Diamond Return

One of the most welcome developments of our time in Panama this year has been getting to know new friends at the condo complex. In addition to our upstairs neighbors who have become mainstays of our daily life here, our recent Panama City hosts. We found ourselves together at the condo over the past weekend and the daily sunset ceremony conversation led to a shared love of baseball. My Favorite Panamanian is a fanatic for her provincial team of Chiriquí. The highest level of baseball crazy Panama is the professional league which features very good ball players. Most are former minor league players from the States who didn’t make the cut for the “Show” and have returned to Panama. The level of play is probably somewhere between AA and AAA ball.

Very Fun Group at the Game Last Night

Chiriquí has a very proud tradition with their provincial team. All this background leads up to yesterday’s adventure. My Favorite Panamanian learned that Chiriquí was playing Cocle on Monday night and that led to a group decision to attend the game in David. Our PC hosts delayed their return to Panama City in order to attend the game with us. We set out early enough to buy tickets ahead of time before a pre-game dinner. We thought that was necessary because these games had always been mobbed in the past. That turned out to definitely not be the case this year as Chiriquí is suffering a down year.

View From our Seats

We stopped by one of my favorites, Gallardo’s, for that pre-game meal which included the usual amount of great conversation when this group of people are together. We returned to the stadium, a very modern place only five years old, and since our $1.50 tickets provided open seating, we sat directly behind home plate. I noticed there was a lot less fanfare than my earlier visits there, before the new stadium was built. The fans were very late arriving and only filled about a third of seats when they did. Still, it was a lot of fun watching an actual baseball game. Chiriquí played in a very listless manner. An indication of poor coaching and the first Cocle batter launched a homerun which was the start of a very long game.

Sunday Sunset

Some Old Friends Stopped by to Say Hi

The pace of the game brought home all the reasons the new rules were instituted in major league baseball this year. Every batter stepped out after every pitch and pitchers took forever to throw a pitch. On both sides, very few of those pitches were for strikes and it seemed the bases were continually loaded although there were very few actual hits. Cocle ended up winning 9-6 although we only stayed until the eighth inning. The game was already over 3 and half hours old at that point, so you get the picture. Still, it was a lot of fun sharing a mutual love of the game with our friends. A very good night.

Crowded Beach This Morning

The FBR sadly had a very rough last few days. She picked up some sort of potent virus or infection that kept her out of school for four days and saw her trying to set personal records on how high a fever she could attain. Several trips to the doctor ruled out the usual suspects and they finally figured it out earlier today, saying it was probably a hard to detect (earlier) ear infection. She’s been “fine and feverless all day” in her mom’s latest report. My Favorite Panamanian and I “joked” that our daughter was understanding yet another aspect of our life with her when she was that age as she spouted several high fever events (usually when I was deployed somewhere if you ask my wife).

Thankfully BRS & BR3 Still Feel Fine

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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