Here it Comes

Well. I’m certifiably informed that we are now engulfed in what passes for 2024. This is a very good thing because it means I am ensconced in the beach front condo, not having to worry about whether the next storm is ice or snow. I’m not saying this to rub salt into the wounds of those who do have those concerns.  I’m simply enjoying the fact that after so many years of doing exactly that, since retirement, the beach is now my winter residence. The past few days have been spent settling in, which was a challenge since we felt obligated to celebrate the arrival of the aforementioned new year.

Wife and her Two Sisters New Years Eve

I arrived Saturday with the Favorite Panamanian, her two sisters, and her mom. We spent nearly all of New Years Eve on the beach as further unpacking would have felt unpatriotic. I returned from the sunset viewing (a daily requirement to watch the orb sink into the Pacific) to find the ladies getting dolled up for the New Years Eve celebration. I was impressed. We were joined for a little while by the upstairs neighbors. The celebration was more subdued because we didn’t have the usual infusion of younger blood from the many nieces and nephews who usually join us. They are now all working stiffs (yet another sign I’m getting old). We still did a credible job of celebrating the arrival of 2024 and walked out onto the balcony to watch the fireworks from down the beach.

Wife and Tia Loca

Wife with our House Guests

And the Upstairs Neighbors

New Years Day was spent (wait for it) back on the beach although I was drafted to produce my annual turkey dinner for my wife’s family. This has always been a challenge to first find a turkey and then fit it into the condo’s fairly small oven. I prepped the bird the night before (first task of 2024) and snuck out of bed early to start the oven (always a challenge involving a faulty automatic lighter and some matches). I didn’t burn off any of my eyebrows this year and the oven stayed on for the entire time it was needed (also a first). The dinner was big success as the upstairs neighbors also joined us.

New Years Day Beach Walk with Wife and Tia Loca

Always This Crowded

Sisters Posing

Yesterday Tia Loca had to return to Panama City and we drove the rest of our guests back to David. My Favorite Panamanian had a list of errands we had to perform such as meeting with the auto insurance folks, getting new batteries for the car keys, and obtaining the supplies we forgot on our initial foray. Those may seem like mundane tasks but nothing is simple in Panama. When you add in the purely insane driving environment in David, that I’m just getting re-adjusted to, it made for an exciting day. Thank God for afternoon siestas. We achieved some remarkable success though and I even learned how to start the car if the battery ever completely dies in the key fob. That was pretty cool.

Beach This Morning

Crowded Again

Starting to Really Appreciate this Whole Retirement Thang

We ended the day with a movie at the local cinema where we saw Aquaman (see below). After the movie we drove back to the beach (having missed the sunset). Speaking of sunsets, when I posted on Facebook about my return to Panama a high school friend commented that this meant they would be seeing a bunch of sunset photos. While I hate being predicable (a little bit), I am almost forced to share these representations of the natural beauty I’m blessed with each day. This used to bother Great Aunt until she visited last year and witnessed a few herself. She now understands.

So Here We Go

First Sunset of 2024

I know this latest version of Aquaman is not getting a lot of love from the critics which to me means it was probably pretty good. I was right. I truly enjoyed this latest venture into the undersea world which Jason Mamoa has made his own. He continues to own the role and injects just the right amount of humor, danger, and recklessness. They brought back Patrick Wilson as his brother and they make solid chemistry with each other. The story moves right along with top notch special effects and a truly crazy final battle. I thought they missed a little by not giving the villain any redeeming qualities but everything was moving so fast that was a minor issue. This is a full-blown superhero epic that got misplaced from summer somehow but it certainly works. Critics wrong again, go figure.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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