Category: History

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Animals Career Health History Home Life Music People

Saturday Night Retro

This week on the ‘Retro’ I’m remembering the Summer of 2005. It’s a Summer in which I was generally not a happy person. I was miserable at my workplace at the time, and I dreaded each new work day. I didn’t like my job, and I didn’t like the people that I worked with. I was full of hatred. Life away from work wasn’t much happier either. I had very few friends, and little to no social life. I had a cat that was showing significant signs of dying. My life was dying. It was a forgettable summer. I wondered why I even existed at the time.

I can think of two reasons why I managed to stay stable enough to not do anything dreadful – my cat Boots at home and my brother Danny over a thousand miles away. Boots totally depended on me. He carried my personality in a feline body. If I had gone away forever he would have died as well. My brother Danny is my best friend in the entire world. He’s known me longer than anyone else (aside from other family members), and he knows more about me than anyone else. He is the funniest person that I know, and he knows what makes us laugh out loud. If I had done something regrettable during that lost summer then he would have been devastated for the rest of his life. Luckily that summer was not the end for me. The following summer (of 2006) was the end for me – and the start of something brand new and miraculous – a rebirthing.

Back during that Summer of 2005 this song captured my mood, my feelings, and my life at the time. It’s in the lyrics – but it was not a ‘Fantastic Journey’.  

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Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– It’s 1:40 on this Thursday afternoon, and yet I’m already at home.
– That’s because I took a half a day off from work this afternoon.
– I left work and I immediately proceeded to Red Lobster.
– I’ve now eaten at a Red Lobster twice in less than 5 days.
– That’s twice as much as I had eaten there over the past decade !
– Memo To Self – Add Red Lobster to my weekly Lunch rotation.
– Today I enjoyed the ‘Chef’s Signature Lobster & Shrimp Pasta’.
– I got the Lunch portion of the most delicious dish.
– I should have gotten the full portion of it because it was ‘whole nutha level’.
– I also enjoyed a couple of their oh-so-tasty ‘Cheddar Bay Biscuits’.
– I could eat a dozen of those in a single sitting.
– After Lunch I went to Kohl’s and Bed Bath & Beyond, but I bought nothing.
– I went to Publix after that to do some grocery shopping.
– And here I am at my computer on my blog writing all about it.
– This past weekend was a weekend of firsts.
– I visited the Lion Country Safari for the first time in over 20 years.
– I visited Lake Okeechobee for the first time ever.
– I visited Ft. Pierce, Stuart, Jupiter, and West Palm Beach for the first time ever.
– I ate at Red Lobster for the first time in over a decade.
– I ate at Hooters for the first time in about 16 years.
– Their chicken wings were big and meaty and juicy.
– I saw comedian Jim Gaffigan LIVE in concert this past Sunday night.
– He performed his material for about 80 minutes, and it was crack-up city.
– Very few comedians make me giggle and chuckle as hard as he does.
– Much of his routine is about food – one of the funniest categories there is.
– I was hyperventilating in my seat laughing so hard at the dude.
– If you want to make me laugh then tell me some Jim Gaffigan jokes.
– I really enjoyed my 420-mile weekend road trip.
– I’ll be sure to return to the Treasure Coast area to visit other locales.
– My next three monthly vacations are already planned out.
– Two weeks from this afternoon I fly to Dallas Texas to visit my family.
– My niece – Taylor Lesley Day – is 9 days old today.
– I get to meet her for the first time when she’s 23 days old.
– In June I travel to the Springfield Massachusetts area for 5 days.
– It’s work-related, but I’ll still consider it to be a vacation.
– I’ve never been there before.
– In fact I’ve never set foot before in that entire New England region.
– For the 4TH Of July weekend I’ll continue an annual tradition.
– That tradition is to spend it with my family in sizzling hot Dallas Texas.
– I’ll have my next Carnival cruise vacation during Labor Day Week in Sept.
– That leaves August with no vacation planned thus far.
– Perhaps I’ll do another weekend road trip then.
– There’s still more animals to see and zoos to visit !
– This weekend I’ll be blogging my regular series.
– On Saturday it’s the ‘Retro’, and I’ll be remembering the Summer of 2005.
– ‘My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics’ returns this Sunday May 02ND.
– Can you believe that the month of May is less than 33 hours away ?
– 2010 is flying by, so we must be having fun.
– Have fun my friends, and we’ll meet again this weekend.

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Career Driving History Home Life Music People Radio

Saturday Night Retro

Every 4 weeks here on the ‘Retro’ I flashback to the 1980s – the decade in which I went from 12-years-old to 22-years-old. It’s when I attended and graduated from high school. It’s when I learned how to drive. It’s when I left home to join the Air Force. It’s when I lived overseas in the U.K. for two years, and then returned back home stateside to move to Homestead Florida – my home of the past 22+ years.

1988 was my first full year here in Homestead. I had no car back then, but my buddies did – so any driving around the local area was courtesy of my good buddies at the time. Within the air base I rode around on my 10-speed bicycle. It was very cost efficient, but the rain and the wind could be quite troublesome at times. I put an end to that misery by purchasing my first new car in January of the following year (1989).

During much of 1988 HOT-105 was the radio station to listen to here in South Florida for mainstream TOP 40 music without deejays during the day. They played it all – pop, dance, freestyle – even power rock and heavy metal !

They even played this COLOSSAL hip hop smash from The Fat Boys. It’s a modern Summer of 1988 update of Chubby Checker‘s “The Twist” – with Chubby himself providing guest vocals on it. CHECK IT !

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Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– Let’s roll.
– I got off work like 90 minutes earlier than normal this afternoon.
– I’m actually away from the office all this week in a network security class.
– I knew next to nothing about this material when we started on Mon. AM.
– Now I think that I can pass the big test first thing tomorrow morning.
– That was the goal of this training – to pass the big test.
– It’s material that has next to nothing to do with my daily job.
– Next week I go back to the wonderful world of MONEY !
– That’s my real job is all about – the ‘dolla-dolla’.
– Like – you know – like – you know – like – you know – like – you know – like …
– That was my impersonation of a 16-year-old kid talking.
– It’s gonna be a nice and peaceful and relaxing weekend starting tomorrow.
– I’m hosting the 9 AM service again this Sunday morning at Life Pointe Church.
– That means Scripture study on Fri. and compilation and rehearsal on Sat.
– Next weekend I’m embarking on a nice little road trip not too far north.
– The furthest north I’ll drive is the A1A on Fort Pierce Beach.
– I’ll be visiting a large chunk of Florida that I’ve never seen before.
– I’ll also be checking out Lake Okeechobee for the first time ever.
– Less than 3 weeks after that I’ll be flying to Dallas Texas to visit my family.
– My niece is due to enter this world sometime in the next 15 days !
– I want to be known as the ‘lovable’ uncle – not the ‘scary’ uncle.
– Happy Birthday to my lovable sister-in-law who turns 29 this Saturday !
– My little baby brother turns 35 in a little over 2 weeks.
– I’m just about 50 days away from turning 43 (an odd age).
– People that don’t know my age usually think that I’m in my 20s or 30s.
– Of course there are the anomalies.
– Like that lady that thought I was a teenager over in Estero last month.
– Flattery will get you nowhere you cougar !
– Hear Me Now !  I am serious about buying a modern new cell phone !
– I actually watch intently all of the cell phone commercials on TV now.
– My bud Jonathon told me to donate my current cell phone to the Smithsonian.
– I have a Seiko watch that they may also be interested in.
– I like to rock it ‘old school’, but there’s a certain point where it’s just time.
– It’s just time to say ‘good-bye’ to a longtime friend.
– So long 2003-era cell phone that everyone makes fun of.
– Speaking of rockin’ it ‘old school’ I’m rockin’ 1988 on ‘Retro’ this Saturday.
– And don’t forget ‘My Fantastic Journey’ on its new day – Sunday !
– Until then my friends – keep on doin’ your thang.
– Be safe.
– Love all.