Happy Thursday night. A new weekend has arrived, and I’m looking forward to it. Tomorrow (Friday) night I’ll go #Retro with my Top 5 hits from exactly 20 years ago on Sunday July 12TH 1998. Then on Sunday I’ll share Scripture with you, and finally on Monday it’s my brand new Top 10 personal hit music chart.
But as for tonight it’s something simple – just a goofy photo of me and a bear – from inside a souvenir store on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls Ontario Canada.
Today is May 17TH, and this has been a sad day for me for the past 11 years. I’m remembering my little buddy Boots today. He was my best feline friend for 12½ years from New Years Day 1995 (when I adopted him) to May 17TH 2007.
He died on this morning 11 years ago when I had him put to sleep. He was suffering from various diseases during his later years, and he was in agonizing pain at the very end. His doctor said that it was my final good deed for him, and that he probably lived much longer than he should have – due to the love that I provided to him over the years.
Boots was the smartest cat I’ve ever lived with. He waited for me at the front windowsill every afternoon as I returned home from work, and he greeted me at the front door with an endless barrage of meows, purrs, rubs, and bumps. He was confused yet ecstatic when I returned home from work early, and he was upset yet relieved when I was late. He used the sun as his clock. He stared at me often as if he was watching over me. He “protected” me by ensuring that geckos were slammed off the patio screen or pulverized if they made it inside. He slept at the base of my bed as I slept at night. I never had to look for him because he was always near me. He acted more like a dog than a cat. When I talked to him – he responded.
He hated leaving his comfortable home and going to the kennel, but on that final morning in May of 2007 when I placed him in his carrying case it was as if he was thanking me for all of the love and the life he was able to live with me. He was ready for the end. I’ll never forget my little buddy Boots.
Time: 6:45 AM – 7:34 AM
Sky: Clear
Temperature: 60°F
Dewpoint: 55°F
Relative Humidity: 85%
Winds: Calm
Barometric Pressure: 30.18 Rising
On this cool and crisp 60°F Saturday morning in the middle of March of 2011 I embarked in the dark and I emerged in the light. I went on my first organized morning walk around my neighbourhood since the second day of January (11 weeks ago). It ultimately became my longest walk ever recorded over the past 39 months of these seasonal walks – 49.1 minutes / 2.6 miles.
It was a very peaceful and quiet walk at the dawn of a new day. Along the way of this twilight journey there was the dude that was walking his two cute little dogs, the stray dark brown feline that was minding his own bid-niz, the duck family (momma, poppa, sista, brotha), the stray large canine wandering around alone, and the mysterious drunk or drugged driver in the old beat-up white car that nearly ran me over – twice. Other than that it was just God and I have a relevant conversation with each other as I prayed to Him about everything that was on my mind at the time. He listened to me. I listened to Him. I trust. I believe.
Saturday March 05TH 2011
Volume 3 / Number 16 / Edition 113
20 years ago this upcoming week I went on a roughly 10,000-mile trek as I returned home stateside from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
The trek began bright and early at 0326 local time on Saturday March 09TH 1991 at Al Kharj AB Saudi Arabia. After a 7-hour and 7-minute flight westbound we touched down at Torrejon AB Spain (near Madrid). The layover was unexpectedly long – nearly 5½-hours. After that it was a 9-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean and into Dover AFB Delaware. After a long 21½-hour day of travel I was finally back in the U.S.A. for the first time in over 2 months. After a restful night at a nice hotel in Philadelphia we flew back to Miami and then returned to Homestead AFB on the morning of Sunday March 10TH 1991. We pretty much snuck onto the base with absolutely no fanfare whatsoever. Future Gulf War returnees would be treated to celebrations and parades, but my group received nothing – aside from the rest of the month off in rest and recuperation to do whatever we felt like doing !
I felt like returning to my home-of-record up in the Washington D.C. area to spend a couple of weeks with my Dad, Mom, Brother, and two cats – and so I did. 3 days after returning to Homestead AFB from Saudi Arabia I drove 1,096 miles over 17 hours (spanning 2 days) up I-95 and back to my real home at the time. It was perhaps the greatest homecoming to my parent’s home that I’ve ever experienced in my entire lifetime – a Gulf War Veteran returning home.
People sometimes ask me what I did in the war. I actually had 2 separate jobs while serving in the desert. For 23 days I built fuel tanks. I wasn’t good at it. The 11 that I worked with thought that I was pretty much awful at it. I agreed. We parted ways. I eventually found my mad skills building BOMBS ! That’s what I did for 24 days. I loved it. I was also pretty good at it. I quickly realized that bombs were so much easier to make than fuel tanks. Who knew ?
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