Categories
Animals Food God Holidays Music People

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon

Sky: Clear
Temperature: 67°F
Relative Humidity: 100%
Winds: Calm
Barometric Pressure: 29.94 Rising

My thoughts:

1.  This morning most of my walk occurred before sunrise. I walked from 7:17 AM to 7:42 AM. It was a basic 1.3-mile walk around my neighbourhood, but I did so counterclockwise rather than the normal clockwise. I like to take risks like that !  😉

2.  The Spring holidays are here. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, and that leads in to Holy Week including Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I can tell that the holidays are here. A lot of my neighbours are on vacation now. There are a lot of empty parking spaces all around.

3.  I passed an adorable little black cat at the southern tip of my walk this morning that could have passed for a ‘Baby Boots’. Boots was my home buddy for 12½ years from 1995 to 2007. ‘Baby Boots’ looked at me with loving eyes. He just knew that I am a friend of felines.

4.  What an amazing music set I listened to on my iPod shuffle during my 25-minute walk:
– “Breathe You In” – Thousand Foot Krutch
– “Glorious” – Ever Stays Red
– “Nuisance” – John Reuben With Matt Thiessen
– “New Skeptic” – The Fold
– “Strong Tower” – Kutless
– “Live Like We’re Alive” – Nevertheless
– “Awake” – Seventh Day Slumber

5.  After the walk I ventured over to the former sanctuary of Life Pointe Church to help stuff thousands of Easter Eggs with candy in preparation of this MASSIVE event that’s gonna rock Homestead on Good Friday. After that I hung out with most of the prayer group that meets at the original church building every Saturday morning. We all did Lunch together at Loly’s Restaurant in the Old Dixie Center just up the road. It was a great time of fun, food, and fellowship.

Categories
Animals Food Health Hoaxes Internet

Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame

Flesh-eating bananas ?

Bananas

If you receive an E-Mail stating that killer bananas from Costa Rica have been infected by flesh-eating bacteria and have decimated the local monkey population and are now on their way to the U.S. and could be at your local grocery store tomorrow – then don’t believe it. It’s not true. It’s all made up.

There are at least two (and probably more) variants of this particular E-Mail floating around in cyberspace. The Costa Rica banana scare (hoax) actually began way back at the start of 2000. Read all about it. Check out this timeline of ‘The Great Internet Banana Scare Of 2000’.

The Internet is the gift that just keeps on giving. Television has its endless reruns, and so does the Internet. What was a hoax way back in 2000 is still a hoax here in 2008. Bored people like to bring these hoaxes back from the dead, revive them, and pollute our bandwidth with them. They may look new to you (particularly if you’ve never seen them before), but common sense rules here. If it doesn’t sound true then it probably isn’t true, so don’t forward such diatribe. Hit that {DELETE} key !

Categories
Animals Food God Health Life People Weather

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon

Sky: Overcast, Windy, Drizzly
Temperature: 68°F
Relative Humidity: 92%
Winds: NW 8 MPH
Barometric Pressure: 30.03 Rising

My thoughts:

1.  At 7 AM this morning it was raining outside (just as I forecasted last night), so in lieu of walking I decided to go eating – at the Cracker Barrel. I enjoyed a MASSIVE breakfast consisting of 4 slices of french toast drowning in maple syrup, 2 scrambled eggs, 2 smoked sausages, hot coffee, and cold water. Now where did I put my Lipitor ?

2.  I got back home at 8 AM, and the rain had ended. I decided to walk the walk. It was the most unusual ‘Walk-A-Thon’ yet.

3.  My semi-basic 1.4-mile walk on a rare full stomach was done so during treacherous weather conditions – with thick dark clouds hanging low overhead, strong gusty northwesterly winds of up to 25 MPH, cold air pouring in, and even a little bit of leftover drizzle on this fresh side of the powerful cold front. I will dream of mornings like this from April through October when it’s hot and sticky outside with no wind.

4.  The ducks were out and about this morning, and they appeared to be lost, dazed, confused, and perhaps even drunk. They were stumbling about, wandering around with no sense of direction, and I saw one of them nearly tumble over in a state of mass chaos. They were wondering why the weather had suddenly changed on them. Some of them probably drank too much (rain).

5.  If my friends and acquaintances from my previous life (not capitalized) saw what I was doing today – walking, talking, laughing, and loving Life (capitalized) then they would think that I am not that same person that I was in my teens, 20s, and 30s. That plastic mannequin withered and rotted away. He died. I was reborn during the Summer Of 2006. I have a whole bunch of new friends now that are walking with me as we follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. These are my 40s, and everything I do I do it for God. AMEN !  

Categories
Animals Driving Health Holidays Shopping Travel

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon: Special On-Location Edition – Fort Myers, Estero, & Naples

I have returned home safely from my short 31-hour / 370-mile road-trip vacation over to Florida’s Gulf coast and back. Here are some thoughts:

1.  In addition to the 370 miles that I drove I think I walked at least 5 miles at various tourist attractions, events, and other places. It’s a good thing that my legs are my most powerful limbs. I got a great workout this weekend. It is now time to relax at home.

2.  I really enjoyed the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. I spent a good two hours there on Sunday afternoon walking around all throughout the compound. The coolest part of it all was the back portion of the actual homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford and the walking trail that runs right along the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. This is a place that I could return back to next year and enjoy all over again.

3.  I spent the night at a one-year-old Hampton Inn in Estero right across the Interstate from the Germain Arena. Of all of the Hampton Inns that I’ve stayed at over the past decade or so this was definitely the best of them all. It’s a no-brainer. I’ll be staying there again on my next visit to the area.

4.  This morning I walked all around the Miromar Outlets next to the Germain Arena. This is how an outdoor factory outlet mall is supposed to look like. If I lived near Estero then this would be where I (and my VISA card) would hang out on a regular basis.

5.  I walked a good mile-and-a-half at the Naples Zoo this afternoon. I’ve been there once before, and I’ll be back again on my next visit. I love that place !  It’s laid out beautifully. I love to walk, and I love hanging out with animals. The Naples Zoo offers me both opportunities. If I lived near Naples then I’d become a member of the zoo and visit over and over again.

I think it’s official now. The Orlando area is not where I wish to live when I retire in about 15 to 20 years. I think you’ll find me living peacefully and happily ever after over in the Fort Myers / Estero / Naples area sometime in the future.