Birthday Sunset

Although we are not “officially” celebrating my Favorite Panamanian’s birthday until we have assembled a quorum of some of her best friends and family, the actual date was this past Thursday. This auspicious date was certainly not going to pass without appropriate recognition though. It is a well recorded fact that my favorite restaurant in Panama is El Fogon in David. Wait a minute, why am I going out this tangent about eateries when I was focused on my wife’s birthday. Hang with me, I’ll get there. The Panamanian part of the Seis Amigos, who drive from Panama City to Las Lajas, reported that El Fogon had opened another restaurant a few miles down the InterAmerican Highway from Las Lajas. We decided her birthday would be a perfect opportunity to find it.

Last Night at Sunset Pizza

I was getting a little nervous about how far we were going but Waze was assuring us it wasn’t that far. It was part of a very modern-looking rest area complete with gas station along the highway. The restaurant was brand new and food was every bit as good as the David original, but without my favorite waiter, Everardo. So, a new place to eat within striking distance to our beach life. Since it was her birthday, my Favorite Panamanian decided to forego her self-imposed fasting away from sweets as we stopped off at Sunset Pizza for their matchless gelato on our way back to the beach. Our appearance may have shocked the owner (used to our weekly Friday-only invasions) who stopped by with birthday wishes.

Birthday Lunch at the New El Fogon

The best part of the day was our daily sunset social hour where our fabulous Upstairs Neighbors serenaded and danced my Favorite Panamanian around the beach in celebration. Las Lajas also rewarded us with one of its signature sunsets. I haven’t posted sunsets on Facebook for the past couple days as I was saving them for the blog. As you can see, more than worth the wait.

Wife Being Serenaded and Danced by Upstairs Neighbors

Birthday Sunset

The Sunset Social Crew

The newest addition to the family also celebrated a birthday on Thursday, her first! Namesake Nephew’s daughter/Great Aunt’s granddaughter has been a luminous presence since her arrival last year on my wife’s birthday. She brought Great Aunt back to us to a certain extent as she immediately and permanently became a Godsend for her grandmother, who was understandably in a funk after the passing of Soxfather. It’s hard to see this latest vision of perfection without thinking how much he would have reveled in his granddaughter.

The Other Birthday Girl

Celebrating!

Very Happy Grandma

And Proud Daddy

I wrote above about the upcoming assembly to celebrate my wife’s birthday. That’s already started. The Rhode Island friends have been in residence in the condo complex for a couple weeks. The Maine Musquetera and her sister arrived in Panama City on Thursday and the Czech Friends on Friday. They are all staying to tour the city over the weekend before flying up to David on Monday. My Czech Shadow is already talking smack about schooling me on boogie boarding. I’m smiling because she hasn’t seen the waves here yet. Today they are at least three times her height. Education to follow, which will be thoroughly chronicled here on Frail Deeds. Of course, the most anticipated arrival will be my daughter and son, with the ABFA and Wingman, along with those granddaughters of mine. The Czech Shadow may have even learned how to boogie board by then.

Czechs at Airport Including Soon to Educated Shadow

My Favorite Panamanian ran back to David yesterday in the latest of pre-party supply runs. She missed another memorable sunset which was appropriately honored by the Upstairs Neighbors and myself. It’s what we do. We arranged to link up with my wife and her Rhode Island friend who stopped at Sunset Pizza on their way back from David for our weekly First Friday of the Week pizza. A great addition to the crowd was Tia Loca and my mother-in-law who joined us for this weekend. It should be an interesting one as Panamanian Carnivale is cranking up, peaking next Tuesday. The entire country has the next few days off from work. Party on!!!

Friday Sunset Crew

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Cupcake Rescue

It will go without saying (but I’m going to anyways), that I am not a happy camper after watching the Super Bowl last evening. The Patriots were completely outplayed and did not deserve to win. I think that’s why, although I’m not pleased with the result, I find it a lot easier to digest. Certainly more so than the two Super Bowl losses to the Giants (impossible helmet catch for the first and Wes Welker may you burn in hell for the second) and the one to Philadelphia (Belichick why did you sit Malcom Butler!!). So, I learn it’s easier to accept the loss when they were never really in the game, kudos to Seattle for a brilliant defensive game plan. I liked the halftime show which surprised me. Th best commercial was the Dunkin's with Ben Affleck and a bunch of cameos.

Kickoff with Sunset Behind Us

We had fun anyways with the Upstairs Neighbors and the visiting Rhode Island friends joining us to watch the game. This was the only reason we would forego the daily sunset ceremony so it was appropriate that the lineup for that social event was together. We saw the sunset from our living room windows as the kickoff took place. As I look at the photo above, I feel it is strange to be watching a football game from that locale, but I’ll take it. We had a lot of fun sharing the misery of the game. The Upstairs Neighbor lady was wearing Seahawks colors but she was appropriately understated, given the room packed with Patriots fans. Despite her sartorial failure, she turned out to be the savior for the night.

She brought a well-received dip for the group that lasted most of the first half. I, of course, did not participate in that repast, content with the hojaldras my Favorite Panamanian was feeding us. The Upstairs Lady achieved pure heroine status in the second half. My morale was reaching its nadir when she retrieved the highlight of the night by unveiling a set of unbelievably tasty chocolate cupcakes. I was powerless to resist their siren call. They were that good! I think I have a semblance of what it must be like to be addicted to cocaine because I made a complete fool of myself with those delicacies. I was full but I kept shoveling them in. She truly rescued the night for me. This morning, I started my penance by doubling the time in the pool for my swim workout. It’ll take more than one day of that, but, again, they were so good!

Painful but they Earned it

An update on the troubling incident for the aftermath of my Saturday night bonfire. I know those of you who read about the attempt of a late night bogarting of my fire with a failed attempt to throw a stump and some brush onto the embers after we left for the night. This robbed me of the satisfaction of seeing the huge pile of driftwood I started with reduced to a flat bed of ashes the next morning. I rectified this obvious faux pas and present these photos to chronicle the crime along with what it looked like after removal of the offending interlopers.

Pre-Fire

Immolation

Offending Additions

True Aftermath

We had the full crew for today’s sunset social hour and we were rewarded with one of Las Lajas signature dry season explosion of colors on the wester horizon as the sun sank into the Pacific. The sun seems bigger this year and the cupcake empresario, our astrophysics expert as well as fabulous cupcake creator, reported that the earth is closer to the sun this year resulting in the increased size. Whatever the reason, it has resulted in amazing displays. You’ll notice in one of the photos I captured our Rhode Island visitor walking along the shore with the sunset behind her. She likes to walk the surf line each day as we gather on the beach. It’s not something she could be doing in Rhode Island now. My God, those cupcakes were so good!!

Today's Sunset

The Wandering Rhode Islander

There She is Again

The Crew

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

En Fuego

Well, it’s finally happened. My pyromaniacal side was finally acknowledged with our first beach bonfire of the year. Not that I needed an excuse, but today’s is the BRS’ 8^th birthday so that provided the needed dedication. Ably assisted in gathering driftwood by my Upstairs Neighbor, I centered the conflagration around a huge piece of driftwood, really a tree, that haunted the beach with widely spread branches since its arrival a few weeks ago. My stated goal was to reduce this pesky piece of wood to ashes and restore order to our beach view. Okay. I really just wanted to sit on the beach and watch the flames. Sue me. Since my Favorite Panamanian was back in David on one of her interminable trips home, I was on my own for both the Saturday sunset ceremony as well as the start of my fire. I managed, somehow.

Friday Night Pizza Table

I was not prepared for how fast the flames went up. I anticipated having to coax it into life, but the sunbaked wood leaped into flames and I suddenly had a fire twice my height. Since the ocean was just feet away I wasn’t worried. I was joined by the Upstairs Neighbors and the couple visiting from Rhode Island. I enjoyed my usual routine of poking around the fire to ensure everything was being consumed correctly. The big tree was initially resistant. I started the fire at the junction of its many branches but it refused to yield for a respectable period of time. Of course, just as it looked ready to succumb, I received a call from my Favorite Panamanian reporting her arrival and the need for me to carry her purchases upstairs.

Fire Prepped

Rhode Island Visitor Performing his Fire Dance

Pyro Attending Flames

How it Began

I turned over responsibilities to my fire mates and they effectively monitored the blaze in my absence. A few minutes after my return the recalcitrant tree finally yielded and I was able to fold the wide spread limbs into the flames. Once I was sure they would not survive the night we declared victory and returned upstairs. I noticed later that someone was out messing with the bed of coals we had left. This morning, I saw that someone had dumped a huge stump and some kindling into the fire but nothing had caught. This ruined the symmetry of coming down to the beach and finding only a level bed of ash. I can’t believe the temerity of some people. You don’t mess with another man’s fire.

My Reaction to the Lawn Clippings Pizza

Prior to this landmark event, we enjoyed a spectacular First Friday of the Week sunset social hour. The “Halloween Crabs” have started to emerge. These black and orange land crabs pop out of the ground at this time each year and provide an interesting drive to the village for our Friday pizza as we had to dodge around both the ubiquitous crabs and the hunting parties of locals trying to capture them. The Sunset Pizza was its usual sublime although I had a couple moments. While my order of a pepperoni pizza is carved in stone, the Upstairs Neighbor is not so encumbered. He took the advice of the owner to try a certain pizza that shocked me when it arrived. It was almost totally green, and I quickly dubbed it “Lawn Clippings Pizza”. It looked like a result of someone mowing a lawn for the toppings. He seemed to like it though. Upon our return to the condo complex I engaged in my annual chasing of the crabs. I danced across the parking lot with a particularly mobile Halloween Crab.  

Sunset Pizza Owner Stopping by the Table

My Crab Dance

We had a fun First Friday of the Week Family Facetime call as both my son’s and daughter’s families are gearing up for their visit here in a couple weeks. I think at least part of that anticipation is due to the bone chilling temperatures they are currently afflicted with. I feel (a little) bad having the palm trees swaying behind me when we Facetime each Friday. Honest. In addition to inspiring beach birthday fires, the BRS, as my granddaughters are wont to do, discovered a hidden talent at a friend’s birthday party. She rode a horse for the first time and she turns out to be a natural. The ABFA sent a video where she is expertly trotting. Color me proud but unsurprised.

Birthday Girl Mounted Up

A Natural

We were lucky enough to have a visit from my brother-in-law and his wife this weekend. He has an important job with the government guarding the ecology and this was his first chance to break away and spend some time with us since we landed. He arrived shortly after I came up from last night’s fire and we had a very nice visit which culminated with lunch at the resort down the beach today. He’s already gone but it was very welcome. I’m going to miss the sunset social hour today, but only because the Patriots are in the Super Bowl which starts five minutes before the sun sets here. I’ll assuage the pain for you by providing the photos from both Friday and Saturday’s sunsets. Go Pats!!!!!!

Lunch Today

I finally saw Hamnet. I’ve heard so much about this that my expectations may have been inappropriately elevated. It’s a fine movie with powerful acting performances from the two leads but I was a little disappointed. I thought it had too many “cute” plot points that didn’t add to the story which was interesting enough without these. Good ole Will Shakespeare and his wife deal with the death of their son which leads to unbearable pain, which any parent could understand. The wife is bereft and inconsolable. Will returns to London and writes Hamlet as a tribute to the son which the wife is initially upset about. As I thought about it, this really is a well disguised “chick flick” which I would understandably not fully embrace. It is still worth the watch for the incredible acting by Paul Mescal and especially Jessie Buckley.

Friday Sunset Social Crew

Saturday sunset

The Crew

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course