1. Today was a very tough day at work for me and my co-workers in my building at the air base. We received the unsettling news shortly after 7 AM that one of our own was down on the street (SW 288TH St. – just down the road from the base) in very bad shape after being t-boned by a car and thrown off of his motorcycle. Word came in a short while later that he had died as a result of his injuries. Our building was in mourning for much of the day, and one of the Base Chaplains spent much of the day with us. The guy that we lost was well liked by all, and I considered him as one of my favourite people to talk to and hang out with during the course of any given work day. Yesterday afternoon I spent the last 10 minutes of my work day doing just that – talking, hanging out, and laughing with him – not knowing that it would be the last time that I would ever be able to do that. God – Please bless Kevin up in Heaven, and take care of my buddy. I know that he’s in a much better place now that he’s with You. Thank You Kevin for being a good man – and for being my friend.
2. This was actually the 2ND death in our base’s extended work family in the span of roughly 36 hours. The pilot who lost his life on Sunday night when his private plane crashed into the Everglades near I-75 was also one of our own. He was a Lieutenant Colonel / Deputy Commander on the base, and I used to work with him back in the mid-1990s when he was a Captain. He left work on Sunday night, went to Tamiami Airport, and took off in his plane to fly back home to North Central Florida. He never made it. He was 49.
3. Yesterday was Day 7 of my severe cold that was born at work exactly one week ago today, and I still had a noticeable trace of the leftovers of the cold via sporadic sinus pressure and drainage issues. I’m not yet ready to officially declare my cold to be completely done and over with because I just now blew my nose quite thoroughly, and a lot of excess leftover snottage came out and my nose made some funny drainage sounds during the process. I do wish to thank my friends Airborne, Zicam, and Cold-EEZE for their great efforts to make me feel just a little bit better during the peak of the severe cold.
4. I never knew that my all-time favourite take-out Chinese Food restaurant actually has the biggest, boldest, and bestest chicken wings in town – but they do. I deviated from my regular Lunch on Monday, as I ordered a pint of won ton soup, an order of 4 chicken wings, and an egg roll. These chicken wings were GINORMOUS. They were hot, juicy, and tasty. I highly recommend them. I must warn you though that these are your standard fried chicken wings – no sauce – no seasoning – but if that’s all that you want – and you want them BIG – then go and get you some at Shanghai over at the Waterstone Plaza in Homestead.
5. Get ready for cooler and dryer air to sweep through America’s Riviera early this Thursday morning. Our coolest morning should actually be Friday with actual air temperatures bottoming out in the upper-50s and wind chills in the mid-50s. Friday should be sunny, crisp, cool, and dry with temperatures getting no higher than the mid-70s. It should be a little bit warmer on Saturday, Sunday, and beyond, but no rain is expected after tomorrow (Wednesday).
Be sure to check back here in about 48 hours for my weekly ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’ in bullet statements of 15 words or less.
Tomorrow is Veterans Day here in the U.S.A. Never forget all of those brave men and women who have served and who are currently serving our country and defending democracy and freedom during wartime.
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