Dual Parties and Half a Walk

These Guys Show Up Today!

The 4^th of July rolled around just in time to offer a very needed excuse to become celebratory. We attended two different Latin Mafia parties with accompanying beer intake that I attribute to the blistering heat we’ve been suffering through. Not buying that? Yeah, neither did my Favorite Panamanian. It did offer a rare mid-week chance to unwind and enjoy the company of good friends which is never a bad thing.

Wife and I With the Neighborhood Mafiosos at First Party

The first party is an annual tradition out in the wilds of Leicester. A very nice Peruvian lady and her husband host an yearly pool party which has always been a great event. We joined our friendly Neighborhood Mafioso who arrived well before we did. I then embarked on my heat/humidity mitigation plan which involved the aforementioned beer intake from a strategically placed cooler. In the future I think my wife will insist on a greater distance between the cooler and I.

Our Party Hosts

The party hosts have a superb collection of family and friends who attend the party each year. Although this is the only time I see those friends I always enjoy the interaction although it is jarring to see how much the kids involved have grown over the year. A veritable mountain of food and some insidiously good gingerbread cookies were served which left both my Favorite Panamanian and I fit to burst.

Two Beautiful Ladies
MY Wife and the Neighborhood Mafioso

Despite the good times we had a Panamanian Mafia party to attend back in Worcester, not far from our home (more on that later). We stopped by the house on our way back to re-stock the sadly and surprisingly depleted cooler before continuing on to the party. This group of friends we see more regularly and the Neighborhood Mafiosos had also preceded us there. There was a great mix of young and old and the backyard pool was in full use.

Lady's Circle at Second Party

My wife was soon deeply embedded in a decidedly female group of friends while the Mafioso’s husband and I set up shop at a table on the deck. We were joined by another friend and we christened the table as the “Old White Man Table”. That didn’t last long since Panamanian friends, both new and old, swirled around the table. One new friend even complimented me on my Spanish and asked what country I was from. My Spanish always gets better proportionally with the amount of beer I consume. By this point in the day I was completely fluent.

FBR Pointing the Way North

To See her Cousin - the BRS

A man has to know his limitations and by early evening I realized it was time for me to depart (the cooler was also empty again). This invariably leads to a vigorous discussion with my Favorite Panamanian who is loath to leave any party while it is still in progress (an attitude I happen to admire). Wanting to avoid such a confrontation I dropped the empty cooler off with her and told her that I was going to walk the short mile back to the house so she could continue to enjoy the party. She thought this was a horrible idea and told me I was forbidden from doing it.

I knew this was not an argument I stood a chance of winning, even with my improved Spanish, so I agreed to remain. I returned to my deck table and then continued out to the street and embarked on my walk. You may have a surmised I have a bit of a stubborn streak. Ten minutes later I was about halfway home and complimenting myself on the very straight line I was managing to walk when my wife came screeching to a halt next to me. Apparently I don’t hide the stubborn streak as well as I thought. Shortly after my departure she checked on my location and was informed of my departure.

We returned home while I endured questions as to my sanity. I stated I simply did not want to remove her from a party she was obviously enjoying and the walk was less than what I used to walk to 1^st grade. She did not appreciate my logic. All in all though – a very good day which contributed to an intense morale improvement trend with today’s arrival of the New Jersey contingent and culminating with the Saturday christening of the BRS up in New Hampshire.