Category: History

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 24, 2009

It’s the longest-running episodic weekly series in the entire history of this blog:

1. So far March in America’s Riviera has been windy and soggy – and that’s a good thing considering the fact that November, December, January, and February were pretty much chilly and arid extra dry. This morning I drove through a ferocious rainstorm in the dark. It lasted all but three minutes, but I thought that I was either gonna drown or blow away to Kansas during the peak of it.

2. I’m allergic to a bunch of things to include cologne and freshy cut grass. They make me sneeze. I don’t wear cologne. I don’t need to. I smell fresh and delightful naturally primarily because I take regular showers. Some people use cologne in lieu of bathing. They make me sneeze. Oh yeah – and they smell nasty.

3. I moved over to my current workplace on base almost 20 months ago. I don’t have very many ‘low’ days, but of the ones that I’ve had they’ve all been far better than my ‘high’ days at my previous workplace on base of over 13 unlucky years. My career renaissance continues.

4. Exactly 22 years ago tonight (on March 24TH 1987) I saw British musician Howard Jones LIVE in concert at London England’s historic Royal Albert Hall. That place has been standing there for nearly 140 years (since 1871).

5. Last year March 24TH was the Monday after Easter Sunday. This year Easter Sunday occurs on April 12TH. That’s because it’s the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the 21ST of March. (The full moon occurs on April 09TH.)

That’s what I’ve got for you for this week. Be sure to check out my ‘Mini Thoughts’ this Thursday night here on the big green blog. You won’t regret it pal.

Career History Home Music

Saturday Night Retro

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 21, 2009

This weekend marks my 15TH anniversary back in Homestead following my original nearly 5-year residence from December 01ST 1987 through the destruction caused by Hurricane Andrew on August 24TH 1992. I was away from Homestead for nearly 19 months, and I never really thought that I would see it again – until just a few months before I actually moved back down here.

Homestead Air Force Base officially reopened as Homestead Air Reserve Station (now Base) on this exact weekend in March of 1994 as our Squadron of F-16 jets came roaring back to life across the subtropical blue skies of America’s Riviera.

It was “The Sign” that Homestead was starting to get back to normal again.

I present to you for your ‘Saturday Night Retro’ review – this U.S. platinum pop smash that spent 10 months on the pop charts in 1994. It was the runaway # 1 smash in the entire free nation as our jets returned back home again on that glorious 3RD weekend in March of 1994.

History Music Politics

Saturday Night Retro

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 7, 2009

Exactly 18 years ago this weekend I returned home from the Saudi Arabian sands in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Here’s a timeline:

Sat. Mar. 09 1991 0326L – Departed Al Kharj AB Saudi Arabia.
Sat. Mar. 09 1991 0833L – Arrived Torrejon AB Spain.
Sat. Mar. 09 1991 1357L – Departed Torrejon AB Spain.
Sat. Mar. 09 1991 1656L – Arrived Dover AFB Delaware.
(Spent the night at a hotel in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.)

Sun. Mar. 10 1991 0756L – Departed Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
Sun. Mar. 10 1991 1001L – Arrived Miami Florida.

3 days later I drove nearly 1,100 miles from Homestead AFB to Northern Virginia to spend the rest of the month of March 1991 with my family. (The USAF gave us returning veterans that free time off following the war to spend with our families.)

And now for your ‘Saturday Night Retro’ review I present to you “Voices That Care”. Spot the stars from 1991. They cared for us back then. Unfortunately it’s a different world today.

History Life Television

Saturday Night Retro

I’ve got over a dozen pictures of varying sizes on display atop the entertainment center in my living room. I frequently look at them. They are pictures of me, my brother, my mom, my dad, and my cats over the years. My brother appears the most number of times within these pictures – a total of 12. By comparison I’m only featured 7 times !

The oldest picture of them all features me, my mom, and my dad. It was probably our first professional family portrait, and I believe that it was done in 1972 – perhaps 1973 – when I was 5 or 6. The photo studio imprinted on the back of it was located in Lanham Maryland not too far away from the Catholic Church that we attended back then. It looks like I’m wearing my Sunday finest !

Here now is the earliest picture of me that you’ll ever see (unless an even earlier picture of me is discovered – very possible). As usual I removed my mom and my dad from the picture to protect the innocent:

Incidentally that teddy bear that I’m holding was not even mine. It was supplied to me by the photographer so that I would look even cuter in the photo-op.

According to a photo album that my mom has of me it is well documented that my favourite television show at the time (1972-1973) was “Wait Till Your Father Gets Home” – an animated family sitcom much like “The Flintstones” of the 1960s. Check out its memorable theme song, and if you’re over 40-years-old and remember all of the lyrics to it then sing along with me: