One of the problems with advancing age
is the attendant loss of loved ones. This past year has been especially difficult
for my Favorite Panamanian who has seen a favorite cousin as well as beloved
aunts and uncles shuffle off the mortal coil. The bad news continued earlier
this week with the death, from leukemia, of my sister-in-law’s husband Conry.
That sister-in-law, Charro, succumbed to lung cancer nearly eighteen years ago
and Conry had been truly adrift ever since. He was one of those larger-than-life
characters who would enter a room and made it his mission to insure everyone
was laughing in very short order.
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| R.I.P. my Friend |
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| With Charro and Their Two Daughters |
Charro was the first future in-law family
member I met and played an important part in convincing my Favorite Panamanian that
it would be a good idea to take a chance on a certain gringo lieutenant. She wasn’t
married to Conry at the time. He had been in love with her since high school and
was even chased away from the house one night by my father-in-law when he
serenaded Charro outside her window. When she married someone else, Conry left
the country and worked in the United States for many years. When he heard that the
marriage had fallen apart and Charro was in a bad situation, he dropped
everything and hurried back to Panama and their great love story was finally fulfilled.
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| So Proud of his Youngest Daughter |
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| She Remains one of my Favorite People |
This was obviously when I first met Conry
and I always looked forward to seeing him on my visits to Panama. He and Charro
established a fun home that was soon joined by two daughters. We always stayed
at least a few days with them in Panama City before heading up to Chiriquí. Conry
was generous to a fault and would drop everything to help in any situation. As
with a lot of Panamanians, he was a little time challenged, that led to some
very funny confrontations between him and Charro, usually when it turned out he
was playing his beloved basketball when he as supposed to be doing something
for her.
One of my favorite memories of Conry
involves their 2000 visit to us when we were living in Burke, Virginia. He and Charro
showed up with a respectable slice of my Favorite Panamanian’s family and it
was the best time we had in that house, with non-stop laughter. We also took a memorable
trip in a rented van in the middle of winter up the Eastern Seaboard to visit New
England. The funniest part though was seeing him dragged each day we were in
town out to shopping with Charro. I always thought I married the most dedicated
shopper in their family but it turned out to be Charro. Then she discovered the
Potomac Mills outlet mall in nearby Dale City and you would think Charro was in
heaven. They had to make two trips to TJ Maxx to buy additional suitcases
(large ones) to accommodate all her purchases. They were getting ready to fly
home when a rare snow storm hit the area and their flight was canceled. I was
working in the Pentagon at the time and heard about this from my Favorite Panamanian
while I was at work. When I asked what they were doing with their additional
time with us, she just said, Potomac Mills. Conry was such a good sport and
could never do enough for his beloved Charro.
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| The Whole Fam |
When Charro fell ill with lung cancer a
few years later Conry just could not handle it. In the years since her passing
he was a shadow of his former self although he continued to be the life of any
party he was involved in. You could see there was a bone deep despair behind
the laughing eyes. I’m glad they’re back together again and I’m sure Charro is
giving him an earful about the intervening years, while still laughing in each
other’s arms. Their youngest child, my niece, is one of my favorite people in
the world and I wish I could be there to give her a hug as she figures out her
post-Conry life. He tended to fill your life and the void at his passing will
be immense. She’s tough though and I know she’ll come through. I look forward to
that next hug. Rest in Peace Conry, enjoy your eternity with your darling Charro
in your arms again, you were loved.
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| Conry and Keene Friend During Latter's Visit to Panama |
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| Later, Big Guy, You Will be Missed |
The Cantankerous Friend has also had a
tough week. I got a message last night from the Keene Friend that Cantankerous
was back in the Emergency Room for the second time in a month due to a bike accident.
It seems he tried to play chicken with a truck on his daily mega-bike ride, and
lost decisively. Luckily it was a slow speed impact but still significant enough
to ruin his pricey bike and leave him with some broken bones in his hand. Once
I heard he was okay I sent him a message that he must be trying to date an
emergency room nurse since he was spending so much time there. We talked on the
phone later and it was good to hear him sound in fine fettle. Still, really
scary. Keene Friend joked that Cantankerous says he rides his bike so much to
keep from getting old, and if this keeps up, he might get his wish. On a
lighter note, my son ran into this sign which he immediately sent to me, it confirms
a long-held belief his father tried to instill in him. It is the First Friday
of the Week after all.
Three movies fell in my A-Z watch, two keepers
and one not so much: Donovan’s Reef – have always loved this last collaboration
of John Wayne and John Ford, always fun with Wayne and Marvin on screen
together; Doom – so, so bad, my son played this game incessantly as a kid, only
movie Rock has just been plain bad in; and Doomsday – I’ll watch anything with
Ms. Mitra in it, much better than I remembered.
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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 3rd 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
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