Birthday Central

We are in the midst of the annual birthday-a-palooza with the FBR’s this past Saturday, mine yesterday, and two sisters today. That might be confusing to some as I’m a blood relative to only one of the two birthday girls. Great Aunt is no longer a twin. Each year we are a twin for a day as we are the same age. I arrived on the scene one day prior to her first birthday and we’ve gone through life as one day Irish twins ever since. She remains one of my favorite people in the world. I continue to be impressed with the courage she’s demonstrated over the past couple years. The other, non-blood sister, is none other than Tia Loca, she who likes to take my granddaughters into the surf, in their pajamas, after their parents got them ready for bed. That is not the least of her crimes but she’s a lot of fun to have around. I’m blessed in the sister department, both blood and otherwise.

The Birthday Girls With their Sibling

My Favorite Panamanian took a page out of my own playbook to celebrate my birthday yesterday. There was a movie and two heaping meals of dead animal flesh. The real celebration will be Saturday with my annual hometown pub crawl, but yesterday was no slouch. I haven’t had prime rib in ages as restaurants usually only serve it on specific days. Keene Friend, as usual, came though in the clutch. When I asked him if anyplace in Keene served prime rib for lunch on Wednesdays, he learned no one did. He didn’t stop there though and located a place in Worcester, Boynton’s, who did.

Great Aunt Arriving in Panama Earlier this Year

Sisters Fresh from Boogie Boarding in February

This may have been my first time in Boynton’s (memory gets foggy around bars and restaurants – defense mechanism) but it won’t be my last. I loved the atmosphere and the prime rib was as huge as hoped for. From there it was off to the cinema where we saw the Marvels. After the movie we had an hour before our reservations of dinner. I took one for the team and dropped off my wife at the nearby Marshalls while I crossed the parking lot for my first birthday beer at a TGI Fridays (you all know how I feel about Fridays). While I waited, I fielded calls from both son and daughter which helped pass the time, well, that and the beer.

With my Birthday Date at Boynton's

Birthday Prime Rib!!!!

After a quick dinner at a local steak house, we were back home to finally attack the fabulous cake my Favorite Panamanian created for me. We had planned on Facetiming the kids in for the candle ceremony but there was a glitch so we drafted the Panamanian side of the family who sang a commendable version of “Happy Birthday” before I sundered the cake with Bonecrusher. The cake tasted even better than it looked. My wife was making noises about storing some in the freezer for the granddaughters before I asserted eminent domain. The cake will be eaten over the next couple days by the birthday boy (already ¾ gone).

Steakhouse Dinner

The best part of the birthday was receiving all the messages and calls from family and friends. Even if it was a short Facetime message, when I read it, I found myself thinking back to the time I last interacted with the sender. In many cases it had been years, some as many as forty, but receiving these messages brought them closer. That was by far the best birthday gift, reuniting, even over a quick electronic message, with my far-flung family and friends. The worse part of the birthday wasn’t realized until the early morning hours of today. That being, I ate way, way too much food. I’m thinking the near midnight downing of my second helping of cake and ice cream was a big mistake. The resultant sugar rush (which my body isn’t used to), kept me up until the truly wee hours. Still a fantastic birthday, mainly because of these messages and that prime rib. Another thanks to all who reached out, it really did make my day.

My Cake

Bonecrusher Appears

And Sunders

Marble Cake!!!!

The Marvels was a disappointment, which is a disturbing trend on recent Marvel studio movies. The lead three actresses were all great, especially the young gal, as they exhibited a great deal of chemistry. The plot and pace of action really dragged these performances down though. I hear this is one of the shortest Marvel movies but it seemed much longer. There was a determined effort to show empowered women but the same message was much better done in the original Captain Marvel movie. The villainess wasn’t believable and didn’t add anything to the movie. I’m beginning to think the golden age of Marvel has truly passed and this is only the latest example. I feel bad for the actresses because they were very good but even they couldn’t make lemonade out of this lemon.

Three movies fell in my A-Z watch, all keepers (since they’re a series): Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, all are back as Harry emerges as a trye power; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, dementors and werewolves and Harry’s family story; and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Power, Harry goes really dark as Voldemort finally appears.

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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