Category: Life

Categories
History Life Music Television

Saturday Night Retro

June 06TH 1985
June 06TH 1985

That’s me and my little brother standing outside our McLean Virginia house exactly 24 years ago today on the 06TH of June in 1985. It’s the date of my high school graduation, and it was just one day after my 18TH birthday. My high school graduation was held at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. There were about 500 in my graduating ‘Class Of 1985’.

6 days after this momentous event I left home and proceeded to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas for Air Force Basic Military Training. (I had no real Summer that year.) 

And now my friends – a real treat. I present to you for your ‘Saturday Night Retro’ review this long lost gem. It’s legendary jazz and blues singer and guitarist Leon Redbone performing the full-length opening theme song of one of the greatest prime time network television sitcoms of the mid-1980s – “Mr. Belvedere”. ENJOY !

Categories
Food Health History Life Movies Shopping

My 42ND Birthday

So TODAY I am officially 42-years-old even though I’ve been stating my age as 42 since pretty much the latter portion of 2008. Tomorrow I technically begin my 43RD year, but I won’t be ready to tell people that I’m 43 until perhaps Thanksgiving or Christmas. 42 just seems like a nice cool even number age. It’s the year that Elvis Presley died.

THANK YOU to all of my good friends (and my cool little brother) who sent me cell phone text message greetings, blog comment greetings, and E-Mail greetings today. Every year I try hard to keep my birthday a secret, yet word somehow seems to get out to the world. It never fails.

I spent about 5 hours at The Falls today (in addition to the 3 hours that I was there last night). I had my annual eye exam. While my pupils were COLOSSAL I ate an ENORMOUS Lunch at T-G-I-Fridays, and then I saw “Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian” at the Regal Cinemas there.

Here’s an interesting tidbit of useless trivia. I saw the original “Night At The Museum” movie on New Year’s Eve in 2006. It was the last movie that I saw at the Flagship Cinemas in Homestead before I attended Life Pointe Church for the very first time at that movie theatre exactly 3 Sundays later.

As far as my eye exam was concerned my longtime nearsightedness continues to slowly improve with age (that’s apparently normal), but my relatively new farsightedness (reading vision) continues to slowly worsen. I had to get all-new glasses to reflect the change in my vision. It’s a sign of old age maturity.  😯

It’s hard to believe that 24 years ago tomorrow – the 06TH of June – I graduated from high school. I thought that I would never make it. TOMORROW on the ‘Retro’ I’ll share a picture of me dressed up in my high school graduation cap and gown.

But until then check this out from 42 years ago tonight:

Chris At Birth - Selma Alabama - June 05TH 1967
Chris At Birth – Selma Alabama – June 05TH 1967

Birth ID  

Categories
Commerce Food Health Life People Politics Shopping

Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– My extended 87-hour 42ND birthday celebration weekend has commenced.
– This is Hour # 2.
– I have a date with Glenn Beck tonight.
– I have a feeling that I will agree with most of what he has to say.
– He reminds me of a young Rush Limbaugh.
– Rush Rules !
– Tomorrow morning I continue a birthday week tradition.
– That’s right kids – I’m getting my annual eye exam done.
– That means that I’ll be blind for HOURS tomorrow.
– My pupils will be dillated no doubt.
– I’ll look like a stoner.
– Guess I’ll just have to hang out at T-G-I-Fridays while that’s goin’ on.
– My eye doctor is at The Falls.
– I thought that I needed to clarify that.
– I wish that we had a T-G-I-Fridays aqui en Homestead.
– The joint would be jumpin’.
– You should have seen the line in front of the new Olive Garden yesterday.
– It extended out from the front door and wrapped around the parking lot.
– There were HUNDREDS in line looking for a job.
– A little over a hundred will be hired.
– I can’t wait for Olive Garden to open up.
– That way I can finally eat at the LongHorn SteakHouse !
– It’s really cool to see places here in Homestead totally PACKED !
– The sudden death of Homestead was greatly exaggerated.
– Don’t mess with my hometown.
– I’ll defend it.
– I have nearly 22 out of my 42 years invested in this place.
– That’s a half a lifetime !
– Well that’s about all for now.
– Those are my Mini Thoughts for this Thursday night.
– I sincerely thank you for spending a few minutes with me reading these.
– Go forth and live your Life to its fullest.
– You won’t regret it pal.

Categories
Animals Career Commerce Food God History Life Money Music Radio

Saturday Night Retro

My old (and well-preserved) checkbook registers reveal a lot about the storied history of my life.

19 years ago in May of 1990 my take-home pay from the base was less than one-fifth of what it is today. Things were much cheaper back then !

Back then I drank Coca Cola Classic and I used Plax and Act in conjunction with brushing my teeth. I also washed my clothes with Tide. I know this because I wrote these items down within the ‘description’ lines of the checkbook register. Some things just never change !

My cable bill was $40.12 and my long distance carrier was MCI. It cost $20.60 to register my vehicle for another year. That’s almost exactly half of what it just cost me to do it again this past month.

One last thing. I was buying cat food at the HAFB Commissary. I didn’t ‘own’ a cat at the time. Oh yeah – there was however that mangy yellowish cat that essentially lived underneath my car in the parking lot of my dormitory on base for a few years. I suppose that it picked my car as its ‘roof’ because it (allegedly) continued to find miscellaneous food laying there.

Back in May of 1990 this was one of the hottest songs in the entire free nation. It’s the U.S. TOP 10 megasmash “I Remember You” from heavy metal glam rock band Skid Row (featuring then lead singer Sebastian Bach). It’s from their self-titled multi-platinum debut album, and it was one of the top high school prom songs in the nation in May of 1990. So all you 37-year-olds out there from the ‘Class Of 1990’ – this one is for you !

That’s my long distance dedication from Chris in Homestead to the entire ‘Class Of 1990’. Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for God. Oh yeah – and keep your web browser tuned – right where it is !