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The Major’s Walk-A-Thon

Time: 1:59 PM – 2:32 PM
Sky: Sunny & Clear
Temperature: 62°F
Dewpoint: 41°F
Relative Humidity: 46%
Winds: S 13 MPH
Barometric Pressure: 30.11 Falling

Here are my walking thoughts in 15 words or less:

– This past Friday afternoon I went on a refreshing 1.8-mile walk.
– That puts me at 8.3 miles towards my goal of a 26.2-mile marathon.
– I really needed this walk because I’m eating way too much food.
– My family does not follow the ‘one MASSIVE meal per day’ plan.
– My brother and his dog Buddy trailed me for most of the walk.
– They didn’t walk the entire way because Buddy is an old dog.
– Buddy was exhausted after the first 10 minutes.
– I think my brother was exhausted too, but he would deny it.
– My brother lives in a rather large enclosed neighbourhood.
– I could get lost in the grid of streets here, so I walk with a GPS.
– The sky was crystal clear and deep dark blue all day long on Friday.
– Ever since then it’s been rather cloudy and dreary with just peaks of sun.
– At least it’s been warm – nearly record-breaking warm !
– I plan to squeeze in one more walk before the ‘Arctic Blast’ arrives.
– On Thanksgiving Day temperatures may struggle to reach the low-40s.
– Wind chills will be near freezing all day long.
– Guess who plans to stay inside all day long ?
– On Friday morning it will be in the mid-20s outside !
– Guess who is looking forward to returning to the South Florida heat ?
– If I walk again then I’ll post another edition of this blog series (mid-week).
– If not then I’ll blog again next Saturday night for an all-new ‘Retro’.
– Have a festive Thanksgiving holiday my friends !
– Enjoy some quality time with friends, family, and food.
– These walks are dedicated to the memory of my Dad – William Lesley Day.

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Animals Blogging Food History Humor People Travel

The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WELCOME to the historic 20TH edition of my ‘Weekend Blast-Off’ – sponsoured by the state of Texas. Everything’s BIGGER in Texas !

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
Yesterday afternoon I flew the friendly skies of 30,000 feet above sea level via American Airlines from MIA to DFW. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to get on the airplane early (as in Group 1) since (for whatever reason) I always seem to be part of the unfortunate last Group to board. I’ve learned that the various Group numbers have absolutely nothing to do with where you are seated within the aircraft. When I checked in at MIA I had the chance to pay an extra $9 to be upgraded to Group 1. I mulled it over for a short little while, and then I decided to do it. That $9 upgrade essentially got me on the airplane and in my assigned seat a good 10 minutes earlier than I would have without the upgrade. Was $9 worth 10 minutes ?  I think so. One of the most annoying things for me (besides the inevitable sick person behind me that coughs and sneezes all throughout the flight) is the long wait to get to my assigned seat on the airplane as 75% to 90% of the rest of the passengers watch on from their assigned seat. I always think to myself, ‘Must be nice to be sitting down as I wait standing in this aisle as people try to squeeze their oversized suitcases into the limited-space overhead compartments.’ There are certain things that I won’t pay for inflight. I won’t pay $5 for a couple of cookies or a ‘snack pack’. I won’t pay $90 for an upgrade to First Class. Well maybe I’d think about it, but is it really worth an extra $90 for some snacks, unlimited drinks, and a few extra inches of elbow room ?  I probably will pay the extra $9 for the upgrade to Group 1 in the future just to avoid the long line that stretches from the coach section of the airplane clear back into the terminal waiting area. Pet Peeve Eliminated.

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
My final pit stop before leaving Homestead on Thursday morning was at the Longhorn Steakhouse – my Lunch home away from home. My favourite greeter was there. My favourite waittress was there. My favourite table was there. My usual meal was there, but this time I also enjoyed a complimentary salad to go along with it. It was surprisingly delicious with blue cheese dressing on it. It was one of the better salads that I’ve enjoyed in quite some time.

THE FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGE OF THE WEEK CLUB:
– People rise to your expectations.
– Prosperity belongs to those who can learn new things the fastest.

BROTHER & NIECE PHOTO OPP. OF THE MONTH CLUB:
Here’s my brother and 7-month-old niece at our Mom’s house in Fairview TX. See if you can spot the plumber in the background fixing the kitchen sink.


THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
TOMORROW on my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I’m flashing back over 30 years ago back to the late-1970s. Then on Sunday morning it’s a fresh new Texas edition of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’. TONIGHT for Dinner The Day Family is eating out – Italian-style – at a joint called Patrizio. We’re goin’ grocery shopping on Saturday morning, and we’ll be selecting our Butterball Turkey. Don’t forget that you can follow me on Twitter online anytime @majorhitwaves. Have a wonderful weekend my friends. Make it special. Make it memorable.

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Animals Blogging Food History Holidays Movies People Shopping Travel

The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

LET’S KICK IT with another ‘Weekend Blast-Off’ here on my big bad blog !

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
This afternoon I kicked-off my weekend at Southland Mall. I saw “Unstoppable” at the Regal Cinemas. This is its first day at the box office. Due to a whole bunch of reasons I don’t go the movie theatres nowadays as often as I used to, so seeing a movie on its very first day of release is definitely rare for me. This is only the 7TH movie that I’ve seen in 2010. At this point in 2009 I had seen 12 movies (the same in 2008). I wish Hollywood made more movies like “Unstoppable”. This was a suspenseful ‘edge-of-my-seat’ action-packed thriller from start to finish. My eyes were wide open during the course of the movie, and I never once looked down at my watch in boredom. I was rooting and cheering on the heroes to come through, and I had moist eyes at the end of it all. I was also exhausted at the end of it all. It was as if I was on the runaway train myself. It was truly a total 95-minute adrenaline rush !

There was only one thing to do after all of that intense action – EAT !

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
… And so I did just that – right there at the mall at the Buffalo Wild Wings. I discovered this jumpin’ joint up on International Drive In Orlando about 5 or so years ago when I used to hang out up there on a regular basis. I was so happy when they opened up a location much closer to home. If they were located in Homestead then I’d be there every week enjoying my usual meal of 12 traditional wings spun in Honey BBQ sauce, a regular order of potato wedges, celery sticks with blue cheese dressing, and Coca Cola Classic. Yeah !  Come On !

BUDDY DAY PHOTO OPPORTUNITY OF THE MONTH CLUB:
Buddy Roosevelt Day is my brother‘s dog. He bought him from a pet store in Orange Park Florida right around ‘9-11’ in 2001. He went to the pet store, saw Buddy, took an instant liking to him, and then walked away from him. He got in his car, and he drove away from the store. After getting a couple of miles away he made a u-turn and returned back to the store. He bought and adopted Buddy right then and there. Today Buddy is about 9½-years-old. I refer to him as ‘Old Man Buddy’. This picture was taken this past Halloween.

Buddy - The Day Family Canine

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
At this time next Friday night I’ll be settled in at my brother’s and sister’s-in-law home sweet home in Allen Texas, as we enjoy 8 days and 8 nights together as a family celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas combined (our annual feasting and gift-giving tradition). I’m looking forward to it. This will be my first visit to Texas since the 4TH Of July holiday weekend. I left there just 13 days before my Dad passed on. I’ll be tweeting all throughout my upcoming holiday vacation, so you can always follow me to see what I’m up to out west. I’ll also be blogging next weekend with an all-new ‘Blast-Off’ on Friday and ‘Retro’ on Saturday. Tomorrow night on the 107TH edition of my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I’m flashing back 6 years ago to 2004. Until we meet again my friends have yourself a safe, productive, and fun November weekend. Make it memorable.

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Animals Astronomy Blogging Driving Food History Humor Life Music Travel Weather

The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
November has arrived. Winter has arrived here in South Florida. The cool and dry weather is finally here. It will actually be a cold Saturday with wind chills starting out near 40°F at sunrise. We’ll be stuck in the 60s all day long with wind chills in the 50s at times. This brief cold snap will stick around until about 12 noon on Monday, and then a rapid warm-up begins. 80°F temperatures return on Tuesday afternoon. This is also the weekend in which we ‘fall back’ an hour, as we say ‘good-bye’, ‘so long’, ‘adios’, and ‘get out of here’ to Daylight Saving Time. It’s done and over with at 2 AM on Sunday morning as we return to Standard Time. That’s my favourite time of the year – the real time zone. Everything just seems right when the Sun rises before 7 AM and sets before 6 PM. That’s just the way it’s supposed to be. I wish we stayed on Standard Time all year long. In a perfect world Daylight Saving Time would be abolished !

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
This past Wednesday I enjoyed Lunch at Red Lobster, and it was all over after that. I was cheerfully greeted at the front door by my regular greeter, and I was enthusiastically served at my regular table by my regular waitress. It’s like a home away from home for me. I belong. The food was hot and delicious as usual. I enjoyed a Caesar salad, the Crunch-Fried Fish, the Fried Bay Scallops, and a couple of melt-in-my-mouth Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I’ll be back for more sometime next week !

PUMPKIN DAY PHOTO OPPORTUNITY OF THE MONTH CLUB:
This picture was taken this afternoon by my brother in Fairview Texas.

Pumpkin - The Day Family Feline

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
25 years ago this weekend I flew from Northern Virginia to London England to begin 2 years of my young life in a foreign country. Tomorrow on my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I’ll look back at that first month of living in the U.K., and I’ll feature the music video of one of my favourite rock songs of that month (and year). During the day tomorrow (Saturday) I’ll be out and about on Miami Beach enjoying the South Florida International Auto Show. I’m also planning to spend some quality time with the animals over at Jungle Island. It’s gonna be a great weekend here in South Florida to take advantage of the great outdoors, so let’s get to it. Be safe. Be smart. Love all.