Creaky Thoughts

I wrote last week about my new profession, in retirement, of staying in some sort of good physical shape. That doesn’t come without certain codicils that the body insists upon. One of the most noticeable is not to sit down for an extended period of time after a workout. When I do this, usually after a bike session, I am reminded, in no uncertain terms, that I am no longer a spring chicken. Everything seems to hurt and it takes real effort not to groan (like old people do). We used to kid my mother about this and it’s scary to be almost at the same age she was when she passed. I’m getting an assist in preventing excessive sitting from my new watch which reminds me every now and then that it is time to stand up and move around. I’m a little spooked at how it manages to determine this but I’m singularly obedient for some unknown reason.

I’m taking my new found “fitness” up a tall ladder this afternoon, so if this is my last post, you’ll know why. Just kidding. I hope. During a recent rainfall I noticed the back of the house rain gutters weren’t draining which means something is blocking them and the requisite climb up the tallest ladder I have is called for. When my neighbor across the street moved away a couple years ago he bequeathed me a truly mongoso sized ladder. It’s so big that I have to back the cars out of the garage it get it out. I’ll try to take some aerial photos from up there to prove I made the climb.

The Birthday Girl

More Recently

Today is a special day as it marks the birth date of my youngest sister. She’s a lot younger than me so not afflicted with all this senior citizen nonsense I rave about. I’m very proud of the lady she’s become, a well-respected analyst for a DOD entity. She also is married to the love of her life, finally a prince after some notable frogs. She’s only a few miles away but this pandemic thing has gotten in the way over the past couple years. We’re going to solve that soon. Happy Birthday Sis! I love you and miss you.

My Favorite Panamanians and I took a date night movie in yesterday with Elvis. I was never a huge Elvis fan growing up, the Beatles happened, but my parents were so I heard a lot of him. He was hard to miss as he dominated popular culture for his entire adult life. The movie is fantastic as only Baz Luhrman could have made it. He doesn’t ignore the many flaws but he focuses on what made Elvis – his music. Unfortunately they didn’t use many of his original recordings and whomever did the singing didn’t have the rich timbre that was so distinctive for Elvis. The acting was superb, especially from Austin Butler who is mesmerizingly transformed into the King. It was weird to see Tom Hanks in a rare villain role as Col Tom Parker. I’m thinking they may have gone overboard on that aspect but there needed to be some entity dragging at the supernova. It was a fascinating look into the life of someone we all thought we knew. The biggest difference in this outing was the focus was on his talent instead of his well-trod path to self-destruction. You can understand why he will always be, Elvis!

Finished Another Puzzle
It Even Had all the Pieces

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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