Normalling the New

I know. I haven’t been on Frail Deeds for several days now. You are most welcome. I have some very good reasons for my lack of productivity, all of them related to family and friends. My absence from the blog is welcome by my Favorite Panamanian. She complains that because I write here so often about what is going on with us that she has no information to share with her friends, since many of them read the blog. This is a serious issue for as dedicated a conversationist as my esteemed spouse. I didn’t stop writing because I had taken her complaints to heart though. I was just plain too busy to waste time haunting the Man Cave to type.

More Fun than Writing

We achieved a bunch of pandemic firsts since my last post. Our first trip back to the movie theater, an in person First Friday celebration, and an extended family gathering to mark Mother’s Day. Where to begin? Obviously the least important, was the return to the cinema but, if you’ve read any of this blog, you’ll know I’m an unrepentant cinephile – I love gong to the movies. That of course has been denied to most of us, those with a sense of preservation that is. The nearby theater is still closed but our old hunting grounds at Blackstone Shoppes was open for business. I was literally the kid in the candy shop walking in. My wife opined that “giddy” was not a good look for a 65-year-old, but I let this criticism waft away, carried by the overpowering and beloved smell of popcorn. We saw a very good movie, Nobody, reviewed below. It was a very different experience with assigned seating and social distancing but it was still – THE MOVIES!!!!!

First Friday!! In Person!!!

That gets us to Friday and the ritualistic recognition of the First Friday of the Week. While we’ve latched on to the very entertaining weekly First Friday FaceTime call with the family, that cannot capture the true energy and spirit of sitting around a table with friends and family. That point was driven home by the gathering of the vaccinated at our house Friday afternoon. Great Aunt, Soxfather, and Keene Friend all stopped by for a lively First Friday complete with non-stop laughter. First Fridays usually peter out around 7 but we rolled all the way to 8pm without even noticing it. It brought home how much this basic human interaction was missed. We made the obligatory soused calls to Pittsburgh College Roommate and the Cantankerous Friend which showed we are still capable of meeting standards.

BRS Immediately Helping Abuela

BR3 Wearing her Lunch

Good Buddies

Finally, I received a text message from an acquaintance who asked why I wasn’t at my assigned table at Brew City. That of course lit a flame for a return, in the hopefully not too distant future, to that hallowed ground. The messenger also made me feel really old as he reported he was retiring from the military at the end of the month after he pins lieutenant rank upon his son’s shoulder. His son is graduating from the same ROTC program that he did. As to the feeling old part, I knew the messenger as an ROTC cadet as I was his instructor. Has it really ben that long ago? Wow!

We’ve made our way to the pinnacle of my time away from Frail Deeds - Mother’s Day Weekend. My Favorite Panamanian has a shrewd understanding of how I celebrate Mother’s Day, basically meaning I cannot deny her anything. That explains how I found myself plant shopping on Saturday morning as well as searching for a replacement for her Virgin Mary garden statue (decapitated by the FBR in an unfortunate sledding incident).  Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a cement Mary and we did score a bunch of plants. Anyone who knows where I can find a cement virgin (I know, redundant), please message me.

Meeting New Friends

Why Abuela's Shoulder is Sore Today

This Turned out to be her Favorite Playground

Very Happy Abuela

This was all a prelude to the arrival Saturday afternoon by Favorite Son, the ABFA, the BRS and, of course, BR3. That launched a full house for an unremitting 36 hours and I could not have been happier. The BRS had a bunch of new stories and BR3 immediately set out to show off her increased mobility. She’s also officially the family vampire as only her two eye teeth have come in on her upper row. I kept expecting her to take her first steps, she is that close. The best part, for me, was the time I got to hang out with my son. He’s devoted to his family and his job which means I have to grab these times when they’re available. He’s truly become my best friend in adulthood. I know that will probably scare the hell out of him.

Fire Buddies

Giving Grandpa Some Tips

S'More Happy BRS

Consulting the Expert

Favorite Part of Weekend

Saturday evening saw the ignition of my beauty challenged fireplace to roast some marshmallows leading to the creation of S’mores. The BRS was my buddy in this effort and polished off a complete S’more by herself. The apple tree from whence she fell, the ABFA was right there as well, demonstrating the proper technique for the rest of the unwashed masses. There was also some time in the Man Cave where we watched a very funny animated movie where the main characters were a father and daughter with the same names as the ABFA and her dad. While it was funny in its own right, the parallels between the two fathers and daughters made it even more hilarious. The BRS slept in the official granddaughter big girl bed for the first time and loved the Elsa nightlight made famous by her elder cousin.

New Jersey Bunch on the Road

Speaking of the FBR and her parental units, they were atypically out of contact for the entire time. They had journeyed to the dark interior of Western Pennsylvania for a group weekend with two other couples and their kids. The FBR had waited with breathless anticipation, counting the down the days until the trip arrived and according to her very tired parents, reporting last night, the trip was everything and more that they hoped for.

FBR and her Crew in PA

Sunday morning was, of course, Mothers’ Day, which meant the moms in the house could not do anything except sit back and be pampered. My son and I were preparing a turkey dinner with all the fixings and that started at 630am followed by a breakfast of hojaldras. Neither my son nor I possess the appropriate light touch to make my wife’s signature breakfast but we gave it the proverbial college try. They were all eaten, so there. Shortly after noon the ABFA’s parents and Riggins showed up to join in the festivities which made the weekend complete. It’s telling that such a simple gathering can hold so much weight for the soul, but it was and did. It almost felt like pre-pandemic days when we took these occasions a lot more for granted.

Mom Day Mimosas!

Happy Grandparents

ABFA with her Parents

The dinner, if I do say so myself (which I most certainly am), was a complete success. My son and I even cleaned up after ourselves which was a definite first for this type dinner. My Favorite Panamanian was on her best behavior and didn’t complain once about the states her kitchen passed through under our stewardship (although she did keep a sharp eye on us). The work was made a little easier with the Red Sox game (and their latest win) on the nearby television during the bulk of our labors. Riggins became a huge fan of our cleanup effort, securing several random pieces of bird that flew off the counter. He became such a constant companion that we learned how the BRS and BR3 must feel at dinner time when a healthy percentage of their dinners end up on the floor.

Tower Building with BRS

BR3 Playing Peek a Boo

The problem with such fun times lies in their inevitable end. My son, despite his herculean efforts at providing an epic Mother’s Day to the ABFA and his own mom, still had an hour long drive home while corralling his two supremely energetic daughters along with a turkey sated golden retriever. It was sad to see them pull away but nothing could dim the joy their weekend presence had meant. We didn’t have to suffer in silence though as the ABFA’s parents stuck around for another hour for a very entertaining conversation. We talked about how special the weekend had been and how much we had missed our times together over the past year. We are singularly blessed in the “in law” department. Eventually they had to head home as well and the house fell back into its pre-weekend silent mode, although a house with my Favorite Panamanian in it is never really that quiet (in a very good way, I hastily add)

The ABFA is in Charge of Marshmallows for Sweet Patatoes

She Insists

We Always Stock Up

For this Reason

Table Ready

Dinner is Served

The movie Nobody proves Hollywood is still there and kicking. In some real movie magic the dumpy lawyer, Saul, from Breaking Bad, and Jim from Taxi, are transformed into lethal killing machines. Huh? The Russian mob needs to look into their cinematic selection of potential victims as they once again run into a buzz saw when they pick on the wrong guy. Bob Odenkirk wouldn’t be your first thought when you’re asked about dangerous leading men but he delivers. He’s a seemingly nebbish businessman whom life is beating to a bored pulp when those unfortunate Russian mobsters decide to liven things up. This will rightfully be compared to John Wick for a lot of reasons but Odenkirk, as Hutch Mansell, comes out of nowhere. There are some incredibly funny dark comedic moments amongst all the havoc and death as well. I wasn’t sure what to make of this after the first few minutes but you slowly and effectively see the veil slipped off his character. A truly fun return to the movies, pure Hollywood escapism at its best.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; 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; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; 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^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; 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; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn