Milestone Crushed

Those of you close to us know that my Favorite Panamanian had a pretty serious health scare thirteen years (wow – that long!) ago. A day when her blood pressure spike caused us to head to the emergency room where after a really long wait and multitude of tests they discovered she had two aneurisms in her brain behind her eyes. That is every bit as dangerous as it sounds. Luckily, if that word is even appropriate in this situation, this happened in Worcester where a remarkable doctor was pioneering a new process where they send a micro camera up through the blood stream to check out the aneurisms. They did that and pinpointed both aneurisms. They then, using the same micro fiber line, treated one by packing it and installing a stent in the blood vessel to protect it. The other one was smaller and they decided to monitor it. That means every three years she goes back and they send the cameras in again to check things out.

Back Home!!!

That happened this morning. While it has become “almost” routine, I hesitate to use that word to describe when they stick wires and a camera in the blood vessels passing through the brain. She handled it like the champ she is and came through with flying colors. She’s upstairs resting her arm from the bruising it took at the camera launch site. She’s also regaling me with stories about how “bien sympatico” (very cute) the new Cuban American doctor was She carefully pointed out in the discharge instructions which stated she can’t do dishes for more than a week while the wrist heals. Because she is who she is, she also cleared with the doctor about Friday night dancing, that’s on, but without any spinning moves (I might just be able to keep up with her). But, all good news, that weight I felt but never admitted to her is lifted.

Cat Faced FBR

To prepare for this procedure my ever the opportunistic wife inveigled me to go flower shopping with her. Actually, I volunteered (you see 41 years of matrimony has taught me some things). At any rate, we spent a “glorious” hour and a half perusing the garden shop aisles where I was constantly warned to be more careful as I tried to fit “our” selections in the rapidly overburdened platform truck. Somehow, we fit it all in the back of the Highlander and spent the last part of the day on Deckzilla while she transferred her plunder in the various and sundry flower pots, some of which I’d never seen before. It was good therapy for her although I was serially biting my tongue to keep from voicing opinions in an area I am not qualified to critique.

Attacking Wingman

As you can see from the attached photos the FBR didn’t let any moss grow upon her return from her busy weekend in New England. As soon as she returned home, she headed out for the Maplewood Mayfest and was in short order decorated in signature fashion with a face painted cat. Its what she does.

Earlier this week we executed a Date Night at the movies and saw Fast X. This almost qualifies as a guilty pleasure now as this film series left reality several pictures ago. Virtually everybody who was ever in a Fast and Furious film is back in some form because in this film series you’re never really, seriously dead. That’s good news for the sequel I guess. Vin Diesel accrued what seems to be his required solo shots to show us his improved “grimace”. The rest of the cast is a hell of a lot more fun, as were the signature action sequences. Jason Mamoa was a clear miss as the lead villain, playing some sort of metro-sexual Brazilian crime lord barely clinging to vestiges of sanity. Despite his very tenuous grasp on reality, he is somehow able to wield global spanning tentacles. It was a mistake to turn him into some sort of clown but I guess they had to tone down his Dothraki in order not to loom too much over Diesel. As usual, you’re ask to forgive the yawning plot holes and clearly impossible stunts because it’s a Fast film and you forgive a lot for all that delightful mayhem.

Two movies fell in my A-Z watch, both keepers, Dirty Grandpa, don’t listen to the critics, funny as hell; and District 9, where Sharlto emerged, awesome special effects.

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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