Final Windy Touches

So. I think I’m finally finished with the outdoor Christmas lighting display in my Favorite Panamanian’s vast garden complex. That means that some unexpected and very violent winds came through overnight and into today. The entire Nativity Scene was blown down and the poppa deer did a header into the lower garden. I was in the middle of fixing all that this morning after I raised the flags when I noticed something. I was freezing my ass off. I guess December really has arrived and next month’s sojourn on the beach doesn’t seem so bad.

I had a very interesting episode with an oil change for my car yesterday. I was charging around on a variety of errands sandwiched around my morning swim and everything was going, well, swimmingly, until, during the oil change, the guy asked me if I wanted to change the battery out. It’s now an eleven-year-old car that I only use to putter around town. The only maintenance I’ve done are the requisite oil changes and replacing tires. This was the original battery and the guy said it would not last the winter. The fun started after he told me It would take five to ten minutes. Thirty minutes later he came out of the parts room with a bottle of Coca-Cola and promptly poured that over the recalcitrant old battery. That battery did not want to leave the car and had literally fused the terminals with the connecting wires. It became something of a science project as every mechanic in the place stopped by to give it a try. After an hour and the implementing of a weird looking tool I’d never seen before they popped out the old battery and five minutes later I was on my way, although severely behind schedule.

I know it will come with a blinding flash of disbelief for those who know me but I knew very little about the whole world of high style dating back to the 1970s. I know, scary thought indeed. Therefore, I knew nothing about the legend of Gucci before I went to see the movie. It was highly entertaining if a bit long. Lady Gaga once again proves she can hold her own with acing heavyweights. She channeled her inner Sophia Loren to play a dedicated social climber who was not above, well, anything, to achieve her goals. That goal was to marry rich and she accomplishes that by marrying into the Gucci family despite their opposition. The truly all-star cast succeeds in making the fairly tawdry story sing. There are some weird turns that were hard to understand. Adam Driver, for example,  playing the target/husband changes from a fairly likable guy who has no problem with his wife’s lower social status to all of a sudden having a coterie of high class/snob friends. It’s a movie that brings home the point that all the money in the world can’t buy happiness, especially if it’s given to a bunch of psychos. I’m still trying to figure out what Jared Leto was thinking in his portrayal of the stupidest Gucci but it did add some much need comic relief.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – 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; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course; 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