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Category: Holidays
Saturday October 30TH 2010
Volume 3 / Number 8 / Edition 105
Halloween was a big holiday for my family back in the 1970s and 1980s. We lived in big suburban neighbourhoods in Lanham Maryland (’70s) and McLean Virginia (’80s). We were always prepared for our trick-or-treaters with large bowls of bite-sized candies waiting and ready to be handed out with each knock of the front door. Each guest got 2 or 3 pieces of candy. Usually my Mom or Dad handed out the candy for the first 90 minutes or so while me and my little brother were out and about trick-or-treating. Once we returned we dumped all of the candy that we didn’t want right back into the large bowls at the front door. The rest of the candy we kept for ourselves to eat over the course of the next several days. Me and my little brother also relieved our parents at the front door for the final 90 minutes of trick-or-treating. So we received – and we gave – on that single night of fun each year.
I dressed up as Batman – ‘The Caped Crusader’ – on most Halloween nights. I always thought that the costume looked cool in that midnight blue color. My little brother always dressed up as various superheroes as well.
I miss the fun of Halloween night. For the past 15 years I’ve lived in a neighbourhood that doesn’t allow trick-or-treating. Maybe sometime in the future I’ll be living elsewhere – where trick-or-treating is alive and well on Halloween night. I’ll be ready with several large bowls of candy waiting and ready to be handed out with each knock of the front door.
In observance of Halloween – I present to you – “The Monster Mash“:
WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
25 years ago today a young 18-year-old version of me woke up bright and early a couple of hours before daybreak, checked-out of my dorm room, packed up my first car – a beige 1980 Chevy Citation – and embarked on the longest road-trip of my life (at that point). It was a 700+ mile trip eastbound along I-70 from Chanute AFB Illinois (next to Rantoul) through Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia to my destination – McLean Virginia. It was a long-awaited homecoming for me after being away for 4½ months at USAF Basic Training and Tech School. It was great to see my family (including my lovable cat Fluffy) after being away for such a long time for the first time in my entire life. I got to celebrate Halloween with my 10-year-old little brother at the time. I walked with him as he went trick-or-treating all throughout our neighbourhood – visiting many of my former customers from my newspaper carrier years. After 4½ months I was all grown up and in the Air Force. My military leave was short-lived though. 10 days later I was on my way overseas to my first permanent duty station in Great Britain. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year would all be celebrated in a foreign land away from home.
BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Longhorn Steakhouse wins this week’s award (yet again). I enjoyed another spectacular Lunch there today. Coming in 2ND place for the week is a brand new joint that me and some coworker friends discovered for the first time on Thursday. We enjoyed a nice Mexican Lunch at El Santo Coyote – located on U.S. 1 in Princeton at theoretical SW 261ST Street. They made their own homemade salsa right there at our table as we watched. I ordered one of their combination plates consisting of a taco, a burrito, and an enchilada with golden rice and refried beans. It was all delicious, but service was a bit on the slow side. I still recommend it though, and I’ll go back again when I’m not in a hurry to get back to work.
FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGE OF THE WEEK CLUB:
– Plan a vacation with loved ones.
TAYLOR LESLEY DAY MEASUREMENTS OF THE MONTH CLUB:
My gorgeous niece turned 6-months-old last week. She now weighs in at over 17 pounds, and she’s 26 inches in length. I last saw her about 4 months ago, and I get to see her again in just 20 days ! She smiles a lot because she’s happy ! 😀
THOSE SCARY SCARY CATS:
BLATANT PROMOTION:
Tomorrow night on the blog it’s another fresh new edition of my venerable ‘Saturday Night Retro’ as I flashback to Halloween nights of the past. I’ll also feature the Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett classic from 48 years ago – “The Monster Mash”. Then on Sunday the treats continue with another new blog post – ‘Halloween Night Shenanigans’. Be sure to check that one out after you’re all done trick-or-treating. In-between all of the blogs it’s all of my tweets @majorhitwaves. Have a wonderful weekend my friends. Have fun. Be safe.
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.
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