Category: History

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Animals Driving History Life People Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

If it’s Tuesday night then the grab bag is full, so let me let some thoughts loose !

1.  Since March 01ST over a FOOT of rain has fallen at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport – and it shows. All of the vegetation in the Metroplex was green and lush – well nourished by Mother Nature. Meanwhile less than 3 inches of rain has fallen at Miami International Airport – and the extreme drought continues. Everything is still brown and crunchy. The Everglades is finally receiving some rain, but until we get some westerly winds in here we won’t see much of it.

2.  TODAY is my brother’s and his wife’s 2ND anniversary. They were married in The Bahamas on this very special date in 2007. I’ve often stated that my brother is my favourite person in the entire world, but I’ll also go on record by stating that his wife – Christina – is my 2ND favourite person in the entire world. I like her a lot, and I’ve liked her ever since the minute that I first met her. She has fit in perfectly in our Day family.

3.  This past weekend in the northeastern suburbs of Dallas Texas me and my family officially celebrated my brother’s 34TH birthday, my brother’s and his wife’s 2ND anniversary, Mother’s Day, and my 42ND birthday (early). I got one of the nicest birthday gifts in modern history, and it really has to do with modern history – mine. It’s a professional photo album hand-made by Christina (my brother’s wife) chock-full of classic pictures of me from the 1960s through the 2000s. She spent many days (probably weeks) working on this masterpiece. I shall cherish it forever. I also plan to share it with some of my closest friends.

4.  This upcoming Sunday marks a sad event – the 2ND anniversary of the death of my cat Boots. A memorial still sits to this day at the edge of one of my living room couches where he used to spend a lot of time. Boots was my little buddy for over a dozen years. His life was cut short by several years due to a variety of feline diseases. I will never forget Boots.

5.  I received my brand new Florida license plate in the mail this afternoon. It replaces my current license plate of the past 5 years. The old plate will join 3 others that are currently on display on my master bedroom wall. I can’t believe that I’ve been driving here in America’s Riviera for the past 20 years.

Those are my thoughts on this Tuesday night. Thank You for reading them.

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Driving History Music Radio

Saturday Night Retro

I’ve owned 4 cars over the past 25 years of driving. My very first car was a beige 1980 Chevy Citation. I bought it in 1984 with my paper route money. I was supposed to have it for at least several years, but as it turns out I only had it for a single year. I had to sell it fast just before I got shipped off to the U.K. to move to my first duty station within the USAF.

I returned back home stateside in November 1987, but it wasn’t until a year and two months later that I bought my second car – and my first brand new car. It was a red 1989 Geo Spectrum. To this day it’s the longest-running car that I’ve ever owned. I put 96,745 miles on that car over the course of eight years. That was eight turbulent years in my life in which I lived in seven different homes in less than three years due to the effects of Hurricane Andrew.

My 3RD car overall was a dark green 1997 Saturn SL1. That was the first of my three Saturns that I’ve owned over the past dozen years. I replaced that first Saturn with a gold 2001 Saturn SC2, and that Saturn was subsequently replaced by my current silver 2003 Saturn Ion Quad Coupe 3. I’ve owned my current Saturn a few months shy of the combined time that I owned my first two Saturns. I thought about buying a new car last year (a Honda), but I ultimately decided to enjoy the fact that my current car is totally paid off. It’s the first time that I’ve owned a car long enough to actually pay it off since that red 1989 Geo Spectrum was paid off in full during the early-1990s.

I can see myself still driving my current car for at least a couple more years. I’m in no rush to replace it with something new (and the new car payments that would go along with that). I’m content with what I have.

And so that’s a little history of all of my cars through the years.

The theme is “Cars”, and so this weekend for your ‘Saturday Night Retro’ review I present to you this 1979 / 1980 pop smash from Gary Numan. The now 51-year-old musician is still very much active. He’s still recording new music and touring all around the world. It’s hard to believe that when this song was an International pop smash the kid was just 21-years-old. Check it out, and feel free to get up and dance like a robot can’t dance no more !   

Categories
History Politics

Wednesday Quotable

“… A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world, and no one will keep that light from shining.

Today our nation saw evil — the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America — with the daring of our rescue workers — with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could …”

– President George W. Bush, Address To The Nation, September 11TH 2001 –

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Animals History Holidays Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

Here are today’s top stories:

1.  Hola mis amigos. Hoy es el Cinco de Mayo. Go forth and enjoy some delicious Mexican food tonight to celebrate this muy especial day that marks the grande victory of the Mexican army over the French army in the Battle Of Puebla in 1862.  ¡ VIVA MEXICO !

2.  In just about 50 hours I’ll be arriving at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to begin a long weekend vacation con mi familia. I’m planning to continue the ‘2009 Economic Stimulus Tour’ (of tourist attractions) this weekend with a visit to the Dallas Zoo. It’s the largest zoological experience in Texas !

3.  I never got to go to the zoo when I was a little kid, and I actually had an Uncle that worked at one (as Security). That’s right – I was totally deprived of the zoo experience as a kid. Since I’ve pretty much outgrown the traditional amusement parks (and wild rides make me dizzy) I’ve gone back to basics by visiting the animals as much as I can. I love the animals !  The’re just like you and me !

4.  Speaking of amusement parks with wild rides – and animals – me and a buddy may visit Sea World up in Orlando during the upcoming  Memorial Day holiday weekend. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. We may also visit nearby Gatorland. I haven’t been there since they rebuilt the place following the devastating fire of November 06TH 2006.

5.  Are you ready for the upcoming rainy season aqui en America’s Riviera ?  It starts within the next couple of weeks, and based on my analysis and research I’m forecasting an extra wet rainy season this year with southerly, southwesterly, and westerly wind flow the norm. That means that all of those strong thunderstorms that develop over the Everglades should drift eastward over us rather than westward towards Naples. I’m also forecasting a below normal hurricane season with most storms staying away from us due to our westerly wind flow and the long-awaited reemergence of our good friend ‘El Niño’. We’ll see how this forecast works out for all of us.

Take good care of yourselves my friends. THANKS for reading what’s on my mind.