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History Home Life

Bedtime Stories

TONIGHT I stumbled across an inch-and-a-half stack of colour pictures that were taken of me – as well as pictures that I apparently took myself – back during the wild and crazy late-1994 to mid-1995 time-frame. I hadn’t seen those pictures since way back then. They represent a lot of great memories for me, but some of the pictures are from the aftermath of when my former house (in Naranja near the air base) was broken into and ransacked by vandals. They of course brought back bad memories of that time, but life is all about the good and the bad. You can’t have it all good all of the time. Life has its bright and sunny days – as well as its dark and stormy nights.

I may share some of those retro pictures with you here on this blog in the future. I won’t be sharing any of the pictures of me partying / drinking at a bar. Those pictures represent a previous version of me that has since died, for I’ve been rescued, saved, and reborn by my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. AMEN !

One of the pictures brought some tears to my eyes. It’s a picture of me and a noticeably young and healthy Boots (my former cat) sitting together on my living room couch watching television at my former house just a few weeks after I adopted the cool cat.

The following picture that I will share with you right now is that of me from nearly 30 years ago. I actually cropped myself out of a formal family portrait (to protect the innocent). I believe this picture was taken in 1980. I look 13-years-old. Actually I look like a dork. One thing is certain though. I’m jealous of all of that gorgeous hair !  Where have you gone ?

REMEMBER THIS !

Me In 1980
Me In 1980
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History Home Life Music Television Travel

Saturday Night Retro

Last Saturday night on the ‘Retro’ I presented to you for your review the 1996 smash “1979” from The Smashing Pumpkins. This week I take you back to 1979. It was exactly 30 years ago, and it closed out a crazy decade of decadence.

I entered 1979 as an 11½-year-old 6TH grader at Magnolia Elementary School in Lanham Maryland – located right in the middle of my neighbourhood at the time. Later in the year in September I moved on to Robert H. Goddard Junior High School several miles away. I was also a Boy Scout at the time. We had meetings weekly, and we went on hiking and camping trips monthly – mostly up to the mountains of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. They were ancient history editions of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’ !  😀

During my spare time (after school and on weekends) I enjoyed riding my bike up and down Red Wing Lane, Wood Thrush Drive, Nightingale Drive, Kingfisher Lane, Wren Lane, and Brae Brooke Drive. I can see recent images of all of those roads (and my old house of over 5½-years) right now online via the use of Google Street View. My old neighbourhood has aged quite a bit over the past 30 years – and so have I. Back then it was brand new (built from around 1973 to 1975). That’s how I remember it. It doesn’t look like that anymore.

On the hit music radio stations nationwide disco music was still alive and kicking – at least during the first-half of 1979. It started dying out during that Summer. Here’s one of the last big disco hits of the era. It managed to sneak up the Billboard HOT 100 to # 11 in September of 1979. It’s Bonnie Pointer making a LIVE July 1979 appearance on ‘The Midnight Special’ on a Friday night on NBC-TV. Here’s her disco smash “Heaven Must Have Sent You”. Check out the way that we used to control the dance floor back then !

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Astronomy Food God History Holidays Life Shopping Television

New Year’s Day Morning Shenanigans

THIS MORNING I said hello to 2009 for the very first time just before 7 AM. I got a good 7 hours of sleep overnight. That means that when 2008 officially became 2009 at the stroke of Midnight (leap second notwithstanding) I was already asleep.

It’s 2009 now – the start of the 44TH year of existence for me since I was created by God (in 1966). It’s also my 26TH year as a U.S. Government employee, and it’s my 23RD year of living here in Homestead America’s Riviera. Most important of them all it’s the start of the 4TH year of this fantastic journey that I’m on following Jesus Christ. 2009 is going be the greatest year of my entire Life !

This morning I continued an unofficial New Year’s Day Morning tradition for me – I did my grocery shopping for the next couple of weeks or so at Publix. As is usually the case on New Year’s Day Morning I pretty much had the entire store to myself and perhaps not even a dozen of my fellow hungry pleasure-filled shoppers. Due to a MA$$IVE $ale at Publix I nabbed about $80 in food and other general merchandise for less than $45. That included the use of a surprising Publix gift card that I got for Christmas that was so amazing that I created a happy spectacle of myself right there at the checkout lane. Talk about Shenanigans !

New Year’s Day shall continue for me as I do several loads of laundry while watching hours and hours of televised New Year’s Eve festivities that I recorded last night from Carson Daly (NBC), Dick Clark / Ryan Seacrest (ABC), Spike Feresten / Mark Thompson (FOX), and Anderson Cooper / Kathy Griffin (CNN).

Have a great New Year’s Day my friends !  THRIVE IN 2009 !

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Blogging Driving God History Holidays Life Television Travel

Bedtime Stories

As I begin writing this blog entry tonight there are just about 115 minutes remaining in 2008. I’ll probably be in bed asleep as 2009 officially arrives, but I’ll catch it fairly new – about 6 or 7 hours – once I awake in the morning.

2008 was the greatest year of my entire Life, and I expect 2009 to surpass it – just as 2008 surpassed 2007 – and 2007 surpassed 2006. It just keeps on getting brighter and more glorious on God’s fantastic journey for me. He constantly amazes me with His miracles.

If you wish to see why 2008 was so glorious for me then simply read any of the 613 blog entries that I posted – at least one per day – every single day from January 01ST through December 31ST.

Thank You Everyone for spending just a small portion of your Life with me via this blog and-or LIVE and in-person. Let’s keep on doing it into 2009. I’m ready. You ?

Until we hang out again in 2009 I wish you a very Happy New Year, and REMEMBER THIS !  It’s a Chevrolet commercial in living technicolor from nearly 60 years ago that plays more like a Chamber Of Commerce promo for the Miami Florida area – the way that it was back in 1950 !