School Was in Session

The Czech Shadow and entourage (her parents) showed up yesterday fresh off making some inflammatory marks about how she was going to school me on boogie boarding. I admired her spunk if not her judgement. More on the results of her initial education on the subject later, but first I need to catch up on the very entertaining past couple of days. In addition to the Czech Friends, the Maine Musquetera, her sister, and her sister’s husband arrived on the same plane from Panama City. To say they were a lively combination would be severe understating.

Welcome Lunch at El Fogon

We followed protocol and escorted them to El Fogon where they were treated to fine Panamanian food as well as exemplary service by Everardo. Both groups had rented cars so their first exposure to driving in Panama was wending through the streets of David as part of a three car convoy led by yours truly, not a recipe for stress reduction. After the obligatory grocery store stop we headed east on the Interamerican Highway where I continued to educate them on Panamanian traffic laws and spotting speed traps.

The Shadow Created Artwork for my Wife

Presented During the 1st Night Here

Because My Kids Might See This
Wanted to Include a Photo from Valentines Day Sunset 
I Can See them Shaking their Heads in Consternation 

We arrived in time to catch the very end of the secondary sunset, which was sufficiently awesome to impress our guests. My Favorite Panamanian arranged for them to rent condos within the complex which will make for a very lively leadup to my wife’s birthday party on Saturday. My Favorite Panamanian was complaining about how tired she was and proclaiming she was going to bed early as a result. This did not take into effect the combination of being in the same room as the Maine Musquetera. Their conversations well into the wee hours of the morning are legendary. I was sitting in the living room when she came in three hours after her proclamation with a sheepish grin about the Musquetera effect.

Wife Prepared a Fabulous Welcome Lunch Today in the Condo

Then Led the Ladies in Boogie Board Training

I was relaxing under our rancho this morning after my workout when the Czech Friends emerged. My Czech Shadow looked a little less confident as shew as confronted with the Las Lajas surf for the first time. About twenty minutes later she was sufficiently chagrined at having made her scurrilous statements. I tried to assuage her pain by reminding her I boogie board twice daily for four months each of the last six years. This meant that, despite my advancing years, I was not someone who could be “schooled” by a precocious shadow.

Today's Sunset

The Crew

It was very fun day at the beach as the Latina contingent as well her the Czech Friends got to experience the warm water and gentle breezes which make this place so special. I bemoaned the fact that it was a crowded day with the Carnivale influx which they thought was funny because there were so relatively so few people compared to the size of the beach. They also got to experience a full sunset social hour instead of just the secondary. We were having way too much fun hanging out with each other to call it a day after the sunset. My Favorite Panamanian arranged some tables under the beach lights for a what turned out to be a very lively game of Flip 7. Only my wife and I had ever played the game but the group quickly caught on and there was serious laughter echoing under the lights. The Czech Shadow recovered some of the mojo lost in the morning surf by winning the game. A very good day.

The Flip 7 Game

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

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