Every Day a Weekend

My Favorite Panamanian and I have truly settled into a retired lifestyle whose mantra is what this post is titled with. Since every day is a weekend there was no issue whatsoever with pulling up stakes and heading north on one of my patented thunder runs back to my home town. The stalwart Keene Friend was more than ready to host us overnight, more on that later. Earlier in the week my wife and I finally got around to invading the storage space around the house and emptied it of a significant amount of stored clothes. We discovered over the years with the multiple household moves the Army insisted that we make, that we would jettison the unneeded/unwanted items along the way. That came to a halt with my retirement in 2005.

The Boys at the 'Nuche Yesterday

Another aspect we learned during all those moves is that we would naturally expand to fill whatever space the new house offered or downsize if it was smaller. Now that we’ve been honest to God empty nesters for over a decade, every single closet in the four bedroom house was overburdened with apparel. You all know how much my Favorite Panamanian loves to shop and she’s always treated me as an overgrown Ken doll that she takes great pride in outfitting. I had dozens of pants that no longer fit me since I lost weight a couple years ago. Getting rid of all of them will burn that bridge if I ever contemplate putting the weight back on. Then there’s my wife’s Imelda-level shoe collection. All those clothes and shoes had to go somewhere. We contacted Bog Brothers/Big Sisters who sent a truck early Tuesday morning. The bags with the donations covered our entire front porch.

Front Porch Tuesday Morning

Now to that thunder run; after lunch yesterday, we set out for Keene hoping to make it in time for the afternoon matinee to watch a horror movie with Keene Friend. Okay that was mostly me. My Favorite Panamanian wasn’t buying into that action and left us to our own devices while she set out to start the flower buying for her vast garden complex as well as stopping in at old friend, TJ Maxx. After the movie, Keene Friend and I stopped by Penuche’s Ale House intending to reach out to invite Cantankerous Friend and the Kindergarten Friend to join us. We needn’t have to worry about the latter because we found him already at the bar and the former wasn’t far behind him after receiving our call.

That set up a full late afternoon for what these thunder runs are so special for me, hanging with lifelong friends. We made the obligatory, although pre-inebriated this time, call to the P.C.R. who instructed us to call back after we were better lubricated. This would also allow us the opportunity to serenade his wife with a rendition of happy birthday. Hopefully that ragged verse won’t scar her for life, but that second call was a lot of fun. That was also the only interaction we had with a female during our entire stay at Penuche’s as no member of the fairer sex showed up. I’m wondering if a certain Panamanian had anything to do with that development. Over the course of the afternoon, we solved most of the world’s problems as well as categorizing our various health challenges (something senior citizens are wont to do). We also conducted the initial planning for this year’s annual November birthday pub crawl. You can never start preparation for that all-important event too early.

A little after 7pm we declared victory and walked down to the Keene Friend’s house to watch the Celtics game. The Kindergarten Friend had to go home and explain to his hopefully understanding spouse why he was several hours later returning from his quick errand into town. Some pizza showed up about the same time my Favorite Panamanian returned from her pillaging expedition. It was fun switching back and forth between the Celtics and Red Sox games with the running commentary between Cantankerous, Keene Friend and I with the additional, ever-present spousal advice as well. A great night for both the Celtics and the Sox but I think I had more fun. We knocked out breakfast this morning at the iconic Lindy’s Dinner (of Good Food Cheap fame) before retuning home. Another successful weekday thunder run executed to the highest standards, thanks to my friends.

Lindy's Breakfast This Morning

I couldn’t convince my wife to see Evil Dead Rise with us even after I pointed out it was a tribute to a mother’s love of her children. This was a gory celebration of the Evil Dead franchise as those damnable deadites are back infesting young cabin dwellers. This film takes an interesting turn as we learn the origin of this infestation in a high-rise apartment building instead of the usual isolated cabin. The two lead actresses are spot-on as estranged sisters trying to reconnect in the midst of the older sister’s possession by a demon which is a definite curve ball. There are some subtle but very memorable tributes to the original movie with a chain saw and a couple “Bruce Campbellized” sayings most prominent. In the end this is everything a horror fan could hope for from an Evid Dead movie. Enough blood to float a small battleship and the always handy wood chipper. A lot of very messy fun.

Three movies fell in my A-Z watch, all keepers, Deepwater Horizon, startlingly realistic oil well explosion with always effective Kurt Russel; Deliveryman, surprisingly poignant story of a loser who fathers more than 500 kids and discovers himself; and The Departed, Boston accents on steroids, crackling good crime story with surprises galore.

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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