Cloudy Set

I had an early morning call today. Tia Loca took the midnight bus from Panama City which meant a 4am wakeup to pick her up at the San Felix bus stop on the Interamericana Highway. Due to the miracle of technology, Tia Loca, using Wayz, called when the app informed her she was 45 minutes out. My Favorite Panamanian archly reminded me then that, in a moment of weakness, I had promised to drive her to pick up her sister. Technology worked as we pulled up to the bus stop exactly the same time Tia Loca’s bus did. There is a specific challenge to driving in what the Panamanians call the “madrugada” (early morning hours). It’s canine related. Once I approached the village of Las Lajas I started having to dodge dogs who decided, due to the lack of traffic, to sleep in the middle of the road.  Guess the roads are cooler and they end up there. I was up to the slalom requirements, probably fortunate it didn’t involve cats. Just saying. So, Tia Loca is in the house which should send up the entertainment quotient a number of levels.

Sunset Ceremony Yesterday

The last couple days involved way too many clouds, which is expected with the advent of rainy season, but still. After three months of daily sunshine (except when Great Aunt visited) it feels wrong. It’s similar to my time in Germany in the late 70s with the opposite direction. I remember being stunned when blue sky showed up after months of clouds. Although the prevalence of clouds meant a non-existent sunset (at least from our side of the clouds) we still religiously observe the sunset ceremony with the upstairs neighbors. We were therefore pleasantly surprised last night when the clouds on the horizon parted right at sunset and delivered one of the most awesome of the year.

That Sunset

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

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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course