Doppelgänged

My Favorite Panamanian sent along these pictures which mark the last of her Las Lajas sunsets for the foreseeable future. She spent most of yesterday cleaning and packing away items in the condo which will sit unoccupied during the impending rainy season. She will journey north tomorrow where my geographic bachelor status will be blessedly terminated. For that reason she is not the only one engaged in cleaning activities. I have survived another winter long separation but more importantly so have the household plants (against long odds).

Keene Friend filled in as my date last night as we took in dinner and a movie. The FBR caught up with us in the restaurant for the nightly FaceTime call. It was hard to hear but she was extremely proud that she had just finished a similar call to her cousin the BRS. The night before the FBR had demonstrated her rendition of Let it Go from Frozen and I may have mentioned that the BRS loved that song. A day later the FBR performed it for the BRS and apparently was a huge hit. I’m increasingly convinced these two sharp willed young ladies are going to be fast friends which will generate some interesting challenges for the parents involved. The coolest thing is being able to watch from the sidelines as a grandparent.

The movie was Us, Jordan Peele’s follow up to last year’s amazing Get Out. Lupita Nyong'o is startlingly good in a dual role as a paranoid suburban housewife and her evil doppelgänger who appears along with the carbon copies of the rest of the family. Bloodshed and associated mayhem are soon at a fever pitch along with Peele’s trademark and very subtle humor. I’m sure Peele aimed the terror at the disconnected nature of today’s society and lack of faith as each family member wants to go his/her own way on the supposed family vacation. They are soon forced to come together, engaged in a battle for their lives against their implacable copies. I figured out the main twist fairly early but that only made the ensuing plot points more enjoyable. This movie belongs to Nyong'o who is frustratingly dull on one side and starkly terrifying on the other. Peele, it turns out, can do straight horror very well also. I am now even more pleased that he’s heading up the newest reboot of the Twilight Zone because this movie felt a lot like one of Serling’s own offerings.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law, formerly known both as MEF – Most Excellent Fiancé & MEG – Most Excellent Girlfriend; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt = my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rdmusquetera (musketeer); Buddy – AKA the Wonder Pooch – family dog, a black lab – hates squirrels, died in 2017; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting arrival of the BRS; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Excellent Boss – my former direct boss at work; Deckzilla Dude – senior citizen carpenter/contractor; Voices of Inappropriate Worth - members of public who come to every Worcester public meeting to complain, all are on public assistance along with demeanor issues