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My Little Buddy Boots

Today is May 17TH, and this has been a sad day for me for the past 11 years. I’m remembering my little buddy Boots today. He was my best feline friend for 12½ years from New Years Day 1995 (when I adopted him) to May 17TH 2007.

He died on this morning 11 years ago when I had him put to sleep. He was suffering from various diseases during his later years, and he was in agonizing pain at the very end. His doctor said that it was my final good deed for him, and that he probably lived much longer than he should have – due to the love that I provided to him over the years.

Boots was the smartest cat I’ve ever lived with. He waited for me at the front windowsill every afternoon as I returned home from work, and he greeted me at the front door with an endless barrage of meows, purrs, rubs, and bumps. He was confused yet ecstatic when I returned home from work early, and he was upset yet relieved when I was late. He used the sun as his clock. He stared at me often as if he was watching over me. He “protected” me by ensuring that geckos were slammed off the patio screen or pulverized if they made it inside. He slept at the base of my bed as I slept at night. I never had to look for him because he was always near me. He acted more like a dog than a cat. When I talked to him – he responded.

He hated leaving his comfortable home and going to the kennel, but on that final morning in May of 2007 when I placed him in his carrying case it was as if he was thanking me for all of the love and the life he was able to live with me. He was ready for the end. I’ll never forget my little buddy Boots.

Boots On The Couch

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The Summer Of 2011

Saturday June 04TH 2011
Volume 3 / Number 17 / Edition 114

Well here it is the 1ST Saturday night of June of 2011, and it’s Summer in the city. The regular TV season is over. The NBA and the NHL are playing their respective championship series. A new Atlantic basin tropical season has begun. School’s nearly out for Summer !

Where has the time gone ?  Whatever happened to the now lost art form of creative expression that was blogging ?  This is only my 6TH blog post of 2011. Once upon a time in a year not so long ago I was blogging at least 6 times per week. That was in a different era. All things must change. Life must continue to evolve. Unlike virtually all of my closest friends I have not totally abandoned the fine art of blogging. I’ll continue to make occasional appearances here on WordPress to let you know what’s happenin’.

Here’s what’s goin’ on. Today is the last day of me being 43. I celebrate my 44TH birthday tomorrow – June 05TH. I plan to kickoff the celebration bright and early tomorrow morning at Denny’s where I’ll enjoy my free birthday Grand Slam. Naturally I’ll go with the All-American Slam® – a favourite of mine at ‘America’s Diner’.

This Monday I observe the 26TH anniversary of my High School Graduation, and next Sunday marks my 26TH anniversary working for the USAF (military and civilian combined). It actually does seem like 26 years ago !

June 06TH 1985, McLean Virginia

I’m not blogging on a regular basis anymore, but I’m still active online. Just don’t look for me anywhere on that vast wasteland known as Facebook. I’ve never signed-up for it. I don’t follow what the rest of the world is doing. If you want to ‘friend’ me then please do so in person rather than on the fake world of Facebook.

I’m on Twitter, as I tweet daily @majorhitwaves. I’m also quietly building my photographic collection on Flickr. So far I’ve got 278 pictures up. They are mostly vacation pictures of the past 5 years (many taken by family and friends). I try to add at least a few pictures to the site every few days, so my photostream should look new to you if you check it out every so often. One of my biggest regrets in life is the fact that I never took any pictures of my life up until a little over a year ago. I actually got my first camera last year when I bought my first Android smartphone. It’s a 5 megapixel camera that takes really good pictures. See for yourself on my Flickr !

My Fantastic Journey following my Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ continues stronger than ever. He rescued me from the darkness of the world 57 months ago, and the Life that I live today is radically different than the life that I led for the first 39 years on this Earth. I don’t force my faith on anyone; however, if you wish to know more about the God that I know and my relationship with Him then please don’t hesitate to walk with me on this journey and I’ll share The Good News with you. You won’t regret it pal !

Everything else in my Life is pretty much status quo for the most part. I’ve been working at the same place – Homestead ARB – for the past 23½ years. I’ve lived in the same home for the past 16 years (next week is the anniversary for that). I’ve driven the same car for the past 8 years (the end of this month is its anniversary). Home Sweet Homestead. Life is good. God is GREAT !

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The Major’s Walk-A-Thon

Time: 6:45 AM – 7:34 AM
Sky: Clear
Temperature: 60°F
Dewpoint: 55°F
Relative Humidity: 85%
Winds: Calm
Barometric Pressure: 30.18 Rising

On this cool and crisp 60°F Saturday morning in the middle of March of 2011 I embarked in the dark and I emerged in the light. I went on my first organized morning walk around my neighbourhood since the second day of January (11 weeks ago). It ultimately became my longest walk ever recorded over the past 39 months of these seasonal walks – 49.1 minutes / 2.6 miles.

It was a very peaceful and quiet walk at the dawn of a new day. Along the way of this twilight journey there was the dude that was walking his two cute little dogs, the stray dark brown feline that was minding his own bid-niz, the duck family (momma, poppa, sista, brotha), the stray large canine wandering around alone, and the mysterious drunk or drugged driver in the old beat-up white car that nearly ran me over – twice. Other than that it was just God and I have a relevant conversation with each other as I prayed to Him about everything that was on my mind at the time. He listened to me. I listened to Him. I trust. I believe.

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Animals Career Driving History Home Life Travel

Home Sweet Home

Saturday March 05TH 2011
Volume 3 / Number 16 / Edition 113

20 years ago this upcoming week I went on a roughly 10,000-mile trek as I returned home stateside from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

The trek began bright and early at 0326 local time on Saturday March 09TH 1991 at Al Kharj AB Saudi Arabia. After a 7-hour and 7-minute flight westbound we touched down at Torrejon AB Spain (near Madrid). The layover was unexpectedly long – nearly 5½-hours. After that it was a 9-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean and into Dover AFB Delaware. After a long 21½-hour day of travel I was finally back in the U.S.A. for the first time in over 2 months. After a restful night at a nice hotel in Philadelphia we flew back to Miami and then returned to Homestead AFB on the morning of Sunday March 10TH 1991. We pretty much snuck onto the base with absolutely no fanfare whatsoever. Future Gulf War returnees would be treated to celebrations and parades, but my group received nothing – aside from the rest of the month off in rest and recuperation to do whatever we felt like doing !

I felt like returning to my home-of-record up in the Washington D.C. area to spend a couple of weeks with my Dad, Mom, Brother, and two cats – and so I did. 3 days after returning to Homestead AFB from Saudi Arabia I drove 1,096 miles over 17 hours (spanning 2 days) up I-95 and back to my real home at the time. It was perhaps the greatest homecoming to my parent’s home that I’ve ever experienced in my entire lifetime – a Gulf War Veteran returning home.

People sometimes ask me what I did in the war. I actually had 2 separate jobs while serving in the desert. For 23 days I built fuel tanks. I wasn’t good at it. The 11 that I worked with thought that I was pretty much awful at it. I agreed. We parted ways. I eventually found my mad skills building BOMBS !  That’s what I did for 24 days. I loved it. I was also pretty good at it. I quickly realized that bombs were so much easier to make than fuel tanks. Who knew ?