As a young girl, I spent most of my time with my three best friends. Every weekend, we were at each other’s houses engaging in the usual teenage girl activities: boy talk, sneaking sips of our parent’s booze, talking to creeps in chat rooms. Real rebel type stuff. As a group, we were untouchable. It was like we were a pack. If one of us was in danger, the others followed close behind, and we survived school, breakups, and family drama by sticking together. However, we didn’t know that this time, it was going to be surviving a life or death situation.

It was a Friday night and we were at Macy’s house. We ate dinner and scurried up to her room. In the early 2000s, we are definitely rocking the goth look, so we spent a lot of time doing each other’s makeup while listening to Kittie. We donned our tightest fishnet shirts and heavy eyeliner then decided to go on a walk. There was a gas station not too far from Macy’s house, and we needed snacks for the movie we were going to watch later that night. 

We convinced Macy’s parents that a quick walk to the gas station wouldn’t be unreasonable if we stuck together. They sighed and let us go.

  It was one of those October days when you wore a t-shirt during the day, but had to throw on a sweatshirt when the sun went down. The moon hung bright and high over the tops of the trees acting as a sort of guide as we made our way down the winding country road. We joked with each other and laughed boisterously like we always did. Our laughter drowned out the crickets, frogs and other nighttime noises you always hear in the south. Even the cows in the pastures were quieted by our cackling.

I guess we drew too much attention to ourselves, because when we stopped at a tractor crossing sign to see if we could take it home as a souvenir, a figure appeared behind us. The four of us somehow missed where it came from. It was in street clothes: jeans, black hoodie pulled up to it’s face and around it’s head, and black boots. There was no outline of a face that I remember. I do remember the baseball bat it was carrying though. And now it was talking.

“Do you guys want to go to a party?” it asked. We jumped away from the tractor sign and turned toward the figure. The four of us looked at each other and collectively replied, “No.” The figure then dragged the baseball bat on the paved road, but it made a disgusting sound and we noticed there was a can attached to the end of the bat.

“Are you sure? It’ll be fun. Come with me,” the figure whispered. Carelessly, we start to back away from this thing, and its strange weapon, in the opposite direction of Macy’s house. The figure raises the bat and takes a step closer. Then we take off in an all out sprint. “We don’t want to go to your fucking party!” one of us screams behind us. I grab hold of Macy’s hand while we are running since it is extremely hard to keep balance in the unpractical platform boots I decided to wear.

You know that trope in horror movies where the victim is running and the killer is walking, but somehow still manages to keep up with them? That’s exactly how this next part plays out. We are running as fast as we can, holding on to each other, and every time we look back, the figure is right on our heels. I felt like we were never going to shake him, and that winding road was never going to end. The gas station, our original destination, seems like it’s a million miles away. We start down a hill and before the figure could see, one of us yells “bushes!” Theatrically, the four of us jump into bushes of a vacant house that is for sale in the neighborhood.

The road is obscured by hedges and limbs that jut out unevenly, creating shadows all around us. My friends and I are stunned that this was actually happening to us. Our hearts are beating fast, and I am very close to having a full blown attack. They calm me down and we wait quietly in the darkness. It seemed like hours, but it is most likely a few minutes after we hear the dreaded noise from the baseball raking the road. We cover our mouths to silence our breathing, our hearts beating rapidly. “You girls don’t think I know where you are. Ha Ha Ha stupid girls.” Our eyes get wide and we look at each other, but not daring to make a move. Several minutes passed in terrifying silence.

It was time for a plan now. There was no way we could stay crouched behind these bushes all night. Macy’s parents would start to worry and call the rest of our parents. We HAD to get home as soon as we could. We decided that this figure couldn’t take all four of us down at once. There are strength in numbers and we would be more than capable of disarming him. The four of us leap out of the bushes at the count of three ready to fight. There was no figure in the road. We didn’t waste time looking for him and took off as fast as we could towards the safety of home. There was no sign of the figure on our way and we quickly, but quietly, rushed into Macy’s house and locked all of the doors behind us. One after another, we bounded upstairs to the bedroom and locked that door behind us as well.

My friends and I sat quietly for a long time while trying to catch our breath. The silence is broken by one of us asking, “Did that just happen?” I believe we were all asking ourselves the same question. Morning finally came after a sleepless night, and we all went back to life as normal. Our parents didn’t know about that night until years later. The figure never showed itself to us on York Road again, and to this day, we don’t know if it was a ghost, demon, or a real life human being. When the story gets told, we refer to it as a figure, and still have to remind each other that the strange October night was real.

Pour up a Wolf Creek Cooler and join McCash as he relives this brutal tale set in the Australian outback alongside Brittany Fernandez and Stoney Keeley. Today, we’re drinking with… Wolf Creek.

To make the Wolf Creek Cooler:

Ingredients

• 2 oz Australian gin like Four Pillars or any gin really
• 1 oz blood orange liqueur
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ½ oz simple syrup
• 2 dashes bitters
• 2 oz ginger beer
• A bar spoon of a smoky Scotch (float)
• Blood orange wheel and a sprig of rosemary for garnish

Instructions

1. Fill a tall glass with ice.
2. Add the gin, blood orange liqueur, lime juice, simple syrup, and bitters.
3. Stir well.
4. Top with ginger beer.
5. Carefully float the smoky Scotch over the back of a spoon.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, second on Football & Other F Words, analyst for Stacking The Inbox, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, the NFL Draft, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

Elsewhere on the SoBros Network: Check out Stacking The Inbox for premium coverage of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft. Subscribe to Nashville Movie Dispatch for all of our movie content. We get weird on Phone It In, the history podcast that explores legendary tales, important historical figures, and events.

When I look back on wrestling’s greatest rivalries of my lifetime, The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin comes to mind. Austin vs. Vince McMahon, Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, and few others as well. But, when discussing these iconic matchups, I always make sure to shoehorn John Cena vs. Edge from the mid-2000s in there as well. It was a rivalry that had it all – heated promos, solid matches with escalating violence, deeply personal undertones, and a clash in ideologies among the fan base. It was the star of tomorrow…the next torchbearer…in Cena juxtaposed against the rebellious nature of Edge. It served the younger audience by being a bout of pure good vs. pure evil. But, it held the attention of the more mature audience in how it played off the “smarter” fans and how they viewed Cena as Hulk Hogan 2.0, being forced down their throats. Cena sold a million t-shirts to kids. Edge sold a million t-shirts to the 20-year-olds like me.

But, to fully understand why this particular rivalry resonated so soundly with a certain generation of fans, we have to flip the calendar back a couple of years to 2004. Like many great wrestling rivalries, the wheels were set in motion far before the conflict came to a head.

It was clear from the moment Cena debuted in 2002 that he fit the bill for what WWE was looking for in a bona fide blue chipper. But, like a lot of young guys in the business, it took him a bit to truly find his lane. He started his freestyle ‘Doctor of Thuganomics’ gimmick and it started to get over with fans. He was edgy, and in 2003, it became apparent that he was going to be a part of the next generation of talent that would take the torch and run with it. In 2004, he captured the United States Championship after opening WrestleMania XX by beating Big Show. He was well on his way. There weren’t a lot of surprises on Cena’s road to the top. He was seemingly anointed as the next big thing upon his debut, and by WrestleMania 21, he had won his first WWE Championship.

Meanwhile, Edge felt a little more creatively aimless. And, we loved Edge! Edge had been a key component in his fair share of WWE’s most memorable moments up to that point in time. But, he struggled through a couple of injuries. He had a mediocre run as Intercontinental Champion in 2004, and he just couldn’t seem to take that next step to firmly entrench himself in the main event picture. He’d win the inaugural Money in the Bank Ladder Match, assuring that he’d get an opportunity to wrestle for a world title at some point within the following calendar year. But, at the time, none of us knew how truly exciting that concept would go on to become. He had a middling feud with Kane, but 2005 was highlighted by his vitriolic feud with Matt Hardy. That may have been the first time we saw what a truly royal shithead Edge could be. By the time we flipped the calendar to 2006, “The Rated R Superstar” was born.

Little did we know that that revolutionary Money in the Bank contract was ultimately what would intertwine the two paths together. But, the stage was set for one of WWE’s most fiery rivalries and we didn’t even know it at the time. Cena was nearly a year into his first WWE Championship reign and was starting to grow stale among the more mature fans, who criticized his “five moves of doom” and were bored with the cookie cutter good guy attitude. Cena was no longer the guy who pushed the envelope. He was a vehicle to sell t-shirts to kids. Meanwhile, Edge had paid his dues in the eyes of a large sect of the WWE fan base – he had earned some of the spotlight, and his act at the time was catching fire. When he showed up at the end of New Year’s Revolution 2006, cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, and defeated Cena for the WWE Championship, we were off to the races.

Cena won the title back just a few weeks later at the Royal Rumble. Should that match have taken place at WrestleMania 22? Sure. You can argue that. But, with the benefit of hindsight, I’d say things turned out alright with Cena taking on Triple H and Edge taking on Mick Foley. That ‘Mania ended up being my personal favorite. Still, I understand the gripe about it. The two would go on to meet in a triple threat that also involved Triple H at Backlash that year. The two main evented SummerSlam 2006 against one another. And, they faced each other in an unforgettable TLC match at Unforgiven that September. It was a rivalry that never seemed to get old despite the fact that they ran it effectively for eight months – it’s rare that programs today get that kind of mileage.

Crowds were white hot for that feud. To some, it was a story between who was chosen and who had scratched and clawed to get to the main event. To others, it was their superhero taking on a dastardly villain who would stop at nothing to foil the hero’s plans. But, that’s what made that feud so special – it had a little something for everyone. It might’ve meant something different to every wrestling fan, but the bottom line was that it meant something. It really was the rare lightning in a bottle program.

This spark is something missing in modern wrestling – what’s the closest we’ve come in recent years? Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn? New Day vs. The Usos? Are we counting Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes? To me, it’s one of the things that is lacking from today’s product. I yearn for that off-to-the-races white-hot license-to-print-money feud.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, second on Football & Other F Words, analyst for Stacking The Inbox, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, the NFL Draft, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

Elsewhere on the SoBros Network: Check out Stacking The Inbox for premium coverage of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft. Subscribe to Nashville Movie Dispatch for all of our movie content. We get weird on Phone It In, the history podcast that explores legendary tales, important historical figures, and events.

With Wildwood dropping in theaters this week, Brandon and I take the opportunity to relive the filmography of LAIKA Studios and what it makes it such an underrated animation gem. 

Keep up with all of our work covering the world of movies on Nashville Movie Dispatch. Listen to The Vick’s Flicks Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you take in your podcasts! Just search for ‘Nashville Movie Dispatch’ and you’ll find us. Or, just smash the play button on the embed below!

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, second on Football & Other F Words, analyst for Stacking The Inbox, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, the NFL Draft, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

Elsewhere on the SoBros Network: Check out Stacking The Inbox for premium coverage of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft. Subscribe to Nashville Movie Dispatch for all of our movie content. We get weird on Phone It In, the history podcast that explores legendary tales, important historical figures, and events.

Hello, and welcome in to the latest edition of Yankee Candle Reviews here on SoBros Network. I will be your host – the Fragrance Aficionado of SoBros Network, also the EIC, Stoney Keeley. My passion for Yankee Candle began in 2006, when I strolled into the location in Providence Marketplace in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. I picked up a jar of Autumn Woods, and found it captured the essence of the season perfectly. I’ve been hooked in this…well, you could even call it ‘romantic…’ relationship with Yankee Candle ever since. Today, we’re taking a whiff of the enchanting Glistening Leaves.

Glistening Leaves is much more of an early fall fragrance than we’d usually be smelling here in October, but I didn’t exactly know that when I lined up my content calendar in September of 2025 (yes, I’m usually moving a year or so in advance on these Yankee Candle Reviews (I’ve already recorded something for December of 2028)). So, here we are – we’re in full-on “shift to pumpkin” mode still smelling ethereal outdoor fragrances. SMDH – what have we become?

Nonetheless, Glistening Leaves is a fantastic addition to that outside-the-box early fall rotation. I hate this new wax, and didn’t feel like Glistening Leaves really threw for shit. I had to practically shove my face over the flame in order to smell it in my office, surely expediting the process of all the cancer these things are going to give me one day. I digress. The fragrance is awesome – bridging the gap between summer and fall…there’s some fresh citrus to it. It does smell a tad like grapefruit. But, that freshly sawed wood smell hits you on the back end. It’s an awesome ode to late summer – that combo of grapefruit and sawdust is so unique. I don’t think I’ll seek this one out every August, but I’ll take my time burning this one, for sure.

Recommended Burning: You’re coming down the mountain after a long hike in the late summer sun. You’re out of water, but you have a grapefruit. Needing refreshment, you squeeze it over your face as the citrusy smell lingers on your skin. As you continue your trek, you encounter a lumberjack chopping down a tree. Your face is kind of sticky and that’s super weird, but you can’t help but notice how interesting the smell of citrus and sawdust is together. You go home and you invent Glistening Leaves.

Check out the Yankee Candle archives here on SoBros Network for my extensive backlog of Yankee Candle reviews! Also, be sure to check out my comprehensive list of the top 100 Yankee Candle fragrances of all time. I worked on that thing for forever, so any read is appreciated, thank you. That is all.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, second on Football & Other F Words, analyst for Stacking The Inbox, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, the NFL Draft, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

Elsewhere on the SoBros Network: Check out Stacking The Inbox for premium coverage of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft. Subscribe to Nashville Movie Dispatch for all of our movie content. We get weird on Phone It In, the history podcast that explores legendary tales, important historical figures, and events.