Semi-Triumphant Return

So. I’ve been away from Frail Deeds for a while. You are welcome. There won’t be the usual avalanche of pictures because I forgot to take my phone with me when we spent the past couple days in David. I could have borrowed my Favorite Panamanian’s but the odds of finding an appropriate photo op and her not talking on the phone are astronomical. We went back to David with a very ambitious agenda including buying a new shower enclosure for the guest bathroom, car inspection, car registration, a new TV for master bedroom, a swivel mounting bracket for the main room TV along with a myriad of other tasks. There were some challenges. We left on Tuesday morning which was a national holiday in Panama, the Day of Martyrs. It commemorates a bunch of young Panamanians killed in a confrontation with the US during the Canal Zone days, so a good day for a large gringo to keep his head down. They also don’t sell beer on this day. I did say challenges. It is also a huge beach day and the condo complex was filled to bursting, so a good day to be elsewhere. As we were leaving Las Lajas there was a long line of cars rolling towards the beach, including full buses. Luckily all the places we hit were open with the added benefit of no traffic which is decidedly atypical for David.

Gelato Time in Boquete
Wife with her Mom and Aunt

We found the shower enclosure, the last one in stock, and on sale. I found a google tv on sale at the box store we frequent along with the swivel mount. Lunch was at my favorite, El Fogon, with my buddy/waiter Everardo, very happy to see us. By the early afternoon we had accomplished all our shopping tasks and were hanging out at my mother-in-law’s home. We hit another favorite, Terra’s for a pizza dinner Tuesday night, but again, no beer. No traffic in David was a more than fair trade. Wednesday morning, we dropped the car off for an annual service and official inspection. That went well and after lunch we drove up to Dolega to get the car registered.

Sunny Boquete

That took less than ten minutes and as “luck” would have it, my wife’s favorite aunt lived just down the road. We had brought my mother-in-law along with us because of this proximity. They had a nice visit and since my Favorite Panamanian had been longing for gelato, we hit the road for Boquete. Dolega is about half way to Boquete from David. What we didn’t expect was running into a truly ferocious rain storm as we headed into the mountains. This is supposed to be the dry season with no rain between December and March. My Favorite Panamanian was into serious stress mode since she acts almost allergic to falling rain. She was now faced with the competing goals, avoiding rain and acquiring gelato. She must have a guardian angel because my ears had just finished popping from the climb to Boquete when we broke through the clouds into a sundrenched Boquete.

Granddaughter Break
BRS Looking Confident in Kindergarten

After returning to David, I faced the task of loading all our acquisitions into the car for the trip back to Las Lajas. The biggest item was the set of glass doors for the shower enclosure. My wife, based on my history, was concerned I would take enough care in loading them for the bumpy ride to the condo. They were a couple hundred pounds so it was an interesting load out but using two boogie boards we bought for our upstairs neighbors as a cushion I thought we were in good shape. I was soaked with sweat from the effort but took it as a good sign that I didn’t receive any additional guidance from the supervisory sector. We had one quick stop at a grocery store to pick up a few items. This is where disaster struck. After loading all the heavy stuff without incident earlier, as I moved the small grocery bag into the car I felt as if someone had stuck a knife into my back. One of the real “benefits” of getting old is having a balky back.

This was a new kind of pain as it felt as if a muscle running from one side of my lower back to the other side of my upper back was on fire. I’m sure it was fatigued from earlier efforts and moving the ten-pound bag was all that it took to snap. “Fortunately”, I had an hour and half drive ahead of me. My wife offered to drive but as long as I kept my hands at text book position there was no pain. She fished some Tylenol out of a suitcase and off we went. The drive was not a lot of fun, especially whenever I had to turn the wheel. We made it back and I emerged from the car feeling and looking like a 90-year-old. The caretaker showed up to help carry the food items up to the condo (elevator still not working). I was entrusted with a package of toilet paper for the suddenly very long climb up two flights of stairs. We left the heavy stuff in the car overnight since the contractor was coming in Thursday morning to install everything and his first task would be to carry it all up.

Heavy Stuff Carried Up

New Guest Bathroom

We had just settled in when a thunder storm that put the earlier one we experienced to shame. It felt like we were under artillery fire as the thunder was almost continuous and the wind driven rain overwhelmed the balcony door seals and my Favorite Panamanian was running around with a mop for nearly an hour. I tried to look appropriately chagrined that I was physically unable to help. It was truly shocking to get this type of rain at this time of year here. The biggest surprise, the power didn’t go out. I remarked on this the next morning at breakfast to my Favorite Panamanian. In yet another example of “should have kept my dumbass mouth shut”, the power went out fifteen minutes later. Luckily the contractor had battery powered tools and the installation wasn’t delayed. Six hours later the power came back on, just as they were finishing up. While everything was going on my wife and the contractor came up with a new project. I’m sure this guy is so happy when he knows we are returning to Panama since it represents a guaranteed income stream. He does good work for a reasonable price so I’m more than happy with the relationship. My wife was attacking my back with a series of lidocaine patches and Tylenol. I was initially concerned because this was a new kind pain but it calmed down a little yesterday and today it only twinges when I forget about it and turn more quickly than I should. I should be able to get back to my workout routine tomorrow. I’d been making good progress at working off all those Christmas cookies before the back went out.

While watching everybody else work I caught the news about the end of the Belichick era in Foxborough. After his worst season since arriving, the legendary coach is leaving the Patriots. It was time. I will be eternally grateful for the past 24 seasons when he turned the Patriots from a laughing stock to a true juggernaut. Six Super Bowl wins! Wow, just wow. There would have been eight except for Asante Samuel and Wes Welker. There will always be detractors, especially in Pittsburgh (because he had their number,) but we were blessed with the combination of the best coach and the best quarterback in NFL history. It was a great ride and the memories are too many to celebrate appropriately. Thanks Bill, you were the best.

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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