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The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
TODAY – the 30TH of July – would have been my Dad’s 69TH birthday. He moved on to Heaven 12 nights ago. I’ve got wonderful pictures of him on display atop my living room entertainment center. They span four decades from the early-1970s through the late-2000s. He’s smiling in each and every one of them. One of my favourite family portraits on display was from 1985. I was 18, and proudly wearing my USAF service dress uniform. My Dad was 44 – just a single year older than I am right now. We had that picture taken during the first week of November of 1985 during my short leave after I graduated from 12 weeks of technical school in Illinois and before I moved on to my first duty station over in the U.K. I think my Dad is still smiling today as he looks down at his family that he left behind. I think that he’s proud of each of us. I’m proud of his life.

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Longhorn Steakhouse – Renegade Top Sirloin (8-ounce / Medium-Well), Baked Sweet Potato, Bread, Sprite.

THE FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGE OF THE WEEK CLUB:
– You will surround yourself with warmth and riches.
– Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you.

15 WEEKEND MINI THOUGHTS:
– Only one more day to go and then July 2010 is in the history books.
– I kicked-off this month on the First by flying to Dallas Texas to visit my family.
– It was a nice 4-day 4TH Of July holiday weekend out west.
– 10 days after returning from Texas I took another short vacation in seclusion.
– About 4 hours after I returned home from that trip my Dad moved on.
– It’s been a long and crazy month, and it’ll surely be a memorable one forever.
– I’ve got no vacations or trips of any kind planned for August.
– After that I’m booked solid with at least one trip every month through January.
– I plan to enjoy ‘Home Sweet Homestead‘ all month long in August.
– I just want to do normal things in August – like work and relax.
– Memo To Self: I’m long overdue for an annual eye exam.
– I look like a dude half two-thirds my age, but I’ve got the eyes of an old man.
– That reminds me I need to get my car washed, so maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.
– I know it’s dirty, but I just can’t see the dirt (because of my bad eyesight).
– This has been more of a ‘dusty season’ rather than a ‘rainy season’.

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
’The Awesome ’80s In August International Dance Party’ continues this weekend on the 93RD edition of the ‘Saturday Night Retro’. I’ll share a tiny bit of my life with you as I knew it from the Fall of 1986 when I was a wild 19-year-old kid hangin’ out in the smoky concert halls of London and Oxford England. On Sunday it’s another day on ‘My Fantastic Journey’. Check back in with this blog later this weekend, and in the meantime have a wonderful time in whatever you do tonight, tomorrow, and the next day. Stay safe. Look out for one another. Spread Love. Believe.

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Animals Driving History Home Life Music Radio Television Travel

Saturday Night Retro

On this 92ND edition of my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I’m looking back at the Spring of 1985 – just a few months before I turned 18-years-old, graduated from high school, left home, and joined the Air Force – all within a single week !

At home I enjoyed hangin’ out with my 10-year-old brother Danny and our young Manx cat Fluffy. We watched Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and “Saturday Night Live” that I taped overnight on our Betamax videocassette recorder downstairs in our family room. I also enjoyed driving around Langley, McLean, and Tysons Corner Virginia in my beige 1980 Chevy Citation (my first car). It was equipped with a high-quality AM radio !

Back at home (where I actually had an FM stereo) I listened to the Washington D.C. area’s two big Top 40 radio stations – ‘All-Hit-105-WAVA’ and ‘Q-107’. One of the big smash hits during this memorable time of my life as I approached adulthood was this electronic dance smash. It was HUGE all around the world, and I think that they played it at my high school prom. I really don’t know for sure because I never attended my high school prom because I was such an outcast at the time. I was the original ‘All-American Reject’ !

Here’s Animotion – as I kick-off 6 fun-filled weeks of ‘The Awesome ’80s In August International Dance Party’. It’s my “Obsession”:

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The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
The weekend has arrived, and for me it arrived 24 hours early this week due to Tropical Storm Bonnie. Looking ahead yesterday afternoon I had a feeling that this would be an unscheduled day off once the air base (where I work) drifted into panic mode. We always prepare for a worst case scenario on base, so if a Tropical Depression or a weak Tropical Storm is approaching our general region of the world then we prepare for a Category 1 Hurricane. If it’s a strong Tropical Storm then we react as if it’s a Category 2 Hurricane – and so forth – and so on. It may seem like overreacting – and it generally is – but we do so in a sincere effort to protect millions of dollars of military and government equipment and resources. We have an urgent responsibility to minimize any damage that Mother Nature could throw at us, and I think that we do a very good job at it.

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Sometimes it’s not about the food. It’s about the company. This week my good friend Travis invited me out to Lunch at Chili’s, and I gladly accepted. We talked about a wide variety of great topics of interest big and small. I like hanging out with Trav. I also enjoyed my messy meal which consisted of – Bottomless Tostada Chips Served With House-Made Salsa, Shiner Bock BBQ Big Mouth Burger, Hot Homestyle Fries, Sprite. I dig.

15 WEEKEND MINI THOUGHTS:
– I’m really looking forward to this weekend safe and sound in my home.
– I hope to get a lot of work done – like filing piles of paperwork and such.
– I’m well known for my organizational skills, so I need to get there.
– Last weekend I was hidden in the woods and hills of Northwest Florida.
– I had to walk to the top of a hill just to get a hint of a data signal to my phone.
– I’m happy to be here at home where ‘3G’ and lightning fast wireless rules.
– It’s been a long time since I’ve been vacation-free in a single month.
– I have no plans to go anywhere exotic or otherwise during the month of Aug.
– 7 weeks – 49 days in a row of home life began last Sunday night.
– Last night I paid the first of my two annual home insurance premiums.
– It’s the one that covers everything except for wind.
– It went up 16% (outrageous) over the previous year.
– My other premium that covers everything for wind went up 4.4% (reasonable).
– Collectively I’ll be paying an average of $5.15 per day to insure my home.
– When I look at it that way it doesn’t look so bad at all.

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
It’s a full weekend of blogging for me. I’m kicking-off a former tradition from the massivesmash.com years this weekend on the ‘Saturday Night Retro’. That’s right – it’s ‘The Awesome ’80s In August International Dance Party’, and it all starts with an electronic dance smash that was the absolute biz while I was a Senior in High School in 1985. Then on Sunday join me as I share my Life with you on ‘My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics’. In the meantime enjoy your weekend, and play it safe my friends. Love one another.

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Blogging History Home Life Music People Radio

Saturday Night Retro

Flashback with me – won’t you ? – 39 years ago to the Summer of 1971. Odds are most of you reading this weren’t even alive back then, but I was. That’s because I’m older than you !  😀

I remember it well – sort of. I was a young 4-year-old boy living in the new  Chelsea Wood apartment complex in Greenbelt Maryland (suburban Washington D.C.). I lived with my Mom and Dad, and I frequently visited my Grandparents that lived just a mile-and-a-half down the road. An Uncle, Aunt, and a whole bunch of Cousins also lived about the same distance away. I was surrounded by relatives, so there was plenty to do with all of them. On Sunday mornings we all attended the 11:30 AM service at nearby St. Matthias Catholic Church – all dressed up in our Sunday best. Good Times !

On the radio during the hot Summer of 1971 was this cool gem from Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Reynolds. It’s the trio’s TOP 5 gold smash “Don’t Pull Your Love”, and it’s one of the greatest songs ever made during my lifetime.

‘Saturday Night Retro’ is taking the week off next week, but on the 24TH of July I’m kicking-off a 6-week summer special – ‘The Awesome ’80s In August International Dance Party’. It’s a nod to a former annual tradition on my old massivesmash.com hit music web site. Join the fun. Relive the ’80s memories. It all starts in a fortnight.