Category: Animals

Categories
Animals God Health Life

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon

Sky: Mostly Cloudy
Temperature: 67°F
Relative Humidity: 94%
Winds: Calm
Barometric Pressure: 30.22 Rising

My thoughts:

1.  It was back to basics this morning (after last Saturday morning’s walk around Monkey Jungle) – my 25-minute / 1.3-mile walk clockwise around the perimeter of my neighbourhood.

2.  As I walked the beat I thought about the symbolic walk that I have taken to get to this glorious point in my Life. A new believer that I met last night at my Life Group fellowship asked me why did I turn to God when I did. I told her quite bluntly that I was tired of sitting at home and being a mannequin. I wanted something more as I entered my 40s. I’ll be sharing more with her if she continues on with our Life Group through the next 3 months. For the first time in my Life I am truly happy. It is no longer fake happiness. It is genuine. I now realize that although I may be alone at times I will never ever be lonely again. He is always with me.

3.  After everyone else went home I lingered around at J.T. and Anne’s home last night for another two hours. I had a great time sharing just a small portion of my unhappy past life with the two of them. The me of yesteryear would have never even considered the thought of sharing my Life with anyone else. God is truly amazing. He has given me a new Life. One of my favourite verses in the Bible is 1 Peter 1:23 (NLT): ‘For you have been born again, but not to a Life that will quickly end. Your new Life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.’

4.  Back to the physical walk of this morning and two dogs on a leash did not appreciate my presence as I walked by them. That’s fine. I didn’t care too much for them either. The ducks and the chickens were out and about in abundance this morning. They stayed away from me. I stayed away from them. One time I was chased by an angry duck. I’m sort of scared of them now. I used to have nightmares about them. ‘When Good Ducks Go Bad’ – next on FOX !

5.  I may have little to no upper-body strength but I am truly proud of my strong legs. If I were a professional athlete (in another life) then I could possibly be a field goal kicker on a football team – or maybe a soccer player. How about a kickboxer ?  Nah I’m going too far now. I’ll just leave it at that.

Categories
Animals

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon: Special On-Location Edition – Monkey Jungle

TODAY I visited Monkey Jungle for the first time in nearly two years. I spent a good 2½-hours there walking around amongst the wildlife.

My thoughts:

1.  Monkeys are just like humans. They love to eat. They love to beg for food. They love to play. They love to jump around and have some fun. They tend to litter all over the place. They have a rank structure. They have political alliances. They have cliques. They have their bullies (fighters). They have their wimps (lovers). Monkeys are just like you and me.

2.  Maybe I should have visited the place last Saturday during the peak of my bad cold. That way I wouldn’t have smelled some of their scents. Then again perhaps their scents would have cleared up my nostrils and sinuses. Of course to truly appreciate the monkeys you’ve gotta smell them.

3.  When the bell rang the monkeys knew that it was time to head for the swimming pool for some delicious treats. After all there was a 10:00 show to put on. Monkeys will reach in to the water to pick-up the floating fruits, but if you throw in a hard-boiled egg the nearest monkey will dive in to the pool, go under the surface, retrieve the egg, come back over to land, and proceed to enjoy the egg. I wonder if they like deviled eggs ?

4.  Mei the Orangutan was sleeping in the hot South Florida sun and didn’t want to be bothered despite the large crowd of humans that were awaiting her to make a grande appearance before us. We made enough noise, and she finally woke up and came to. She knew what to do – climb up to her position. She knew what was waiting for her if she did that. She got her zesty orange. She adored it.

5.  38-year-old ‘King’ – the Western Lowland Gorilla – was nowhere to be found – until his buddy (trainer) found him and coaxed him over to make an appearance for the 11:00 show. It took him awhile to get on over to us, but once he did it was surely worth the wait. After walking like a human dude (one of his favourite tricks) he got his treat – a delectable banana. He peeled it like a human, ate it like a human, and then tossed the peel aside like a human. He then got what he was really looking for – a bag lunch – including the bag itself – chock-full of delicious items fit for immediate consumption. It was an instant picnic fit for the ‘King’.

Categories
Animals Food Health Shopping

The Fortune Cookie Message Of The Week Club

Chicken & Broccoli With Pork Fried Rice & Won Ton Soup – It’s What Was For Lunch !

‘Now is the time to try something new.’

I tried something new last Friday. I took the day off from work, dug deep into my ‘Things-To-Do’ list, spent most of the day in Cutler Bay, helped out the local economy there, and proceeded to acquire a bad cold while doing so. Had I gone to work instead last Friday I would not have gotten a cold, but then again I wouldn’t have been introduced to my new good buddy Mr. Zicam. It’s the wonder drug !

I’ll try something new this upcoming Saturday morning (weather-permitting). Monkey Jungle here I come !

Categories
Animals Food Holidays Shopping

My 111-Hour Holiday Weekend

It’s the 4TH full day of my long holiday weekend, and this morning I woke up shortly after 5 AM nice and refreshed. It’s my usual wake-up time for a regular weekday morning, and even though today is a Federal holiday I decided to get back into the groove of waking up at the time that I need to wake up for the remainder of this work week.

I went to Publix – where shopping is a pleasure – shortly after they opened up for business at 7 AM. Over the next half-hour I proceeded to swoop-up what turned out to be over $73 in quality groceries. In a fact that may make my dear friends Venus and Kristine cringe that included over $35 in frozen and microwavable foods. Cooking ?  What’s that ?  😉

GOOD SERVICE ALERT:  For the first time ever my groceries were actually taken out to my car for me. This was the rule for years – not the exception – at the original Publix at the Homestead Towne Square Shopping Center on Useless-One, but for the other two newer Publix locations (at Oasis and at Waterstone) this ‘grocery take-out’ service pretty much did not exist. I was rather surprised when it occurred this morning.

After Publix I went to McDonald’s armed with a coupon – a free Egg McMuffin with the purchase of one. Of course using a coupon at McDonald’s threw the entire store into a mass state of chaotic confusion. All I heard was the word ‘PROMO !’ yelled over and over again, and nobody knew how to deal with such a crisis of mass proportions. Eventually a manager came to the rescue and sorted it all out. Am I the only one in Homestead who has used a coupon at that particular McDonald’s ?  Let’s get it together over there !  I’m coming back later this week with another coupon for $1 off a flavoured iced coffee !

I’m back at home now. I had actually planned to do a very special edition of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’ LIVE and on-location from Monkey Jungle; however, the weather is not cooperating, and the last place that I wish to be during the recovery stages of my cold is in the middle of a chilly windswept downpour downwind from hundreds of wet monkeys !  Maybe I’ll check out the monkeys this upcoming Saturday morning. Stay tuned.