Well here it is the 1ST Saturday night of June of 2011, and it’s Summer in the city. The regular TV season is over. The NBA and the NHL are playing their respective championship series. A new Atlantic basin tropical season has begun. School’s nearly out for Summer !

Where has the time gone ?  Whatever happened to the now lost art form of creative expression that was blogging ?  This is only my 6TH blog post of 2011. Once upon a time in a year not so long ago I was blogging at least 6 times per week. That was in a different era. All things must change. Life must continue to evolve. Unlike virtually all of my closest friends I have not totally abandoned the fine art of blogging. I’ll continue to make occasional appearances here on WordPress to let you know what’s happenin’.

Here’s what’s goin’ on. Today is the last day of me being 43. I celebrate my 44TH birthday tomorrow – June 05TH. I plan to kickoff the celebration bright and early tomorrow morning at Denny’s where I’ll enjoy my free birthday Grand Slam. Naturally I’ll go with the All-American Slam® – a favourite of mine at ‘America’s Diner’.

This Monday I observe the 26TH anniversary of my High School Graduation, and next Sunday marks my 26TH anniversary working for the USAF (military and civilian combined). It actually does seem like 26 years ago !

I’m not blogging on a regular basis anymore, but I’m still active online. Just don’t look for me anywhere on that vast wasteland known as Facebook. I’ve never signed-up for it. I don’t follow what the rest of the world is doing. If you want to ‘friend’ me then please do so in person rather than on the fake world of Facebook.

I’m on Twitter, as I tweet daily @majorhitwaves. I’m also quietly building my photographic collection on Flickr. So far I’ve got 278 pictures up. They are mostly vacation pictures of the past 5 years (many taken by family and friends). I try to add at least a few pictures to the site every few days, so my photostream should look new to you if you check it out every so often. One of my biggest regrets in life is the fact that I never took any pictures of my life up until a little over a year ago. I actually got my first camera last year when I bought my first Android smartphone. It’s a 5 megapixel camera that takes really good pictures. See for yourself on my Flickr !

My Fantastic Journey following my Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ continues stronger than ever. He rescued me from the darkness of the world 57 months ago, and the Life that I live today is radically different than the life that I led for the first 39 years on this Earth. I don’t force my faith on anyone; however, if you wish to know more about the God that I know and my relationship with Him then please don’t hesitate to walk with me on this journey and I’ll share The Good News with you. You won’t regret it pal !

Everything else in my Life is pretty much status quo for the most part. I’ve been working at the same place – Homestead ARB – for the past 23½ years. I’ve lived in the same home for the past 16 years (next week is the anniversary for that). I’ve driven the same car for the past 8 years (the end of this month is its anniversary). Home Sweet Homestead. Life is good. God is GREAT !

On this cool and crisp 60°F Saturday morning in the middle of March of 2011 I embarked in the dark and I emerged in the light. I went on my first organized morning walk around my neighbourhood since the second day of January (11 weeks ago). It ultimately became my longest walk ever recorded over the past 39 months of these seasonal walks - 49.1 minutes / 2.6 miles.

It was a very peaceful and quiet walk at the dawn of a new day. Along the way of this twilight journey there was the dude that was walking his two cute little dogs, the stray dark brown feline that was minding his own bid-niz, the duck family (momma, poppa, sista, brotha), the stray large canine wandering around alone, and the mysterious drunk or drugged driver in the old beat-up white car that nearly ran me over – twice. Other than that it was just God and I have a relevant conversation with each other as I prayed to Him about everything that was on my mind at the time. He listened to me. I listened to Him. I trust. I believe.

20 years ago this upcoming week I went on a roughly 10,000-mile trek as I returned home stateside from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

The trek began bright and early at 0326 local time on Saturday March 09TH 1991 at Al Kharj AB Saudi Arabia. After a 7-hour and 7-minute flight westbound we touched down at Torrejon AB Spain (near Madrid). The layover was unexpectedly long – nearly 5½-hours. After that it was a 9-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean and into Dover AFB Delaware. After a long 21½-hour day of travel I was finally back in the U.S.A. for the first time in over 2 months. After a restful night at a nice hotel in Philadelphia we flew back to Miami and then returned to Homestead AFB on the morning of Sunday March 10TH 1991. We pretty much snuck onto the base with absolutely no fanfare whatsoever. Future Gulf War returnees would be treated to celebrations and parades, but my group received nothing – aside from the rest of the month off in rest and recuperation to do whatever we felt like doing !

I felt like returning to my home-of-record up in the Washington D.C. area to spend a couple of weeks with my Dad, Mom, Brother, and two cats – and so I did. 3 days after returning to Homestead AFB from Saudi Arabia I drove 1,096 miles over 17 hours (spanning 2 days) up I-95 and back to my real home at the time. It was perhaps the greatest homecoming to my parent’s home that I’ve ever experienced in my entire lifetime - a Gulf War Veteran returning home.

People sometimes ask me what I did in the war. I actually had 2 separate jobs while serving in the desert. For 23 days I built fuel tanks. I wasn’t good at it. The 11 that I worked with thought that I was pretty much awful at it. I agreed. We parted ways. I eventually found my mad skills building BOMBS !  That’s what I did for 24 days. I loved it. I was also pretty good at it. I quickly realized that bombs were so much easier to make than fuel tanks. Who knew ?

As of this writing I’ve got 607 songs within my iTunes collection. I often refer to it as my coveted iTunes because it takes a special kind of song to make it onto my constantly evolving hit music hall-of-fame. It’s the music of my Life, and it’s what I listen to at home, at work, and at play.

I joined the iTunes revolution during the Summer of 2007 – a few days after my 40TH birthday. My brother and his wife bought me my very first iPod Shuffle, and they had it shipped to me back then. That was by request, as I was looking for a nice yet simple-to-use music player to store the music of my fantastic journey – the music that was playing on The Call.

Nowadays I’ve got 3 iPod Shuffles that I utilize daily. That original 1GB 2007 model is now my ’50-50 MIX’ – half music of my journey and half music of my life (going back to the late-1960s). It’s split right down the middle – 120 Christian and 120 Secular. It’s my ‘go-to’ Shuffle for the workplace.

My 2ND iPod Shuffle – a 2GB 2008 model personalized with my name on it – contains all of my Christian songs only – all 286 of them to date – pop, rock, and hip hop. This is a music genre that I didn’t even know existed before my journey began during the Summer of 2006.

And then there’s my 3RD iPod Shuffle – a 2GB 2010 4TH Generation model that my brother and his wife bought me as a Christmas gift just a few months ago. It’s got 40+ years of mainstream pop, rock, and dance hits on it going all the way back to the late-1960s. It’s the music of my life, and it’s the songs that I’ve chosen to represent its soundtrack.

Once upon a time I regularly presented ‘The Major’s MASSIVE Memories’ on my web site. Nowadays I’m creating fresh new memories on this journey to go with my lifetime of memories. My coveted iTunes is its soundtrack, as my new Life continues to move forward further into His light.

Debuting in the U.S. about 31 years ago in 1980 was this delicious breakfast cereal from Kellogg’s. It was introduced to the market with a successful and long-running advertising campaign complete with its memorable jingle. It was probably one of the last great cereals that I enjoyed eating early in the morning before school. Right about the time that I entered High School I pretty much stopped eating cereal in the morning. It was a matter of time. Every morning I had to wake up, dress, deliver 100+ newspapers all throughout my neighbourhood, get ready for school, and then walk there (about a mile away).

It’s been about 30 years since I last enjoyed a bowl of cereal with milk. I don’t really miss it nowadays since I’ve gone so long without it. But if I bought a box of cereal and a gallon of milk tomorrow then perhaps I may just enjoy it all over again. Or maybe not. It would probably clash with my black coffee.

* Today Honey & Nut Corn Flakes is known simply as Crunchy Nut.

Sunrise occurred at 7:08 AM, so this 1ST walk of 2011 began a full hour and a minute beforehand. It began between what is known as astronomical twilight and nautical twilight. It ended during civil twilight. It was the twilight of a brand new day in this very young year of 2011.

As is usually the case my neighbourhood of the past 15½-years was peaceful and quiet at twilight. The serenity was overwhelming on this Sunday morning. As Switchfoot‘s lyrics suggest – This is home. Now I’m finally where I belong – where I belong. Yeah this is home. I’ve been searching for a place of my own.
Now I’ve found it. Maybe this is home. Yeah this is home.

This was a 43½-minute / 2.3-mile walk, so that brings me to a little over 13 miles – or just about halfway to my goal of a marathon (26.2-miles) of walking during this winter season.

This past Wednesday night (December 15TH 2010) at the Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood Florida I saw the legendary Huey Lewis & The News LIVE in concert. They performed 17 songs over the course of 1 hour and 20 minutes. It would’ve been nicer if they had performed more of their big ’80s hits, as they left the stage with their fans clearly wanting more. Isn’t that the goal of rock stars and bands when they perform for their fans ?  Leave them wanting more ?

They performed 10 out of their 14 tracks from their current 2010 album “Soulsville” which you can purchase at Amazon.com. It’s their 1ST album since 2001 (“Plan B”).

They also performed the following 7 of their big ’80s hits:

- Do You Believe In Love (1982)
- Workin’ For A Livin’ (1982)
- Heart And Soul (1983)
- I Want A New Drug (1984)
- The Heart Of Rock & Roll (1984)
- The Power Of Love (1985)
- Back In Time (1985)

This was my 3RD Huey Lewis & The News concert. I previously saw them in February 2007 at the same Hard Rock Live – and also in October 1986 in London England at the historic Hammersmith Odeon. Bruce Hornsby & The Range opened for them in London.

MASSIVESMASH.COM HALL-OF-FAME INDUCTEE:
“Hip To Be Square” – Huey Lewis & The News (1986)

Late last night I returned home to Miami to begin my 24TH year of living here in America’s Riviera. It was a very nice American Airlines flight – due mainly because I sat in First Class. While checking in at the self-service terminal at AA at DFW I was offered the opportunity to upgrade my reservation from coach to First Class for $105. It allegedly included Dinner. After mulling about it for a good half-minute or so I decided to do it. The $105 turned out to be a very good deal for me. As it turns out there is no charge for baggage for First Class passengers. That alone saved me at least $25 – possibly as much as $60 due to the fact that my checked bag weighed 54 pounds (above the standard limit of 50 pounds per bag). I was able to board the aircraft first – a full 40 minutes before takeoff time. I sat in a very comfortable seat in the very first row – right by the window – my favourite place to sit. I enjoyed lots of elbow room on both sides of me and ample leg room in front of me. Earphones were free if I wanted them.

Here’s what else I enjoyed as a First Class passenger - a bowl of hot mixed nuts (absolutely delicious and quite a bit hot), a warm moist towel (to clean off my nutty hands), a (real) glass of Sprite on the rocks, a (real) glass of bottled water, a large salad with blue cheese dressing (delicious), a chicken piccata (pretty good with the dipping sauce provided), white rice (it was OK), mixed vegetables (good), a warm roll with butter (very good), and a nice slice of pie for dessert (surprisingly tasty). All of this was served on real plates and eaten with a real fork and knife and cloth napkin. The meal was unbelievably plentiful and delicious for airline food in 2010. I realize that back in the day airline food was complimentary for everyone, unlimited, and award-winning, but this is an enitrely different era of budget-cutting flying. I was very impressed with it all.

After the nice meal the rest of my First Class flight experience was quite relaxing and comfortable. I could hear what appeared to be an uncomfortable baby crying virtually non-stop throughout the entire flight way back in the coach section, so I was very thankful to be sitting in Seat 1F. You know it !

More perks of First Class flying included the fact that I was the 2ND person to exit the aircraft at MIA after landing, and my suitcase was among the first to appear on the baggage carousel. I returned home less than 90 minutes after my plane landed. My next airplane adventure probably occurs next May.

It was another enjoyable Thanksgiving Week vacation with my family. We actually celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas together – a family tradition for the past few years. I’m looking forward to my next trip back to Dallas Texas. Who knew that after watching every single episode of “Dallas” ever made all of those years ago that I’d be visiting the real city and its metroplex. I wouldn’t want to live there, but it’s quite all right to visit the area a few times per year.

Here are my walking thoughts in 15 words or less:

- Late yesterday afternoon I went on a vigorous 45-minute / 2.4-mile walk.
- It’s my longest walk of this young winter season thus far.
- I’ve now walked 10.7 miles towards my goal of a 26.2-mile marathon.
- I’ve enjoyed walking all around my brother’s MASSIVE neighbourhood.
- It’s continuous sidewalks all throughout it, and that makes walking safer.
- Before crossing the streets look both ways or else you could get run over.
- My brother’s neighbours are speed demons, so get out of their way !
- They’ve got to rush home to cook Dinner for the kids.
- Local sunset occurred at 5:21 PM, but dusk arrived before that.
- The sun disappeared behind the surrounding landscape earlier.
- This unusual North Texas heatwave continued, as the mercury hit 80°F.
- This unusual North Texas heatwave comes to a grinding halt soon.
- Temperatures will plummet for Thanksgiving Day (and night).
- When I depart from DFW on Friday night temps. will be in the low-40s.
- When I arrive at MIA late on Friday night it will be in the mid-70s.
- I’m looking forward to the consistent heat and humidity of South Florida.
- I’m especially looking forward to the reunification of me and my bed.
- I thought that this 2.4-mile walk would help me sleep better last night.
- It didn’t, so the only cure to a good night’s sleep is my bed back home.
- My next blog post will be on Saturday night for an all-new ‘Retro’.
- Maybe I’ll walk around my own neighbourhood on Sunday morning.
- These walks are dedicated to the memory of my Dad – William Lesley Day.

Here are my walking thoughts in 15 words or less:

- This past Friday afternoon I went on a refreshing 1.8-mile walk.
- That puts me at 8.3 miles towards my goal of a 26.2-mile marathon.
- I really needed this walk because I’m eating way too much food.
- My family does not follow the ‘one MASSIVE meal per day’ plan.
- My brother and his dog Buddy trailed me for most of the walk.
- They didn’t walk the entire way because Buddy is an old dog.
- Buddy was exhausted after the first 10 minutes.
- I think my brother was exhausted too, but he would deny it.
- My brother lives in a rather large enclosed neighbourhood.
- I could get lost in the grid of streets here, so I walk with a GPS.
- The sky was crystal clear and deep dark blue all day long on Friday.
- Ever since then it’s been rather cloudy and dreary with just peaks of sun.
- At least it’s been warm – nearly record-breaking warm !
- I plan to squeeze in one more walk before the ‘Arctic Blast’ arrives.
- On Thanksgiving Day temperatures may struggle to reach the low-40s.
- Wind chills will be near freezing all day long.
- Guess who plans to stay inside all day long ?
- On Friday morning it will be in the mid-20s outside !
- Guess who is looking forward to returning to the South Florida heat ?
- If I walk again then I’ll post another edition of this blog series (mid-week).
- If not then I’ll blog again next Saturday night for an all-new ‘Retro’.
- Have a festive Thanksgiving holiday my friends !
- Enjoy some quality time with friends, family, and food.
- These walks are dedicated to the memory of my Dad – William Lesley Day.