“… A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world, and no one will keep that light from shining.
Today our nation saw evil — the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America — with the daring of our rescue workers — with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could …”
– President George W. Bush, Address To The Nation, September 11TH 2001 –
1. Hola mis amigos. Hoy es el Cinco de Mayo. Go forth and enjoy some delicious Mexican food tonight to celebrate this muy especial day that marks the grande victory of the Mexican army over the French army in the Battle Of Puebla in 1862. ¡ VIVA MEXICO !
2. In just about 50 hours I’ll be arriving at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to begin a long weekend vacation con mi familia. I’m planning to continue the ‘2009 Economic Stimulus Tour’ (of tourist attractions) this weekend with a visit to the Dallas Zoo. It’s the largest zoological experience in Texas !
3. I never got to go to the zoo when I was a little kid, and I actually had an Uncle that worked at one (as Security). That’s right – I was totally deprived of the zoo experience as a kid. Since I’ve pretty much outgrown the traditional amusement parks (and wild rides make me dizzy) I’ve gone back to basics by visiting the animals as much as I can. I love the animals ! The’re just like you and me !
4. Speaking of amusement parks with wild rides – and animals – me and a buddy may visit Sea World up in Orlando during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. We may also visit nearby Gatorland. I haven’t been there since they rebuilt the place following the devastating fire of November 06TH 2006.
5. Are you ready for the upcoming rainy season aqui en America’s Riviera ? It starts within the next couple of weeks, and based on my analysis and research I’m forecasting an extra wet rainy season this year with southerly, southwesterly, and westerly wind flow the norm. That means that all of those strong thunderstorms that develop over the Everglades should drift eastward over us rather than westward towards Naples. I’m also forecasting a below normal hurricane season with most storms staying away from us due to our westerly wind flow and the long-awaited reemergence of our good friend ‘El Niño’. We’ll see how this forecast works out for all of us.
Take good care of yourselves my friends. THANKS for reading what’s on my mind.
It’s time for the longest-running occasional series here on this blog – going strong for nearly 22 months (since the first edition was published on July 09TH 2007 – 95 weeks ago).
‘Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you.’
This week on the ‘Countdown’ I’ve got the TOP 5 South Florida ‘Traffic & Weather Together’ lessons learned over the past 21½ years:
5. ‘Partly Sunny’, ‘Partly Cloudy’, ‘Mostly Sunny’, ‘Mostly Cloudy’, and ‘Fair’ are all distinctly different, and if you have perhaps an hour of spare time over Dinner I can explain all of this to you. Just promise that you won’t fall asleep on me.
4. Roughly 8 out of every 10 drivers on the road will blow through stop signs and red lights, and just sit there for at least 5 seconds after the light turns green. The protected green arrow light means absolutely nothing to the same 8 motorists.
3. Just because there’s a flash flood with streets under a foot of water at home does not mean that a single drop of rain has fallen at work. Also if it’s pouring down rain but the sky nearby is sunny and clear then that’s pretty much normal.
2. ALL traffic laws do not apply to Miami-Dade County school buses. They are allowed to drive as fast as they wish, and they may tailgate you at their discretion. They also have the right-of-way no matter what, so if they turn right in front of you then simply slam your brakes on to avoid dying in a firey collision and inferno.
1. Every new hurricane season is going to be the worst one ever seen and recorded since the existence of mankind, but you should never ever panic. Just be warned that South Florida may be completely destroyed by every single tropical wave that forms off the west coast of Africa.
This Street Sign Would Not Work Here In America's Riviera
I hope that you enjoyed that. Be sure to check out my ‘Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’ tomorrow night – same blog time – same blog station. Until then – keep it real homies.
CountUp 