Man Throughout History.

Joe was born to a lower-class Jewish family, and hung out with third-rate comedians, hustlers, aging showgirls, and everyone else who passed for a low-life in 1950s Manhattan. Specifically, he spent a lot of time around Hanson’s Drugstore, where all the unknown comics hung out during the day, and was widely considered one of the funniest people in New York.

Phil Berger described Ancis’ take on things (especially women and sex) as “what de Sade might have done had he knocked around Bensonhurst,” and Rodney Dangerfield—another one of Ancis’ close friends—recalled Joe telling a story about going to see Nancy Wilson perform and worrying that if someone shot her on stage, he would be the primary suspect because he was the only white guy in the crowd.

As you may have gathered, Joe Ancis was kind of an angry, neurotic mess. He was also too shy, and too fearful of the stage, to ever be a legit stand-up comedian, but he definitely left his mark on every comic in his social circle. Lenny Bruce learned about Jewish culture, jazz, and art appreciation from Ancis, and borrowed heavily from Ancis’ edgy, stream-of-consciousness vocal delivery.

Ancis didn’t do everything for free, though. When he and Rodney Dangerfield (then Jack Roy) left Manhattan to get real jobs in Jersey, they filled the trunk of Rodney’s car with jokes that they sold to New York comics for $5 a bit at Hanson’s (which, being full of comedians all the time, was a good place to sell new material). Ancis and Rodney’s jokes were the cream of the crop for the time, and comedians influenced or taught by him went on to become legends.

Ancis was also a weed hookup for a lot of his friends since he either had it or knew where to get it, but that’s a bit beyond the scope of this column. Still, it seems worth mentioning.

There isn’t much information about Joe’s life out there, but he’s an important figure in stand-up comedy’s transformation from hacky vaudeville routines and impressions to the weird form of public philosophy it is today, and the impact Lenny Bruce had on censorship and the arts wouldn’t have been possible without Joe’s guidance. Neither would Rodney Dangerfield’s career, for that matter. Think about that next time you watch Back To School.

At a concert, I can understand being in the front row if you’re going to see Liz Phair, Sleater Kinney or Tori Amos, but otherwise, give me a seat near the mixing board. It’s there for a reason as far as I know, because that’s the place where the music sounds the best. (I could be wrong, feel free to correct me if standing in front of the left bank of speakers feeling your skin vibrate is the best way to hear a band. Then again, maybe I’m just getting too old for mosh pits.)

So, when I think of Colorado Springs, I think of learning that when it comes to baseball, the best seats aren’t necessarily the expensive ones. Sometimes it’s great to be in the bleachers. Sometimes it’s great to be in the upper deck. Wherever you are, you get to watch baseball with friends and have a couple beverages and a hot dog and that’s what it is all about. So, I think you can guess my first destination on this list.

Go see a Sky Sox game

Currently, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox have a few well-regarded prospects on their roster, including third baseman Nolan Arenado, outfielder Corey Dickerson and corner infielder Ryan Wheeler. (Arenado is in the top 60 in all of MLB and Dickerson got mention in John Sickel’s list just outside the 150.) As a Cardinals fan, I’d hope to go see the August 12-15 series and hope that Arenado and Oscar Taveras aren’t yet in the majors.

Drive Pikes Peak Highway

I look at the picture of Pikes Peak Highway and I just know I have to drive it. Nineteen miles in total, it goes to the top of the mountain amid switchbacks and turns without guardrails. If I want to put my fear of heights to the test, it seems like a great road to try. The only negative comes in the form of a toll that is $12 per person in the summer.

Hike around the Garden of the Gods

I’m going to go ahead and assume my fingers will be cramped in the form of claws and have to be pried from the steering wheel after that drive. To calm my nerves and fears, I’ll take a stroll in the Garden of the Gods Park. Though as I walk, I plan to avert my eyes from the monstrosity that I just topped in my car.

Play the most dangerous game at Battlefield Colorado

I may need to calm myself even further, so laser tag at Battlefield Colorado might not be the best idea. However, because I don’t have to worry about being bruised by paint balls, it’s at least better than that.

Have dinner at The Blue Star

At the end of a long day, I want sustenance. The Blue Star serves snapper ceviche with beet, orange, passion fruit, mint and basil. Follow that with a beef tenderloin and the Corleone (vanilla bean ice cream rolled in graham cracker, nuts, chocolate and other delights) and I’ll be ready to tackle all of these things again, budget for tolls permitting.

Any suggestions for things that I missed? Any additional recommendations for the area? Just let me know in the comments.

I mention this because when I look at an actress like Amanda Seyfried, I can’t help but notice her birth date and her birth location. I mean how often do you see Allentown, Pennsylvania in your daily life? I mean, I can think of the Billy Joel song “Allentown” and I come to an end. But, then I click on the city link and see Christine Taylor from “Zoolander” and Tim Heidecker of “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job.” But, the real treat was Lara Jill Miller, a girl that I hadn’t thought about since I was younger and had a crush on her character in “Gimme a Break.” (I watched about anything on TV if it had cool vans, cool helicopters or cute girls.) Then I started to wonder who else was in that show, and low and behold, there’s Joey Lawrence. That makes me think of “Blossom” and I have to stop myself from jumping down a rabbit hole. Instead, I steel my will and go back to just thinking about Amanda’s top five movies.

5. A Bag of Hammers

Remember that internet list that went around about how stupid someone is? One of the items was a bag of hammers? Ring a bell? Possibly just me? Anyway, just for that title and the appearance of Amanda and Rebecca Hall, I’m sold. Thanks once again, to the power of the internet and if you don’t remember, you’re as stupid as a box of hair.

4. In Time

I love when I make a list and my future self agrees with my past self. In this case, it’s the ranking of this movie that agrees with past self’s ranking on Olivia Wilde’s list. It puts me in a science-fiction kind of mood to see this one.

3. Les Miserables

I’ve had enough people recommend this movie to me and I’ve read enough good reviews that I know I’ll eventually break my fear of current musicals and go see it. But, you can’t make me go see “Mamma Mia.” I will not be convinced!

2. Alpha Dog

Justin Timberlake makes his second appearance on this list, and as long as I think of these two movies and “Dick in a Box” and not “Trouble with the Curve” I’ll keep thinking of him in a positive light. (Yes, that movie is that bad to erase all the good before it.)

1. Mean Girls

If it’s on the lists of Tina Fey and ,a href=”http://www.tsbmag.com/2011/06/14/top-five-movies-of-rachel-mcadams/”>Rachel McAdams, it’s good enough for Amanda’s list.

Agree? Disagree? Which movies would make your Amanda Seyfried top five?