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Saturday Night Retro

Saturday November 20TH 2010
Volume 3 / Number 11 / Edition 108

31 years ago in November of 1979 66 Americans were taken hostage in Tehran Iran when the U.S. Embassy was invaded and seized by student radicals. This would begin an International crisis that would continue on for 444 days until January 20TH 1981 when President Ronald Reagan took the oath of office. President Jimmy Carter found opposition within his own Democratic Party, as Senator Ted Kennedy announced that he would seek the nomination for President in 1980.

I was 12½-years-old at the time and living with my Dad, Mom, and 4½-year-old brother on Red Wing Lane in Lanham Maryland. I was a 7TH grader at Robert H. Goddard Junior High School in Greenbelt Maryland – home of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Robert H. Goddard invented the liquid-fueled rocket back during the 1910s and 1920s. Many of my classmates were offspring of NASA employees. That would explain why many of them appeared to be ‘spaced-out’ most of the time.

In FM Stereo one of the hottest pop-country-crossover acts of the late-1970s was Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show out of New Jersey – although they certainly had a distinct ‘Southern Rock’ feel and style to them. As the Disco beat raged on in 1979 country music was quietly entering the pop music scene as an alternative to the club beat. One of Dr. Hook’s greatest hits was this cool track that kind of took on a subtle Disco beat to blend in with its pop chart neighbours. It even crossed the Atlantic Ocean to become a # 1 pop smash on the U.K. chart exactly 31 years ago this weekend. It tells the simple story of what happens “When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman”.

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Saturday Night Retro

Saturday November 06TH 2010
Volume 3 / Number 9 / Edition 106

25 years ago this weekend I flew on an overnight flight from Northern Virginia to London England to arrive at my new home for the next two years – my first permanent duty assignment as a young 18-year-old USAF Airman. I took British Rail from London Heathrow Airport to Reading – and then from Reading to Swindon further west. From Swindon I hired a cab to take me to my new home and workplace at RAF Fairford. During that cab ride on that sunny and cold morning of Sunday November 10TH 1985 I heard the chilling song “Road To Nowhere” by The Talking Heads on the radio. How appropriate.

My first couple of months at RAF Fairford were mostly spent on base either working at the office (as an aircraft maintenance systems analyst / statistician), or living in the dormitory. I lived in the old-style dorm buildings on base – small ones strategically built in a series of rows shortly after World War II. There were no bathrooms in any of the dorm rooms. They were down the hallway – community-style. Our ‘Day Room’ was where we hung out after work to socialize and watch TV and play card games – mostly Uno. There were some fun all-night sessions in that room. Good times and good memories with good buddies at the time. I can still see us all sitting around that big round table in the corner laughing and carrying on at 3 AM in the dead of the British winter. It made it easier for me during that first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holiday season away from home in a foreign land.

Shortly after 1986 arrived I got to upgrade to my own 2ND floor room in ‘the new dorm’ – with shared bathrooms in-between each dorm room. I also made my way out of the dorm and began exploring the vast U.K. countryside and historic European continent.

But my U.K. experience all began during those first two memorable months of November and December of 1985. One of the top pop / rock hits on both sides of the Atlantic during those early days and weeks at my new home was this comeback smash from Starship. Here’s “We Built This City” – the # 1 smash on the Billboard Hot 100 exactly 25 years ago this month – and one of my favourite songs of all-time !

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Saturday Night Retro

Saturday October 23RD 2010
Volume 3 / Number 7 / Edition 104

Back during the memorable Summer of 1977 I was a 10-year-old kid roaming my hilly Lanham Maryland neighbourhood streets named after birds such as Red Wing, Wren, Wood Thrush, and Nightingale. I liked to ride my bike up and down the hills. I liked to play down by the creek and in the woods. Me and my friends had our own territory in the woods that we converted into our own private park with the use of rakes. We even had our own park flag with all of our names on it. We kept our park neat and tidy, and we only allowed our closest friends entry into our exclusive area. Those were fun times from my childhood that I’ll remember forever.

No matter how old you are always live your Life to its fullest. There will be unsuspecting bumps and sharp curves along the way that make you feel  uncomfortable, but then there will be those real good times too that you may take for granted until you realize that they are no longer there. Savour those good times as they happen. Enjoy every second of them. You’ll be able to share those memorable experiences for years to come with your children, their children, and your closest friends on this journey of Life.

Music has always played an important role during my lifetime. It reminds me of the good and the bad – the memorable and the forgettable. It’s the soundtrack of my Life at any given point in time. ‘Saturday Night Retro’ gives me an opportunity each weekend to share my Life with you via memories and music.

Back during that fun Summer of 1977 this song shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It’s teen pop idol Shaun Cassidy with his # 1 smash “Da Doo Ron Ron”, and it was playing on the radio as I was playing in the woods:

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The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
It’s the 22ND day of October of 2010, and the start of the 4TH weekend of the 10TH month of the year. Every day on this fantastic journey is a celebration of my new Life, but a special celebration always occurs right around the 20TH of every month. It was right around the 20TH of August of 2006 that I discovered CALL-FM on the radio. In a ‘God Wink‘ moment (looking back in hindsight) I eventually realized that God used my love of loud music to bring me closer to Him. That was 50 months ago this week. 5 months after my salvation I was a 1ST-Time Guest at Life Pointe Church in Homestead Florida as I went public with my newfound faith. It’s been a whirlwind 45 months living Life with my church family, and a wild and crazy 50 months following my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And the countup continues !

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
It was a real close call, as this was a rare week in which I ate at both Longhorn Steakhouse and Red Lobster. They were the bookends of my busy Lunch week  with Longhorn on Monday, Red Lobster today, and Chinese food, a Publix sub, and KFC hot wings in-between. This week’s award winner is … Red Lobster !  I had a new hostess greet me at the front door as well as a new waitress serve me at my table. They were both wonderful. The food – as usual – was scrumptious. I enjoyed a Caesar salad, two Cheddar Bay biscuits, the Garlic Crab-And-Shrimp Pasta, and for dessert – the Warm Apple Crumble à la Mode. I diggity-dig !  😀

FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGE OF THE WEEK CLUB:
– You must let go of something before you can capture it for good.

MOVIE I MOST WISH TO SEE THIS WEEKEND:
“My Soul To Take”

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
This Saturday night on my ‘Retro’ I’m flashing back 33 years ago to the Summer of 1977 when I turned 10-years-old. Next Saturday night it’s a special Halloween edition of the ‘Retro’ featuring “The Monster Mash”. Be sure to check out the fun here on the blog. Don’t forget that you can follow me on Twitter all week long to see what I’m up to. Have a safe and enjoyable weekend my friends !