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The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

Happy Columbus Day Weekend !  Let’s BLAST-OFF this weekend !

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
Well the cooler temperatures and the lower humidity arrived with a vengeance just as soon as October arrived a week ago, and it’s been no fluke. The South Florida dry season has officially begun – a few weeks earlier than normal. Lately we’ve been struggling to get in to the 80s in the afternoons, and we’re dropping well into the 60s early in the mornings with wind chills into the 50s at times. It’s our coolest weather in about 6 months, and it feels so good !  I must get out and enjoy this scrumptious Chamber Of Commerce weather. Last weekend I quietly kicked-off my ‘Cultural, Historical, & Economical Stimulus Tour’ for the Winter of 2011 with visits to Homestead Bayfront Park and Biscayne National Park. This weekend my fun-in-the-sun plans include the upper Florida Keys and Monkey Jungle. Between now and next April I’ll also plan to spend some quality time at Zoo Miami, Jungle Island, Miami Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Stuart, Naples, Fort Myers, Sanibel Island, Jacksonville, Panama City Beach, much of the NW Florida panhandle, Dallas Texas, The Bahamas, The U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Have fun will travel !

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Chili’s – For the 2ND time in 6 weeks the Quesadilla Explosion Salad wins the coveted award. If you’ve got a hearty appetitite for nutritious vegetable goodness then check out this masterpiece. It’s got grilled chicken with cheese, corn relish, cilantro, tortilla strips, and citrus-balsamic dressing – served with cheese quesadillas. I dig.

5 CHRISTIAN TRACKS THAT ROCK MY FACE OFF:
– Break Down – A Rotterdam November
– Dear X, You Don’t Own Me – Disciple
– Driving Nails – Demon Hunter
– Therapy – Relient K
– You Know (Sixteen) – Please Promise
– – – – –
CALL-FM ROCKS !

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:
Some day – maybe 5 or 10 or 15 years from now – I may be a cat owner again. It’s because of these lovable shenanigans from my feline friends:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
Tomorrow night on my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I’m flashing back 23½ years ago to the Spring of 1987 – back when I was a young resident of the British Isles. I’ll take a glimpse at what I was doing back then during my final memorable months as a teenager. After that I’m bring blogging back to Sundays !  That’s right – it’s the 4TH season premiere of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’. This year I’ve set a reasonable goal to walk a marathon – not all at once – but combined between now and April. I’m looking to walk 26.2 miles above and beyond my normal everyday walking. That’s an average of about 3.75 miles per month from October to April. In the fine tradition that is ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’ I’ll blog about my walking adventures, and I’ll track my progress towards the goal. Don’t forget that you can follow me on Twitter in-between all of the weekend blog posts. Have yourself a safe and fun holiday weekend my friends.

Categories
Animals Blogging Food Health Holidays

The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
It’s the long Labour Day holiday weekend here in the U.S.A. It’s the end of the Summer, and it’s back to school and back to work for millions of Americans. Of course many of you have already gone back to school, and most of us have been working all Summer long. With Labour Day Weekend here all of the rest of the end-of-year holidays are not too far behind. I’m talking Columbus Day, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. That’s lots of special days and long holiday weekends to celebrate and enjoy with loved ones. Have lots of fun in whatever you do, but always be as safe as possible. Drive safely. Barbeque safely. Take your time. Slow down. Relax.

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
My life and diet radically changed for the better several years ago. As a result I’m in the best physical and mental condition of my entire lifetime. I’m stronger and healthier today than I ever was back during my teens, 20s, and 30s. It’s all part of my fantastic journey. It’s an effect of the cause. One element of my diet that I was doing pretty good at for awhile, but then I sort of got away from it is eating salads. I’m talking BIG salads – BIG nutritious salads with a wide variety of meats and fruits and vegetables and plenty of fiber. Salads can be delicious, and I really need to get back to that good eating habit at least once a week. This past week I did just – at Chili’s. I have a rejuvenated interest in this jumpin’ joint. I enjoyed the Quesadilla Explosion Salad. Let me tell you that this salad was certainly an exciting explosion of exotic tastes. It was grilled chicken with cheese, corn relish, cilantro, tortilla strips, and citrus-balsamic dressing – served with cheese quesadillas. I dig.

THE FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGE OF THE WEEK CLUB:
– Find the road to happiness by helping others.

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:
… More like those lovable cats !

BLATANT PROMOTION:
TOMORROW on the blog it’s the 98TH edition of my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ as I wrap-up ‘The Awesome ’80s In August International Dance Party’ with one last dance jam from early on in 1990. It would be the final song ever from a European act that went from hero to zero literally overnight. I’m taking next weekend off from the blog, but then I’ll be back with fresh new editions of the ‘Blast-Off’ and the ‘Retro’ on the 17TH and 18TH of September. Have a great holiday weekend my friends. Make it special. Make it memorable.

COMING SOON:
‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’ RETURNS !

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Animals Blogging Food Health History People Shopping Television

The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
So last Monday morning I ventured up to The Falls for my annual eye exam. My eye doctor did an excellent job. She was nice and friendly and an expert in her field. She explained everything to me as it occurred, and I felt smarter about my eyes after it was all done and over with. As it turns out my lifetime of myopia (blurred vision far away) continues to show marked improvement, yet my newfound hyperopia (blurred vision up close) continues to slowly deteriorate. That’s allegedly normal for a dude in his mid-40s. I’m like what … ever. I ended up purchasing brand new glasses to reflect my updated vision. They look exactly like my current glasses. 😯

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Shiver’s BBQ – BBQ Beef Brisket, French Fries, Collard Greens, Bread, Sweet Iced Tea. Incidentally this jumpin’ joint – in bid-ness in Naranja Lakes for the past 60 years – serves the most delicious collard greens I’ve ever tasted. They are hot. They are juicy. They are mouth-watering. You must try them out if you likey. Me likey !

RANDOM “MATCH GAME” STAR OF THE WEEK:
Fannie _____ – I thought this lady was much older than the 65-years-old that she actually is today. She seemed older back when she was a frequent contestant on the old “Match Game”. That was 35 years ago – back when Fannie Flagg (not her real name) was barely 30. Of course everyone in the world seemed old to me since I was only 8 !  The BIG question remains – Why was I watching “Match Game ’75” as an 8-year-old ?

TAYLOR LESLEY DAY MEASUREMENTS OF THE MONTH CLUB:

Taylor Lesley Day

My gorgeous niece turns 4-months-old tonight, and she weighs in at a healthy 14 pounds 3.6 ounces. She’s also just a tad above two feet tall. Well she’s not standing yet, so it’s really two feet in length. 

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
It’s another full weekend of blogging (as usual). I’ll re-live 1989 on my 96TH weekly edition of the ‘Saturday Night Retro’. Then on Sunday I’ll continue my celebration that began 4 years ago this week on ‘My Fantastic Journey’. Don’t forget that in-between all of the blogging I’m also tweeting. You can follow me via this blog. My last 10 tweets always appear on the left-hand-side panel. You can also follow me @majorhitwaves. Until next time my friends …

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Blogging Career Driving Food Health History Home Life Money Music People Radio Television Travel

Saturday Night Retro

On This 95TH weekly edition of my ‘Retro’ I take you back 22½ years ago to the Spring of 1988. I remember it well. I was a young 20-year-old USAF Airman First Class (two stripes) on the verge of becoming 21 and a Senior Airman (three stripes) at bustling Homestead Air Force Base Florida. My total annual salary was about $11,000, but I had no car, lived on-base in a dormitory, and all of the food was free. I rode my bike to and from work on-base through the heat, the wind, and the rain. I dreamed of someday owning a car and driving it all around South Florida. That day would NOT occur in 1988, but rather in January of 1989. So back in 1988 I had friends with cars, and that’s all that mattered. All I wanted to do was to eat and party – and so I did. I ate and partied so much that I ended up gaining a lot of weight. In fact I reached my maximum lifetime weight of approximately 185 pounds !  That’s about 15 pounds more than my stable weight of today. I was not very healthy back then, and the situation would only get worse once I hit the legal drinking age of 21 that June (of 1988).

Back then during what I like to refer to as ‘The Golden Age Of Miami Top 40 Radio’ we here were blessed with three competing hit music radio stations – Power-96, Y-100, and Hot-105. All three played the big hits of the day, and each station also specialized in its own genre. Power-96 was a bit more urban than the other two, and Hot-105 actually played American hard rock and European club dance back-to-back. Y-100 was the heritage mainstream pop station of its time.

As I rode my bike all over the air base – dreaming of tuning in to each of these three stations on my eventual new car’s radio – this smash was playing everywhere. It’s the Spring of 1988 here in South Florida !

‘The Awesome ’80s In August International Dance Party’ continues next week as we enter the wild and crazy world that was 1989.

Until then my friends – “GET OUT OF THE CITY !” (Balki Bartokomous from “Perfect Strangers”)