Category: Travel

Weekend Kickoff Mini-Thoughts

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date November 14, 2019

Let’s try this again – a rapid-fire session of thoughts on my mind right this minute:

It’s been awhile since I last did this.
In fact it’s been 5 weeks.
I enjoy writing these spontaneous off-the-top-of-my-head “Mini-Thoughts”.
Let’s get started, as I look at my wall calendar.
Can you believe that November is nearly half-over ?
Thanksgiving Day (here in the U.S.A.) is 2 weeks from today !
This will be my final Thursday blog post of November.
I’m going offline again next week, so no new blog posts.
I’m going on a 12-day hiatus from blogging and social media.
After this weekend’s full slate of posts I won’t post again until December.
That’s December 01ST when I return with “Sunday Scripture”.
This has been a big year for attending shows and concerts.
My 9TH concert of 2019 was this past Sunday night.
I enjoyed Casting Crowns, Hillsong Worship, and Elevation Worship.
I wrote a nice review of it this past Monday here on the blog.
My 10TH concert is coming up on December 22ND.
I’m seeing comedian Jim Gaffigan LIVE in concert in West Palm Beach.
10 shows and concerts in a single year makes it one of my biggest years ever.
33 years ago tonight I was at the Oxford (England) Apollo at a concert.
I saw Ultravox back when they were big in England.
I still have my original tee-shirt that I bought at the concert !

That tee-shirt doesn’t fit me anymore.
I weigh over 40 pounds more now than I did back then when I was 19.
Ultravox scored with a minor Top 40 hit at the time – “Same Old Story”.
I always thought that the song underperformed.
It didn’t get much airplay on national radio, and that stunted its growth.
I think it’s one of the greatest songs of my life.
I still love it 33 years later.
Its style of music wasn’t particularly popular in the U.K. in 1986.
Check out lead singer Midge Ure practically inventing the “selfie stick”:

I don’t think I’ve ever featured a music video as a “Mini-Thought” before.
That was Midge Ure at 33 – half his age than he is now.
I had a wonderful 2-year stay in the U.K.
This weekend marks 32 years since I left and moved back home stateside.
I haven’t been back since, but sometime I’ll make it back.
Well the Arctic Blast has avoided South Florida so far.
Our lowest temperature recorded so far is a mere 67°F.
But much cooler air should invade us this weekend.
We could actually drop into the upper-50s by Sunday morning !
The natives will be breaking out their flannels, coats, and hats.
We may not reach 80°F all weekend !
Incidentally I live in Homestead Florida.
This is the home of the NASCAR Championship !
The Homestead-Miami Speedway is just 3 miles from my home.
I’ll actually be able to hear the echo of the cars racing this weekend.
You can watch all of the action LIVE on NBC-TV this Sunday at 2 PM.
Well that’s gonna do it for this edition of my “Mini-Thoughts”.
I’ll be back again tomorrow for my regular Friday feature. #RETRO

Career Holidays Military Travel

Honoring My Fellow Veterans

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date November 11, 2019

It’s Veterans Day here in the U.S.A.

This past weekend marked the 34TH anniversary that the United States Air Force shipped me off to a foreign country solo for the first time in my life. As an 18½-year-old I flew from Washington Dulles Airport nonstop to London Heathrow Airport. It was an overnight flight from November 09TH into November 10TH of 1985. From there I took British Rail westward to Swindon, and then from there I hired a cab up to RAF Fairford – my home for the next 2 years. (It was my first permanent duty station.)

I’ve been a member of the United States Air Force for the past 35 years now – going back to when I first signed on the dotted line of the delayed enlistment program near the start of my senior year in high school. I was hesitant in joining the military way back then, but it all turned out just right, and it’s become my career. I’d do it all over again.

To my fellow Veterans – this is our day. From one Veteran to all of the others – I thank you for serving your nation so that we may be free indeed.

Tags Veterans

Christian Driving God Ministry Music Radio Travel

My Top 10 Hits – Week 139

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date October 14, 2019

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday October 13TH 2019:

“Fear No More” – Building 429 [# 2 last week / 11TH week on chart]
“Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West [1 / 11TH]
“Burn The Ships” – for King & Country [4 / 4TH]
“Up Again” – Dan Bremnes [5 / 3RD]
“I’m Gonna Let It Go” – Jason Gray [3 / 10TH]
“Echo” – Elevation Worship Ft. Tauren Wells [6 / 4TH]
“Yes I Will” – Vertical Worship [7 / 9TH]
“Dead Man Walking” – Jeremy Camp [8 / 13TH]
“Faith” – Jordan Feliz [- / 1ST]
“Better” – Pat Barrett [- / 1ST]

# 1 One Year Ago This Week:
“Only Jesus” – Casting Crowns

# 1 Two Years Ago This Week:
“The Gospel” – Ryan Stevenson

Building 429 climbs to # 1 with their debut smash on my chart “Fear No More” – the song that I kept singing along to loud and proud in my car while driving 2,990.5 miles between South Florida and North Texas. It’s a really good song – music and lyrics. It becomes my 40TH # 1 smash since this chart was resurrected from the ashes in February 2017.

Building 429 have been together for 20 years, but they never charted during the original “Salvation Era” of my chart from 2006 to 2010. They scored a couple of big hits during the early-2010s (during my chart’s 7-year hiatus) with “Where I Belong” and “We Won’t Be Shaken”. I discovered both of those tracks for the first time in 2017 as recurrent hits on K-LOVE.

Casting Crowns end an impressive 7-week reign atop my chart. They have now accumulated a total of 18 weeks at # 1 over the past 139 weeks. I believe that they are one of my top artists since February 2017, and I should be able to confirm that soon with a special chart I’ll be producing that will #CountUp my Top 10 artists of this current era of my chart.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again next weekend – 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Your likes, follows, and comments are always appreciated. Thank You for being part of my online ministry to share God’s Good News and win souls for Christ through His music. Enjoy this week my friends. I’m on Twitter @ChrisMDay, and I’m also the man behind the tweets for my church @LivingWatersHFL. May the God of hope fill you completely with joy and peace as you trust in Him.

Tags KLOVE

Christian Driving God Ministry Music Radio Travel

My Top 10 Hits – Week 138

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date October 7, 2019

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday October 06TH 2019:

“Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West
[# 1 last week / 10TH week on chart]
“Fear No More” – Building 429 [2 / 10TH]
“I’m Gonna Let It Go” – Jason Gray [4 / 9TH]
“Burn The Ships” – for King & Country [5 / 3RD]
“Up Again” – Dan Bremnes [7 / 2ND]
“Echo” – Elevation Worship Ft. Tauren Wells [6 / 3RD]
“Yes I Will” – Vertical Worship [3 / 8TH]
“Dead Man Walking” – Jeremy Camp [8 / 12TH]
“Good Grace” – Hillsong UNITED [9 / 5TH]
“Fighting For Me” – Riley Clemmons [- / 1ST]

# 1 One Year Ago This Week:
“Only Jesus” – Casting Crowns

# 1 Two Years Ago This Week:
“The Gospel” – Ryan Stevenson

I am back with my first new published chart since 3 weekends ago, but while my online activity was on hiatus – my weekly chart remained very active behind the screens. “Burn The Ships”, “Up Again”, and “Echo” debuted while I was on-the-road, and “Good Grace” re-entered my chart (after previously falling-off). “Fighting For Me” is new this week.

I say “on-the-road” because I was on a road-trip from my home in South Florida to my families’ homes in North Texas, and then back again. That’s 2,990.5 miles over the course of 13 days and 6 states. I listened to a lot of K-LOVE on-the-road. Before the road-trip I had noted all of the various radio frequencies between here and there (some 14 of them), and I tuned-in to each of them. I listened to far more K-LOVE on this road-trip than I usually do when I’m at home. There were just a few gaps along the way with no K-LOVE coverage in Central Florida and North Texas – so in these areas I listened to other great radio stations such as The Joy FM, 94.9 KLTY, and WAY-FM.

Building 429 nearly unseated Casting Crowns and Matthew West at # 1 this week, as “Fear No More” was probably the most-heard song on my road-trip. I think I heard I heard it about every 3 hours or less for 13 days. It’s a really good road song, but ever since I returned back home again earlier this week “Nobody (But Jesus)” seems to be picking up steam again in airplay, and I keep singing along to it every time I hear it. Both songs remain at their respective chart positions for a 7TH consecutive week.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again next weekend – 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Tags KLOVE