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'Get Your Hands Off Me, Man!': Black Arizona Father Handcuffed After Calling 911 to Report His Daughter's Abduction, Then Fired from His Job

An Arizona man was fired from his job after a viral video showed him being detained by police after he called for their help to report a chi

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The Ordinary Things Day Chapter 1 Part 5, The Bread Wonders Where Everyone Went

By Benjamin Groff II GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026 July 20, 2026 The Bread Box Wonders Where Everyone Went The chairs are still there. The Breadbox Is Looking Around…Suddenly No One Is Near… The table is still there. Even the old clock still keeps time. But the laughter… The laughter doesn’t visit much anymore. The bread box has watched generations pass through this kitchen. Little…

The Ordinary Things Day Chapter 1 Part 5, The Bread Wonders Where Everyone Went

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The Ordinary Things Day Four: The Bread Box Hears the Arguments

By Benjamin Groff II GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026 July 19, 2026 Day Four: The Bread Box Hears the Arguments The old bread box has heard thousands of conversations. Some were whispered. The old bread box isn’t pretending the past was perfect.It remembers hurt feelings.It remembers stubbornness.It remembers doors closing a little harder than necessary. Some were filled with laughter. Some…

The Ordinary Things Day Four: The Bread Box Hears the Arguments

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The Ordinary Things Day Chapter 1 Part 3, The Bread Box Doesn't Understand Waste

By Benjamin Groff II GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026 July 18, 2026 The Bread Box Doesn’t Understand Waste The old bread box noticed something different the third morning. There was only one loaf inside. Look around your home. Every ordinary thing has a story. Sometimes, it’s really about us. It had been there a few days. The crust was a little firmer now. The corners had begun to lose…

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The Ordinary Things: Chapter 1 Part 2 The Bread Box Remembers

By Benjamin Groff II GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026 July 17, 2026 The Bread Box Remembers Day One of the Ordinary Things Series I have spent most of my life in the same place. Look around your home. Every ordinary thing has a story. Sometimes, it’s really about us. No one ever argued over where I belonged. I simply sat on the kitchen counter, close enough that someone could reach inside…

The Ordinary Things: Chapter 1 Part 2 The Bread Box Remembers

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THE ORDINARY THINGS Chapter One: The Bread Box

By Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026 July 16, 2026 - Plainly Speaking Series - The Bread Box Every kitchen used to have one. The Bread Box It sat quietly on the counter. No flashing lights. No digital display. It never argued with anyone. It simply had one responsibility—to protect what would feed the family tomorrow. The bread box never baked the bread. It never claimed credit for…

THE ORDINARY THINGS Chapter One: The Bread Box

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Before You Buy the Promise Again - Stop. And, See What You Have...

By Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026 July 15, 2026 There was a time when buying a loaf of bread was about as controversial as life could become.   Promises vs. Results. Politics has become much the same way. Somewhere along the road we stopped asking one simple question:   Today, mentioning the price of that same loaf can start an argument. “Did the last promises work?” Every…

Before You Buy the Promise Again - Stop. And, See What You Have...

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Here is Something New, In An Old Way...

Welcome Back — Two Pages Worth Visiting Every Day 2026© Benjamin H. Groff II — Truth Endures / benandsteve.com July 13, 2026 Benjamin Groff II If you have been away from benandsteve.com for a while—or if you stop by every day—you may have noticed that a few familiar pages disappeared for a time. We are pleased to tell you that two of our most requested features have returned and are now being…

Here is Something New, In An Old Way...

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The Old General Store Is Still Open

© Benjamin H. Groff II — Truth Endures / benandsteve.com July 12, 2026 Why benandsteve.com will always be a place where stories, neighbors, and simple conversation matter more than bells and whistles. There was a time when nearly every town had a little Mom and Pop general store. It wasn’t the biggest building in town. It didn’t have flashing lights, endless aisles, or a parking lot the size of…

The Old General Store Is Still Open

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SPECIAL STATEMENT FROM BENANDSTEVE.COM

~ Throughout history there have always been those who stood firm, and those who surrendered their principles for the sake of comfort or fear. Those who exchanged their standards out of weakness and bowed to a tyranny are rarely remembered among the notable. History tends to reserve that honor for those who stood their ground when it mattered most. ~   Benjamin Groff

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Johnny Gage Has Answered His Last Call: Remembering Randolph Mantooth

© Benjamin H. Groff II — Truth Endures / benandsteve.com July 11, 2026 There are actors who entertain us for an hour each week. Then there are actors whose work quietly changes the course of people’s lives. Randolph Mantooth was one of those rare individuals. Randolph Mantooth, who starred as the goofy but gallant firefighter-paramedic Johnny Gage on Emergency!, the 1970s NBC action show that…

Johnny Gage Has Answered His Last Call: Remembering Randolph Mantooth

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This Election Year What WIll You Do? What Will You Do?

Groff Media ©2026 benandsteve.com Truth Endures July 10th, 2026 This is a timely subject, but I would encourage approaching it from the standpoint of preparing citizens for uncertainty rather than assuming that misconduct will occur. That makes your piece more credible and more useful to readers across the political spectrum. Instead of asking, “What do you plan to do, when this happens?”…

This Election Year What WIll You Do? What Will You Do?

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The Beast of Muddywater Lagoon

By Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026 July 9, 2026 The Spotting Of The Muddywater Lagoon Beast  The Beast of Muddywater Lagoon Nobody could agree on exactly what the lagoon was for. Officially, the city council referred to it as: “The Municipal Water Reclamation and Environmental Recovery Basin.” Everyone else called it: “The Sewer Pond.” It sat at the very edge of town where…

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J.W. Sims The Man at The Still: Part III Cannon Ball Joe

By Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026

July 8, 2026 Part III: Judge Cannon Remembers By the time Oklahoma County District Judge Joe Cannon took the bench, Prohibition had been dead for decades. “Cannon Ball Joe” The copper stills had mostly disappeared. The old bootleg roads had become paved highways. But the stories remained. Judge Cannon had spent his life around the law. He became…

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JW Sims: The Man At The Still - Part II

Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026

July 07, 2026 Part II: The Road to Stella This story is historical fiction inspired by a brief newspaper account of an actual arrest near Stella, Oklahoma, during Prohibition. When federal agents hauled J. W. Sims from the abandoned farm outside Stella, the newspapers made it sound simple. The Man at The Still – Part II, The Road To Stella Another…

JW Sims: The Man At The Still - Part II

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Federal Agents Raid Farm In Early 1900s - JW Sims Farm - Recover Still - Liquor! Not

By Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026

July 6, 2026 The Curious Case of J. W. Sims of Stella, Oklahoma J. W. Sims reminds us that history is not only about governors, oil barons, or outlaws whose names fill books. In the late 1920s, federal agents traced rumors to an abandoned farm near Stella, Oklahoma. The countryside was changing—oil derricks dotted the horizon, and automobiles…

Federal Agents Raid Farm In Early 1900s - JW Sims Farm - Recover Still - Liquor! Not

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Regardless Of The Place You Live You Have One - The Mayor Nobody Elected

By Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026 July 5, 2026 The Mayor Nobody Elected Every town has one. The Town Character. Every community has one of their own… Not a mayor. Not a banker. Not a preacher. Someone else. The person everybody knows. In small towns, medium-sized towns, and even in the neighborhoods of big cities, there is always that one soul who stands apart. They dress…

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