One Week Before Christmas…
Today’s music trivia group is an American alternative rock
band which was established in Orlando, FL in 1995 and their debut album,
“Yourself or Someone Like You” was a huge success getting lots of airplay. Songs such as, “Real World”, “Push” and “3
AM” off this album were immediate hits and are still played on the radio
today. Their lead singer, Rob Thomas,
was even featured singing lead on Santana’s mega hit single, “Smooth”. Can you name this popular and well-liked
band?
As most of you know, I love Christmas back home in Chicago
in the snow. Chicago is the most
beautiful metropolis I have ever been to and the views of this majestic city
can be mesmerizing. The views down Michigan Avenue with all the storefronts
decorated and all the kids enjoying all the Christmas displays in the windows
is a sight to be seen. The memories made
will and have lasted a lifetime!
It is hard to believe that I only have one more year until I
can retire. Now mind you, I won’t be as
well off as some people are or rich by any means, but I believe I will be able
to live comfortably with what I will have.
It may be average by California standards, but it should suffice for a
Midwestern living arrangement. Having
the freedom to go where I want, when I want and for how long as I want will be
something that I dreamed about for years.
I remember laying in the grass with my Mom in our back yard
in Quincy when I was a youngster and looking up at the clouds and trying to
identify animals or whatever in the puffy and fluffy cumulous clouds as they
drifted by. I would drift off in my imagination and dream of places I wanted to
visit. I remember my fascination with
maps and I would meticulously study them and wonder what the places were
like. Later in life we had the World
Book encyclopedia set and I would poor through them with wonderment and dream
of visiting these far off places. Much
of that overseas travel I did during my days with the Air Force, which can
never be taken from me. Wonderful
memories made are a great way to fill your mind.
Travel is a great way to spend some of your time. Unfortunately, most of the places I have
travelled to was basically by myself. I
believe having someone to share the travel memories with makes a world of
difference. I have had several friends
that want to travel part of my backroads tour with Snoopy and Linus and myself,
but they are only tentative travellers. I am going to have to lock down some of
these people who want to travel with us so there won’t be any overlaps or
conflicts.
Our basic travel route will begin here in El Segundo
sometime in the spring of 2015. We will
be travelling basically in a clockwise pattern starting with heading northbound
up the Pacific Coast and transitioning sometime over East to the Sierra Nevada
Mountains to spend some time in Sequoia National Park and King’s Canyon
National Park. From there we will
continue north to Yosemite National Park to spend quality some time. If you have never been to Yosemite, do your
self a favor and go visit there. Photos
nor TV can really do it any justice. In
person, you have to stand there in awe and just soak it all in. I am not at all religious, but standing there
in person and taking in the view from the vista point can be a life-changing
event. If there is a God, he must have
created this place specifically to want all to experience the immense beauty
for themselves. Visit Yosemite and you will be glad you did. I believe it is
even a more-greater view than the view of the Grand Canyon.
Linus, Snoopy and I would love to hear some more suggestions
from you guys of places we could visit on this tour. We did get some suggestions and we have
already plugged them into our tentative flight plan. Our flight plan is fluid and not written in
stone in order to give us the ultimate freedom to be spontaneous. Have you ever driven down the road ad
wondered what was over that a way? We
want the freedom to be able to do exactly that, go down that path less
travelled just to check it out. How does
that sound to you?
I am already listening to tomorrow’s secret artist’s
music. I listen to the next day’s music
on the bike ride home at night and in the morning getting ready for work and
when I ride by bicycle into work. I
usually hear an album in it’s entirety in the morning and I’ll listen to some
more of it on the way home. It’s only about a twenty-minute ride home after
work, which is not bad at all really.
Music can pull you out of the lowest point in your life and inspire you
to do great things with your life. Music
is very important in my life and I’d be pretty lost without it.
In Snoopy’s own words… Bark Less and Wag More!
Until next time… Be Good!
- cb
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