Cold Moves In

I’m not talking about the weather either. Although that is finally changing over to beloved autumn. My Favorite Panamanian started experiencing cold symptoms during our stay with my son’s family this past weekend and it has exploded into a full-fledged, sinus cold. To be clear, my wife does nothing halfway. While I was concerned it might be a reoccurrence of Covid, that is not the case. She’s been poleaxed by the cold which has kept her pretty much bedridden for the past few days. We had accepted an invitation to dinner from our long-time neighbors in Charlton, whom we hadn’t seen in years, for tonight, but had to cancel that as well. There was also a planned surprise for tomorrow that will have to be shelved. I’ve been trying to be as supportive as possible as she rangers her way through this latest malady. She exiled me form the master bedroom to protect me and I find I don’t like sleeping alone despite the ability to watch late night television without attendant complaint.

2 Old Guys at Our Old High School

It's given me to thoughts once again about mortality. It’s not a subject that I dwell on but colds used to be something you just handled and moved on. As senior citizens they have to be treated with a lot more care. I figure I’ve got fifteen good years left (the good Lord willing, of course). It’s why I spend so much time working out, which seems to help pushing back the inexorable march of time. I still remember something my mother told me as she aged, which was to never get “fat”. Still, fifteen years isn’t a long time. I’ve been out of the Army longer than that. Things you think about when the mortal coil wanders ever closer to its expiration date. When I’m not playing a fairly incompetent nurse around the house I’ve been searching for things to do. I knocked out another puzzle in the Man Cave while watching the wretched Red Sox season dwindle to thankfully few games. My Favorite Panamanian felt a little better yesterday and sent me to the movies for an unaccompanied date night.

Latest Man Cave Puzzle

Expendables 4 was such a disappointment. What were they thinking putting Megan Fox in charge of a group of grizzled mercenaries. A plunging neckline will only go so far, even for someone like me and I guarantee I’m one of the guys it was aimed at. Fox also wears what looked to be massive amounts of cosmetic makeup, even when going into battle. The first couple movies harvested the good will felt by rejuvenating the geriatric set of 80s action stars. Jason Statham is now pulling center stage for this one, despite the plunging necklines, and he’s his usual dependable action star self but the movie suffers from the lack of the earlier movies’ attitude. Even the twist ending was highly predictable, just not a very good movie.

Three movies fell in my A-Z watch, all keepers: Gemini Man, when one Will Smith is just not enough; The General’s Daughter, one of my favorite author’s books brought to life, well done; and The Gentlemen, absolutely great, hilarious, Guy Ritchie movie.

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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