Ray Jumping

I sit here in my third day of geographical bachelorhood and wonder how I came to process this so differently. I blame my Favorite Panamanian. While she gets to spend the time back in David with her mom and sisters, I have thrown myself into the solitary beach life, which I enjoy more than is probably legal. My conundrum is that I find myself missing the constant back and forth with the wife. When I initially learned she would be gone for the week I was sneakily a little happy that I would have some alone time without supervision. It turns out, she’s ruined me over the past 43 years. I’ve come to depend on the daily challenge of keeping up with her, since her mind is always going at supersonic velocity. My “kids” know what I mean. It seems almost too peaceful here.

The Very Crowded Beach This Morning
"My" Rancho on the Left

View This Morning from the Rancho

That is not to say I am not enjoying myself. That would be a massive understatement. I’ve been able to focus on my daily workout and have finally shed the last of the Christmas weight. That additional baggage, the result of my surreptitious consumption of every Christmas cookie I could get my hands on. I go down every morning after waking up and take up residence in my rancho (the shady constructions along our beach). After contemplating the state of the surf I do the stretching, abdominal, and weights portion of the workout before heading into that surf for the morning boogie boarding. For those of you who scoff, I end up breathing harder during that session that at any other part of the workout because fighting those waves is tough work (but I’m willing to make that sacrifice😊). After the boogie boarding, I shed as much sand as possible before jumping into the pool for the swim workout, using my bungie cord restraint system to achieve the laps needed.

Yesterday's Ho Hum Sunset

This is all followed by a return to the rancho for some reading while the morning breeze wafts through. I know this sounds like very tough work, but someone’s got to do it. Yesterday was interesting when I first arrived in the rancho. A pod of dolphins was frolicking just beyond the surf break. They were beautiful but singularly devoted to ensuring I could not get a picture of them, camera shy, I’m guessing. There must have been some weird underwater doings yesterday, I was waiting for my last wave (they are rationed) when a fairly large manta ray jumped completely out of the water about 15 feet from me, close enough to hear the smack as he landed back in the water. I usually wait for a large wave to end my session but, since I didn’t want to learn what had caused the jump (something larger in pursuit?), I jumped on the next wave inwards. I’m sure he just wanted to frolic in the sun or shed some barnacles, but I’ve seen too many shark movies to assume.

Yesterday's Sunset Crew

The upstairs neighbors are a Godsend during my Favorite Panamanian’s absence. They’re that even when she’s in residence, come to think on it. I look forward to our daily sunset ceremony gathering to achieve some human interaction. Yesterday’s sunset kind of fizzled out a little but still qualifies as gorgeous. As to that beach reading, I just finished my favorite of the Travis McGee novels that I read each year upon arriving here. While I love all of them (hence the annual re-reading), A Deadly Shade of Gold is my favorite. Now I’ll have to wait another whole year before I read it again, but at least I have another 16 McGee novels to get through this year. A very good year (all fifteen days of it), so far.

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

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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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 (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Abandonado

Yes. I sit here completely abandoned by my Favorite Panamanian! It’s not that dramatic though as this is the week she’ll spend back in David with her mom and there are worse places to be left to my own devices. As the years advance, I know how important this is since I was never afforded the opportunity to spend some time with my mom before her passing. Each year she takes a week to spend time with her mom. We’re seeing some definite signs of advanced aging with her, really for the first time. This is a minor miracle since she’s in her 93^rd year. I had some sneaking suspicions my wife was leaving for longer as I was loading the car this morning for her trip. She had enough clothes for a lot longer than a week (at least in my poorly informed opinion). She archly reminded me of my shortcomings in anything style related and said she would be attending church every day therefore needed a different outfit for each. It was at this point I kept my mouth shut. It’s taken me forty-three years, but I am learning. I told her I would keep an eye out for wild thongs in her absence and she laughed (I don’t think she’s worried about me getting in trouble). She called to say she’d arrived and that she missed me (when it came time to unload the car).

Sunset Crew Yesterday

Yesterday's Sunset Photos Which for Some Reason Loaded in Reverse Order

Tomorrow will mark the official 43^rd anniversary for our civil ceremony which my Favorite Panamanian does not consider a true anniversary because we weren’t married until the priest said we were in March in her eyes.  We had a nice weekend although the condo was as full as it usually gets. Some of the other guests were power drinking in one of the pools for more than a few hours. Neither I nor the upstairs neighbors ever saw anyone getting out to use the rest room. Their bladders must be in much better shape than mine. This morning, for my swim workout, I used the other pool. I’m going to give the filters a couple more days to clean up the other one. We got another fabulous sunset yesterday for the last ceremony with a full complement since my wife will miss out this week.

BR3 Well Made-up with her Makeup Artist the BRS

I accidentally pocket dialed my Favorite Son while I was hurrying to that rest room yesterday during the sunset ceremony. The Wi Fi signal is strongest near the rest rooms and all of a sudden I heard his voice coming from my pocket. Some things are best not shared so I quickly said I would call him back. Once in safer environs, I learned the BRS and BR3 were losing their makeup kit privileges. He provided this picture by way of explanation. Kiddy makeup kits were on all three granddaughter’s Christmas lists. A grandparent paradigm remains that a grandchild’s wish is bordering on a command so each received one. Apparently their parents don’t like the granddaughter’s efforts to resemble the Joker. Who knew?

Beach This Morning Complete with Horses

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

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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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 (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Tropical Friday

Yes. It is the First Friday of the Week! That means some significant changes/upgrades from the garden variety First Friday back home. First Fridays have suffered from my retirement as there is no gathering of workplace co-conspirators to kick off the celebration. In a side note, I noticed several weeks ago that my favorite First Friday watering hole, Brew City, was closed and up for sale. Time, my implacable enemy, continues to march onwards. The upgrades are, of course, being on a tropical beach, closely resembling paradise but it doesn’t stop there. With our somewhat spotty internet, the First Friday Family Facetime call still takes place but with sometimes frustrating interruptions. I still get to hear my son and Riggins give woeful expirations of breath as the BRS and BR3 tear around the house. After the call we head down to the beach to join the upstairs neighbors for the nightly sunset recognition ceremony, always an important part of the day.

Dinner at the Resort Last Night

Following the sunset, we run upstairs for a quick change before driving over our rutted road to the village of Las Lajas to the appropriately named, Sunset Pizza restaurant. So, a fairly full agenda we’ve established over the past couple years and I’m here to tell you that it hasn’t got old yet. That is entirely due to the excellent people involved, most notably, the upstairs neighbors (the hot water guru), but also includes whomever happens to be visiting and is sucked into the First Friday vortex of fun.

Wife with her Newest Acquisition
She Still Has Two Huge Bamboo Plants to Bring Up

Speaking of fun (I was), yesterday we accumulated even more of the same. My brother in law, a newly minted government muckedy muck overseeing the environment in the province, had a meeting in a nearby town. He stopped by in the morning to drop off his lady love and my Favorite Panamanian’s latest addition to her growing plant collection, a large palm tree. He continued to his meeting while we got to spend the day getting to know his lady. He returned in time for a late afternoon swim and then they both joined us for the sunset ceremony. We finished off the day driving down the beach for dinner at the Las Lajas Beach Resort. A very fun day.

Rhode Island Happiness Yesterday

I’ve got some catching up to do with news from the frozen north. In truly major news, my Namesake Nephew got married yesterday. He and his love tied the knot in a civil ceremony, much like my Favorite Panamanian and I did almost 43 years ago. January 14^th marks the date, at least for the Army, that I became a married man in 1982. I think my Namesake is getting more benefits from it than I did, since my wife didn’t consider us truly married until the church ceremony in March. One has to try though, and it got us on the married housing list, which was key.

Yesterday's Okay Sunset

In other news, the BRS and BR3 were spotted in a Facetime call from the beach yesterday industriously cleaning their playroom under the woeful eye of my son. They have guests coming today and had to clean up the bombed-out looking room (probably due in some part to my overactive Amazon purchasing sprees prior to Christmas). My wife and I laughed because we remembered him having to do the same thing at a similar age. Those two granddaughters, while a true handful, are so much fun to watch in action, as they both had to be constantly reminded to stop swinging from their gymnastic bar and continue cleaning. They both take skiing lessons on the weekends and probably ski better than their dad and grandfather already. There's that enemy, time, raising its obdurate head again.

The Ski Bunnies

On the Slopes

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

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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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 (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Final Steps

I’ll admit. I’ve had a lot of fun this first week in Panama. That goes without saying. Despite all the rain, I’ve been able to torture frozen New Englanders with three spectacular sunsets. However. There was still a bunch a work left to do to consider ourselves actually moved into the condo for 2025. Arriving on the cusp of New Years Eve meant that several tasks were shelved until the debris from that holiday had finally settled. That happened this week. Starting on Monday our dedicated handyman showed up to install the balcony sun shades, the blackout curtains, a new shower head, and, most importantly, install new running wheels on the two balcony doors.

Dinner Tonight

In way of explanation; the salt air from the adjacent Pacific Ocean plays hell with all that is mechanical over time. That’s probably why owning a boat is so work intensive. Anyway, we have doors to the balcony from the living room and the master bedroom. Those doors move with a set of small wheels underneath. They have to be replaced every couple years due to that salt aided corrosion. It was a real workout having to open those doors when we arrived. He had to literally cut the old ones out before replacing them and now they open with a single finger.

In Our Bedroom Wife Jumps in to Clean underneath where the Doors Were

Blackout Curtains Go Up

In a further major development, we now have hot water to shower with and I owe it all to the sunsets. I installed new batteries upon arrival but the wall mounted hot water heater wasn’t sparking. We added it to the list of repairs for that handman. During our nightly sunset convocation, the upstairs neighbor mentioned he had the same problem and fixed it by bending a couple contact points. Once again proving the absolute importance of the sunset social gatherings. On our way upstairs, he stopped by our condo to bend our contacts and whoosh, we had hot water. I should opine that the water here is never that cold, certainly not New England cold, but, still, hot showers are so much better.

Sunset Crew , My Hot Water Hero in the Back

After Monday’s sunset my Favorite Panamanian pried me away from the beach to drive back to David. We spent Monday night in my mother in law’s house so we could hit the required tasks first thing this morning. We had a pretty tight schedule before an appointment in the early afternoon for the annual car service and inspection. We got off to our typical mildly late start when my Favorite Panamanian decided the car was too dirty to undergo the scheduled service. I told her the inspection was on the internal aspects of the car. She would hear none of that since a photo of the car was part of the paperwork.

Good Sized Iguana Charged Across the Beach Yesterday

We borrowed her sister’s car and dropped off our car for a thorough wash. The major task of the day was getting the car paperwork ready for registration renewal. Our first stop was our insurance company where they did the seemingly requisite stamping (Panamanian officialdom loves stamps) and signing of the required documents. We then stopped by TIGO to get my wife’s Panamanian phone activated. Yes, she operates two phones down here and has been known to be on both at the same time. We retrieved our car at this point and headed out for some dedicated grocery shopping.

One of Those Sunsets

Whatever my faults are (and they are legion), I have a pretty good sense of direction. My wife, a native of David, is not similarly blessed (coming from the Great Aunt school bewildered wandering) and relies on me to navigate. That came into play when we had to get the car to the service center. She and Tia Loca had a heated discussion about where the place was located. I’d been there once, last year, and told them to follow me. They were a little chagrined that the gringo knew his way around their hometown better than they did. I paid for my success by being summarily dismissed from their presence while the car was being serviced. I didn’t mind since they were going shopping. 

I Guess This is Kind of Cruel

But So Beautiful, I have to Share

I spent the afternoon back at the house reading (I’ve started my annual foray through the Travis McGee novels again – 4^th year in a row). We ended the day with all the paperwork we need to renew the car registration which will happen next week. Here’s to hoping there’s a good movie playing on that day. I couldn’t convince my wife to see Nosferatu today (she didn’t buy my description of a love story based in Transylvania). The true highlight of the day was a hot wings dinner with all my wife’s siblings and her brother’s partner. As tedious as the day was, I didn’t have a single concern about wind chill. So there’s that.

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

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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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 (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Showers Everywhere

I posted the spectacular sunset from last Thursday on Facebook and thought it would be the start of a nightly devotion to our Las Lajas sunsets. Unfortunately, the rainy season is being unreasonably persistent and that was the only good one we’ve had, until tonight. That was a fluke as well as there was only one break in the clouds in the entire sky and it was happily over the area the sun was sinking into the Pacific. We had a full crew for the sunset ceremony, the upstairs neighbors, Tia Loca and my Favorite Panamanian. The condo complex was as packed as I’ve ever seen it as well. The first weekend of the new year apparently means party time in Panama. I want to go on record as saying I am completely in accordance with that. The sun was just about to sink below the horizon when it started raining on us. I’ve never seen the Panamanians move that fast. The crowded beach was virtually empty two minutes later.

Pizza Group Last Night

Message Received

We had a great weekend with a First Friday of the Week pizza night in the village. In addition to the upstairs neighbors and our crew, we had the Canadians from down the beach and a friend of theirs. Earlier in the evening, during the Family Facetime call, the FBR gave me strict orders to communicate with the pizza place owner’s small dog. I was to inform him to not worry about the loss of his partner because she was coming in a month. I passed that on to the dog in both English and Spanish. It was a fun night with this eclectic group. I’ve said it before and this was prima facie evidence of it, when you put excellent people together, fun will be had.

Sunset Tonight

The Crew

Crowded Condo Complex

For lunch today, we traveled down the beach to my wife’s favorite beachfront restaurant, Plinio’s. We noticed from signage that he had moved in our absence. He was now in residence at the campground just down the beach from us that held so many memories. It was where I first fell in love with this beach. We had so many vacations there over the years before we had the condo. I remembered Toni’s overpacked small bus, laden with the entire family descending on it as we took up residence for a few days. It was where Wingman almost asked for my daughter’s hand in marriage until he figured it was safer to write me from Japan with the request. It is also an important historical site. It was the one place where Keene Friend actually danced. Tia Loca is the only woman in my experience able to motivate him to dance. I’m surprised there isn’t a historical plaque documenting this. I re-acquainted myself with the resident dogs, one of whom reminds me so much of Buddy the Wonder Pooch. That dog informed me I wasn’t through patting him by jumping into my lap.

Green Porch, Where Keene Friend Danced

Lunch at Plinio's

So Many Memories

Buddy and I

There was an important shower of another kind back in frigid New England. Great Aunt hosted a baby shower for Namesake Nephew’s beloved. She’s due to deliver Great Aunt’s first grandchild in about a month. Both the ABFA and my daughter traveled to be there for the event. I had to make do with the beach which isn’t halfway hard as it sounds. Great Aunt sent us their gift registry so that was taken care of. I worry about Providence as the husbandless ABFA and my daughter are free to terrorize it tonight. Pray for Providence.

Great Aunt with the Star of the Show(er)

Daughter and ABFA on the Loose Tonight

Tia Loca Cooking the Clams She Dug up on the Beach

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

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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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 (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course