Author: Chris M. Day

I'm 59 years old. I've been online for 33 years - starting with my own dial-up bulletin board system in 1993 - and continuing with AOL, my own dot.com web site, Myspace, WordPress, Twitter / X, Flickr, and Facebook.

Categories
Driving Food Money Television

Monday Night Countdown

I’ve had the same checking account ever since the 2ND day that I’ve lived here in America’s Riviera – way back in December of 1987. Later this year I’ll write Check # 3,000. I may throw a ‘checkwarming’ party to celebrate the momentous occasion. 😀

This week on your ‘Monday Night Countdown’ I’ve got the TOP 5 most intriguing checks that I wrote exactly 20 years ago this month in March of 1989.

CHECK it out in chronological order:

– Check # 376 – 07 March 1989 – $52.20 – VISA
I didn’t make a lot of money back then. A $52.20 VISA bill makes me LOL today !

– Check # 377 – 07 March 1989 – $37.47 – International Cable
I actually had cable TV in my dorm room at the air base. We had to pay for it ourselves. I had Showtime as a premium channel back then. I enjoyed watching “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” every week.

– Check # 379 – 16 March 1989 – $9.50 – Little Caesar’s Pizza
Once upon a time just outside of the north (hospital) gate of the old air base there lived Little Caesar’s Pizza. They delivered constantly to the dorms on base from lunchtime clear through late at night. My old checkbook registers from back then are totally littered with evidence of Little Caesar’s Pizza meals. PIZZA !  PIZZA !

– Check # 381 – 22 March 1989 – $97.12 – Southern Bell
YES – I had my own telephone in my dorm room, and I had to pay for my own service. I still have that original telephone today, but I don’t use it anymore. The sound quality is shot on it. That was incidentally a payment for two months of service because apparently the check that I had sent for the previous month’s bill was lost in the mail. (I keep meticulous records.)

– Check # 382 – 22 March 1989 – $326.40 – Allstate Indemnity Co.
As a 21-year-old ‘kid’ I paid over $1,100 for 6 months of automobile insurance back in 1989. I pay less than half that amount today in 2009. I’m a mature driver today. The fact of the matter is that I was back then as well.

Categories
Humor Money Politics

Sunday Night Funnies

Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House. One is from Chicago, another is from Tennessee, and the third is from Minnesota.

All three go with a White House official to examine the fence.

The Minnesota contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. “Well,” he says, “I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me.”

The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, “I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me.”

The Chicago contractor doesn’t measure or figure, but leans over to the White House official and whispers, “$2,700.”

The official, incredulous, says, “You didn’t even measure like the other guys!  How did you come up with such a high figure?”

The Chicago contractor whispers back, “$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire the guy #2 from Tennessee to fix the fence.”

“Done!” replies the government official.

And that, my friends, is how the new stimulus plan will work.

Categories
God

Life Pointe Church Sunday Morning Tossed Salad

Here are my takeaways in 15 words or less:

– Daylight Saving Time is here, and most of our attendance was still asleep.
– Among The Thirsty was our house band this morning.
– They seriously rocked my face off !
– They have a big radio single out called “One Sound”.
– It’s from their big album called “Wonder”.
– They did a tremendous job leading us as we all sang to God.
– During the first service Communications Director Kelly D. hosted.
– She’s quickly developing into an efficient leader at Life Pointe Church.
– Have you seen her cool new blog ?  It’s at kellydowning.com.
– Kelly D. is on my car radio every morning as I drive to work.
– I get to listen to her for about 15 minutes every morning.
– She’s my favourite radio deejay !
– Mark S. did the teaching for the first time ever.
– It was an awesome effort.
– He taught us all about forgiveness.
– Forgiven people forgive people.
– You’re not justifying their actions when you forgive someone.
– You should always remember how much you have been forgiven.
– You should reflect on who you need to forgive.
– You should release the other person(s) from your grudges.
– You should forgive instantly, completely, freely, and repeatedly.
– There should be no ‘ifs’ and no limits to your forgiveness.
– Jesus placed no ‘ifs’ and no limits so that you could be forgiven.
– It’s all about God’s purpose in the forgiveness process.
– I was rescued and saved by God over 30 months ago.
– Before this journey started I didn’t know how to forgive people.
– I carried grudges deep down inside for years and even decades.
– I even denied the mere existence of some of these grudges.
– How could I forgive someone if they never did anything bad to me ?
– But they did – and I have.
– This morning’s teaching was based on 17 verses from the Good News:
  – Matthew 18:22
  – Colossians 2:13-14
  – Psalm 103:12
  – 1 John 1:9
  – Matthew 5:25-26
  – Psalm 139:3-4
  – Matthew 18:32-35
  – Romans 12:18-19
  –  2 Corinthians 3:17
  – Colossians 3:13

Be sure to catch my buddy Phil’s take on this morning’s events at Life Pointe Church. This morning he was dressed up in his ‘Sunday finest’, and that’s ironic considering he wrote this ‘Major Bloggie Award Winner’ earlier in the week !

Categories
History Music Politics

Saturday Night Retro

Exactly 18 years ago this weekend I returned home from the Saudi Arabian sands in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Here’s a timeline:

Sat. Mar. 09 1991 0326L – Departed Al Kharj AB Saudi Arabia.
Sat. Mar. 09 1991 0833L – Arrived Torrejon AB Spain.
Sat. Mar. 09 1991 1357L – Departed Torrejon AB Spain.
Sat. Mar. 09 1991 1656L – Arrived Dover AFB Delaware.
(Spent the night at a hotel in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.)

Sun. Mar. 10 1991 0756L – Departed Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
Sun. Mar. 10 1991 1001L – Arrived Miami Florida.

3 days later I drove nearly 1,100 miles from Homestead AFB to Northern Virginia to spend the rest of the month of March 1991 with my family. (The USAF gave us returning veterans that free time off following the war to spend with our families.)

And now for your ‘Saturday Night Retro’ review I present to you “Voices That Care”. Spot the stars from 1991. They cared for us back then. Unfortunately it’s a different world today.