Recovery and Panamanian Women

I am continuing my emotional recovery from having to bid farewell to all three granddaughters. It was, perhaps, too much of a good thing compressed into too short a time. While I load an overly impressive amount of credit to the FBR, BRS, and BR3, in reality, it was also having to say goodbye to my daughter, son and their spouses because they’re a hell of a lot of fun as well. So, in retrospect, my problem is that I had way too much fun over the past week and am I now suffering from the inability of the cosmos to continue such.

Sunset Last Night with Tia Loca and Wife

Panama is trying. We’re now at the ultimate day of Carnivale which means a lot of dancing, singing, and crowds being doused with fire hoses – it’s a Panamanian thing. After the past couple years of Covid restrictions this is the first real Carnivale in three years and the Panamanians are living it up to the fullest. That means the drive through the village of Las Lajas requires a great deal of patience – a quality I am not liberally blessed with, but at least the scenery is more than notable.

We Came up with Novel Way to Elevate Wife's Balky Knee

Tia Loca and I Sunset Last Night

Speaking of Panamanian women, I agreed to be the driver yesterday for my wife and Tia Loca back to David to pick up my mother-in-law for a trip to Boquete. I hadn’t realized we were also bringing her back to Las Lajas with us for today’s final day of celebration. I love my mother-in-law so that is no problem whatsoever but as the day extended longer than I hoped my prospects of making the very lively sunset recognition ceremony back at the condo were reduced. I say lively because the building is more occupied than it has ever been. That means, the usual solitary sunset is liberally laced with music and fun, not to mention more than the usual number of thongs (but I digress).

The, For Once, Crowded Condo Beach

As the day faded away, with additional Boquete shopping venues identified and reconnaissance needed, my hopes diminished. However with a bribe of Italian gelato my Favorite Panamanian was finally convinced it was time to head back to the beach. I thought we were in good shape as we got off the InterAmerican Highway with nearly 40 minutes to spare. Then we ran into two police checks (they take road safety here on holidays very seriously) and we rolled into Las Lajas. We lost whatever extra time we had as we had to proceed at walking pace with the freshly doused crowds on the main road.

Tia Loca Once Again Dancing the Sun Away

Joined by My Wife

I then endured a ten minute lecture from my Favorite Panamanian as I made, what I thought, was really good time on the dirt, pothole laden road to the condo. She of was a very definite opinion that I was going way too fast and she knew what I was thinking – Atlas Beer and sunset. I was eventually forgiven as we arrived and immersed in the very fun crowd. One of the PanaGals showed up and joined in the fun as well. We had a spectacular sunset (I know – redundant) and my wife and I ended up talking well into the night with a couple of new friends. Too much fun.  My wife and her coterie of female accomplices disappeared into the night to journey back to Las Lajas to take part in yet another Carnivale event. I was not ready to endure another lecture on my driving so I stayed home to watch a movie with my nephew and realized I hadn’t brooded too much during the day about the missing granddaughters.

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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; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him 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); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; 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; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; 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