– It’s 1:40 on this Thursday afternoon, and yet I’m already at home.
– That’s because I took a half a day off from work this afternoon.
– I left work and I immediately proceeded to Red Lobster.
– I’ve now eaten at a Red Lobster twice in less than 5 days.
– That’s twice as much as I had eaten there over the past decade !
– Memo To Self – Add Red Lobster to my weekly Lunch rotation.
– Today I enjoyed the ‘Chef’s Signature Lobster & Shrimp Pasta’.
– I got the Lunch portion of the most delicious dish.
– I should have gotten the full portion of it because it was ‘whole nutha level’.
– I also enjoyed a couple of their oh-so-tasty ‘Cheddar Bay Biscuits’.
– I could eat a dozen of those in a single sitting.
– After Lunch I went to Kohl’s and Bed Bath & Beyond, but I bought nothing.
– I went to Publix after that to do some grocery shopping.
– And here I am at my computer on my blog writing all about it.
– This past weekend was a weekend of firsts.
– I visited the Lion Country Safari for the first time in over 20 years.
– I visited Lake Okeechobee for the first time ever.
– I visited Ft. Pierce, Stuart, Jupiter, and West Palm Beach for the first time ever.
– I ate at Red Lobster for the first time in over a decade.
– I ate at Hooters for the first time in about 16 years.
– Their chicken wings were big and meaty and juicy.
– I saw comedian Jim Gaffigan LIVE in concert this past Sunday night.
– He performed his material for about 80 minutes, and it was crack-up city.
– Very few comedians make me giggle and chuckle as hard as he does.
– Much of his routine is about food – one of the funniest categories there is.
– I was hyperventilating in my seat laughing so hard at the dude.
– If you want to make me laugh then tell me some Jim Gaffigan jokes.
– I really enjoyed my 420-mile weekend road trip.
– I’ll be sure to return to the Treasure Coast area to visit other locales.
– My next three monthly vacations are already planned out.
– Two weeks from this afternoon I fly to Dallas Texas to visit my family.
– My niece – Taylor Lesley Day – is 9 days old today.
– I get to meet her for the first time when she’s 23 days old.
– In June I travel to the Springfield Massachusetts area for 5 days.
– It’s work-related, but I’ll still consider it to be a vacation.
– I’ve never been there before.
– In fact I’ve never set foot before in that entire New England region.
– For the 4TH Of July weekend I’ll continue an annual tradition.
– That tradition is to spend it with my family in sizzling hot Dallas Texas.
– I’ll have my next Carnival cruise vacation during Labor Day Week in Sept.
– That leaves August with no vacation planned thus far.
– Perhaps I’ll do another weekend road trip then.
– There’s still more animals to see and zoos to visit !
– This weekend I’ll be blogging my regular series.
– On Saturday it’s the ‘Retro’, and I’ll be remembering the Summer of 2005.
– ‘My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics’ returns this Sunday May 02ND.
– Can you believe that the month of May is less than 33 hours away ?
– 2010 is flying by, so we must be having fun.
– Have fun my friends, and we’ll meet again this weekend.
Category: Home
Every 4 weeks here on the ‘Retro’ I flashback to the 1980s – the decade in which I went from 12-years-old to 22-years-old. It’s when I attended and graduated from high school. It’s when I learned how to drive. It’s when I left home to join the Air Force. It’s when I lived overseas in the U.K. for two years, and then returned back home stateside to move to Homestead Florida – my home of the past 22+ years.
1988 was my first full year here in Homestead. I had no car back then, but my buddies did – so any driving around the local area was courtesy of my good buddies at the time. Within the air base I rode around on my 10-speed bicycle. It was very cost efficient, but the rain and the wind could be quite troublesome at times. I put an end to that misery by purchasing my first new car in January of the following year (1989).
During much of 1988 HOT-105 was the radio station to listen to here in South Florida for mainstream TOP 40 music without deejays during the day. They played it all – pop, dance, freestyle – even power rock and heavy metal !
They even played this COLOSSAL hip hop smash from The Fat Boys. It’s a modern Summer of 1988 update of Chubby Checker‘s “The Twist” – with Chubby himself providing guest vocals on it. CHECK IT !
– Let’s get spontaneous.
– Let’s not hold nothin’ back.
– Can we talk here ?
– Be reasonable – do it my way.
– Be radical – do it Jesus’s way.
– For the 2ND Thursday in a row I ate Lunch at the Longhorn Steakhouse.
– It’s my newest (and coolest) weekly tradition.
– It’s my secret hideaway for one hour away from coworkers.
– When I walk in the joint some of the hosts and wait staff welcome me back.
– They identify me as a regular attender.
– I dig that notion !
– My favourite Tweeter is Jesse Santoyo, so you should follow him.
– Come to think of it he’s my favourite blogger too.
– At least someone out there is still kickin’ it old school.
– I’m gearing up for my short weekend trip over to the Naples FL area.
– I’ll be driving over there tomorrow (Friday) afternoon after work.
– I’ll be rocking my face off tomorrow night at the Germain Arena.
– Toby Mac, Skillet, and House Of Heroes are going to raise the roof !
– I used to go to rock concerts on a fairly regular basis before I was saved.
– It’s been a long time since my last one in a major arena (non-church setting).
– In fact it’s been over 3 years – since a Huey Lewis And The News show.
– On Saturday morning I have a few pit stops to make over in Naples.
– I’ve got to visit my animal buds over at Naples Zoo.
– I’ve also got to check out the Collier County Museum.
– I’ll also be glancing over at various neighbourhoods as I drive by them.
– I just have this feeling that I’m a future resident of the Naples area.
– I may even catch Lunch on Saturday at Sonic.
– That’s the closest Sonic to my home – 110 miles away !
– Rumours suggest that we may get our very own Sonic here in Homestead.
– Longtimers may remember when we used to have two Sonics on U.S. 1.
– One was in the Naranja area near SW 264TH Street.
– The other one was in Homestead south of SW 320TH Street.
– That was before Hurricane Andrew destroyed everything in its path.
– I’ll be at Life Pointe Church bright and early on Sunday morning.
– I’ve got to be there, as I’m hosting the 9 AM service.
– Grab your crew and check out that first service.
– That would help to free up seats for the second service.
– This Saturday night here on the blog it’s an all-new ‘Retro’.
– I’ll be flashing back 9 years ago to 2001.
– There is no ‘Disco Party’ tomorrow night, and no new blog post.
– Until I blog again on Saturday night my friends take care of yourselves.
– Spread Love – it’s contagious !
– Let’s get spontaneous.
– Let’s not hold nothin’ back.
– Can we talk here ?
– Miami has an all-new Christian music radio station !
– I discovered it for the first time this afternoon at work.
– It’s Life-FM at 90.9, and it’s a powerful 100,000 watt station.
– I think their transmitter is right alongside the 18-Mile Stretch.
– That means that you get a clear and rich signal here in Homestead.
– Life-FM is Christian music for my age range and older.
– Its secular equivalent would be hot adult contemporary.
– I may be approaching 43-years-old, but I still like to rock my face off.
– That’s why I’ll also continue to listen to Call-FM at 91.9.
– My favourite radio deejay in the entire world works there !
– Driving here in America’s Riviera is always very challenging.
– We drive over 80 different ways here.
– That’s because we learned how to drive in over 80 different countries.
– The single problem that annoys me the most is tailgating.
– It’s also the most dangerous problem.
– I get tailgated virtually every day to and from work by multiple drivers.
– I generally slow down when a tailgater is at work.
– If the speed limit is 40, and I’m going 48 I’ll slow down to 42 for a tailgater.
– I do it for my own safety.
– If I have to slam on my brakes for whatever reason then I may be toast.
– I’d rather be that much closer to 0 MPH in the event that I have to brake.
– Tailgating should be a crime right up there with drunk driving.
– I’ve seen police cars tailgate – and also be tailgated !
– It’s a chronic problem down here.
– I appreciate those peaceful, quiet, and uneventful drives here in paradise.
– But they are way too rare.
– This is a multi-anniversary month for me.
– Celebrate Good Times Come On !
– 19 years ago I returned home from Operation Desert Storm.
– 17 years ago I started my post-military civilian life in Melbourne Florida.
– 16 years ago Homestead Air Reserve Base reopened for business.
– All of our F-16 ‘Fighter Falcons’ returned home, and so did I.
– It’s good to celebrate 16 years here in Homestead.
– That’s in addition to the nearly 5 years that I was here before Andrew.
– Homestead has been my home in 4 decades since the late-1980s.
– I belong here.
– I have a purpose here.
– If I didn’t belong here, and I had no purpose – then I’d move away.
– I’ll be here for as long as God wants me to be here.