Emptied

I stood beside a very dark stretch of the TransAmerica Highway last night conversing with a drunk campesino. A very good question to ask would be how I ended up in that situation. The answer was saying goodbye to the last element of my weekend going away surprise party engineered by my Favorite Panamanian. Tia Loca had to catch a bus back to Panama City in order to report to work today. We drove up from the beach to the highway pick up spot (about 15 kilometers) where the bus would stop. Even though this is a very well used bus stop it was poorly lit. I was glad we decided to wait with Tia Loca after the drunk walked up and tried to start a conversation.

Wife and Tia Loca at the Bus Stop

In a wild guess he was somehow still capable of, he assumed I was not a Panamanian. He tried his English out on me. In his inebriated state he was totally incapable of that and wasn’t much better when we switched to Spanish. I turned back around to find my wife and Tia Loca had been slowly edging away from us, so mission accomplished. Tia Loca mounted the second floor of the arriving bus and we escaped back into the darkness to the beach and a much quieter condo. It was a fun final day of the celebration of my departure. Now that I think of it, my wife arranged to celebrate my leaving. I guess if I was a suspicious type I cold wonder about that. The condo building was uncharacteristically full all weekend, including a bevy of bikini clad ladies. Talk about a send off! There were three other beach parties going on at the same time as ours. Sunday was a little more sedate for our group and involved no seafood acquisition adventures.

Beach This Morning

My Favorite Panamanian and I did, however, establish a new boogie boarding technique that I want to chronicle so it is not lost for future generations. We spent a lot of Sunday afternoon in the waves and all three of our boogie boards were in constant use. There’s a general sense of sharing the use so someone was always reduced to body surfing when the board left. My Favorite Panamanian and I decided to attempt a two person ride. I was immediately consigned to the bottom position. The first several were failed attempts to start the ride together which always ended up with me underwater waiting for my wife to climb off my back. In a moment of pure inspiration I told her to wait closer to shore while I would catch a ride, angle near her and she would jump on for the rest of the ride. It sounds a lot simpler than it was as the first few jumps once again submerged me into the boiling surf. Then, through happenstance, she missed her first grab and latched onto my butt and we were off to the races. We made it all the way to shore together with me praying my bathing suit drawstring would hold out, nobody wanted to see that.

After this aquatic success the attendees starting prepping for their return to reality away from the  beach until we were left with only Tia Loca. She and her sister, my wife, can still fill up a large room simply through the decibel level of their conversations. I got a fairly dirty look from my Favorite Panamanian when she noticed I was raising the volume of the TV to hear over the tide of their conversation. With her departure though, the condo became almost tomblike in terms of noise, that is, of course until my wife felt I was in need of a corrective lecture. It was a very fun weekend filled with laughter as I contemplate life away form the beach for the next eight months.

Roothuggers in Nashville

I wasn’t the only one having a great weekend though. The fabulous Roothuggers had one of their reunions in Nashville as well. This outstanding group of classmates from my 1993 Command and General Staff College have been getting together over the past few years and it is always memorable. The timing didn’t work out this year but hope springs eternal for out years.

Dogs Coming to Check me Out

I received a passable pass in review salute from Plinio’s dogs this morning. I was making my solitary morning walk down the beach when I spied the pack of dogs cavorting in the surf chasing small fish. They sent an outlier to check me out and confirm I wasn’t a food source and then stood by in line as I walked past. It was very funny and very Panamanian.

The Pass in Review

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course