Classmating Again

I was at it again yesterday. I used to do thunder runs back to my hometown for my mental health (what little I possess). In the last couple years I’ve been given a welcome addition to my list of excuses to run home – the monthly luncheon for the stalwart class of KHS 1973. These worthies gather in commendable numbers each month for no other reason than it is fun to hang out with each other. It helps that the vast majority of us are now retired. One of my heartfelt goals upon retiring from the military was to find my way home. While I eventually discovered this meant being around friends and family and not tied to a geographic location; this monthly event combines the two.

Table One Yesterday

I always love returning to my hometown, if for no other reason than to torture my kids with another picture of Wheelock School to remind them I went to kindergarten there. I think at some point in the future they are going to block my number when they hear I’m going to be in Keene. Yesterday’s gathering was representative of the shared pleasure of the classmates. We met a week earlier than usual because we had a classmate who defected to Alabama and was visiting for just this week. This opportunity to see her brought in a few other classmates who haven’t been able to join us previously. The time together slides by really quickly, which is another firm indicator that a good time is being had.

The Rest of the Very Cute Gathering

Since this is always a good time and I am nothing if not predictable when it comes to socializing, we’ve added a corollary event to the monthly luncheon. That would be the usual thunder run back to Keene, with aspects of reconnaissance for the annual November pub crawl (that’s my story and etc. etc). It gets expensive because my Favorite Panamanian uses this opportunity to shop but more than worth it for the pleasure involved (for both of us). You simply cannot put a price on the time spent hanging out with lifelong friends. I’m not saying my wife doesn’t make a gallant effort at that, but, still, a win. Keene Friend and the Cantankerous One joined me in walking over to what is now called the Owl’s Nest but will always be know in fame and not a small bit of infamy as Penuche’s.

Still Penuche's

We solved most of the world’s problems there before moving down the street to the Lab ‘n Lager. We were joined in short order by the Kindergarten Friend who gave up his wrestling match with a pool filter to join us. We made the obligatory well lubricated call to the PCR who was more gracious than usual, even without the mollifying influence of his better half beside him (or maybe she was). Keene Friend 2 also showed up after a failed umpiring gig. We decided it was dinner time and made the customary trek across the street to Margarita’s. It is at this point we usually try to coax my Favorite Panamanian away from her pillaging. She replied, because of earlier flower buying stops, that she had had only forty five minutes with old friend TJ Maxx and that was nowhere near enough. She claimed not to be hungry either which I doubted but, again, I only get 49% of the vote.

Keene Friend and Cantankerous With me in the Nest

While the kindergarten friend had to depart, we were joined by another classmate, who has been hanging out with Keene Friend 1 recently. She added a much-needed touch of elegance to our scruffy lot and provided some hilarious stories about her time as security at the local theater. In the funniest event of the day the wait staff at Margarita’s rose to the occasion to punk the Cantankerous Friend. Last month they made an error in bringing him tacos instead of his requested enchiladas. As he is wont to do, he made a big deal about that when ordering this time claiming aggrieved status for the prior month’s error. I whispered to our very cute waitress who nodded sagely and arranged the moment. When the orders came, she flourished a plate of tacos in front of him which had the seemingly impossible effect of making him quiet. Not only that, but the waitress from the prior month’s error was also on hand to twist the sword, clearly remembering this customer. The entire table descended into laughter and the Cantankerous One got his enchiladas. A very fun time.

Lab 'n Lager with Kindergarten Friend 

I’ve got to learn to keep my mouth shut when it comes to complaining about New England weather. Last week I commented on Frail Deeds about how cold May had been. Earlier this week New England dropped the hammer on me for my impudence. We had three days of record setting heat, along with some tropical levels of humidity. It’s the first time in my life I can remember having both the heat and the air conditioning  on during the same week. New England 1 - Frail Deeds Dancer 0. I expect a little freedom this weekend as the Maine Musquetera is scheduled to arrive and I’m sure shopping will be involved. Since I wouldn’t dare intrude on that activity unless a firearm was pointed at my head and even then I’d have to think hard I’m a free agent.

Saying Goodbye to Keene as we Shuffled Home

For date night this week my Favorite Panamanian and I saw In the Grey. This is Guy Ritchie’s latest action flick with some of his usual collaborators in Eiza González and Henry Cavill with the welcome addition of Jake Gyllenhaal. Ritchie does action proud each time out and this is no exception. I also liked that Gonzalez isn’t just a pretty face (she certainly still has that going for her) but the mastermind behind a plot to recover a billion dollars from the villain. The villain employs one of the GOT wildings in underused fashion. Cavill and Gyllenhaal share great chemistry as they carry out Gonzalez’ plans. Beautifully shot, I’m surprised I have heard more about this, a great little movie.

The A-Z watch continued with five movies, all keepers: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice – new addition to the library, all the fun of the original; The Wild Geese – love this 1970s action flick with Richard Burton about mercenaries in Africa; Wild Things – film noir updated with some really steamy scenes, Denise Richards in her prime and altogether (Yikes!); Willow – really great fantasy epic with Val Kilmer at his best; Wind River – kind of depressing but ultimately very strong drama in Wyoming winter, makes you feel cold watching, pre-Yellowstone Tyler Sheridan.

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

Granite State Birthdaying

We were back up in New Hampshire this past weekend to help celebrate the 6^th birthday of the youngest granddaughter, BR3. My son and the ABFA spared the grandparents from attendance at Friday’s birthday celebration at a local kids hot spot. They certified it contained the expected amount of chaos as a dozen or so classmates of BR3 joined in the mayhem. He sent us a photo of the gang which included the BR3 demonstrating her signature mad scientist photo face. That allowed us to remain home and receive the new washing machine and put it through an acid test with the mountain of dirty clothes that awaited its arrival.

The Special People I was Lucky Enough to Spend Weekend With

The Friday Party

The BR3 Look

New, Already Overworked, Washing Machine

My Favorite Panamanian had created another one of her granddaughter special birthday cakes. This one was Zootopia themed at the request of the birthday girl. Despite a couple high speed zigs and zags on I-495 on our way up, the cake survived to be admired before ultimately inhaled. We reached our destination and were joined shortly after by the ABFA’s parents which always adds to the fun. Especially since the other grandfather is prone to fully engage with granddaughter antics, freeing the other three grandparents from that requirement. I’m still amazed and somewhat mystified on where he summons the requisite energy.

BRS and BR3 Communing in Front Yard
Don't Know Where the Purple Hair Came From

Wife with her Creation

ABFA's Dad Pulling Grandpa Duty

We finally had a nice day to celebrate with warm temps and gentle breezes. I always love this time when New Englanders finally break free of cold temperatures and explode out of their houses. It was especially noteworthy in college when sundresses started appearing, but I digress. A representative group of friends and neighbors joined us for a short lived pinata before we descended on the birthday cake. After the appropriate oohs and awws when it was revealed, my son assisted BR3 with the cleaving accomplished with the family sword, Bonecrusher. It seems almost illegal that a cake that looks that cool is also delicious, but she accomplished it.

BR3 Ready to Roll

Pinata Time

Wife Next to Tree we Gifted Them Last Year

Time for Cake

The fun was not over as my son and the ABFA also planned a backyard fire. Any reader of Frail Deeds knows that made a certain pyromaniac very happy. Since the ABFA was involved, S’mores were part of the event as well. I’ve said this before and will continue to spout off about how sitting around a fire with friends and family touches something welcome deep in our genetic code since our ancestors did this every night, mainly to keep the sabretooth tigers at bay, but still. It was a lot of fun. Riggins, the blind but beloved dog, was fighting to get outside and join the fun. He staged a sit-down strike when my son tried to bring him back inside since a fire and a blind dog is not a good combination. The BRS stood up for Riggins and volunteered to keep him from wandering into the fire.

Bonecrusher Deployed

After this very fun day I didn’t expect to have trouble falling asleep but there I was, wandering downstairs after midnight. I think it was just one of those days I didn’t want to end and my brain was sending conflicting messages to the rest of the body.  In a big surprise, my son was likewise afflicted, and we ended up watching TV together well into the wee hours. While I hate it when insomnia strikes, at least I got to spend it with one of my favorite people in the world. I eventually made it to sleep around 3am while he didn’t get any sleep at all, pulling an all-nighter. He filled me in on what happened in the TV show we had binge watched together during breakfast.

Fuego Time

Birthday Girl and her Grandpa

BRS Prepping her S'more

The granddaughters, of course, don’t recognize a moratorium on grandparents’ wakeup times, especially when combined with short sleep hours. That seems to only whet the appetite. BR3 performed the duties Sunday. For some reason, any other call to wake up after such a short night would be painful but granddaughters have achieved a breakthrough by making it fun. We were joined by the ABFA’s parents for church where we ran into a couple people from last year’s European trip to the Marian shrines.

BRS Protecting Riggins

After lunch we all bundled into cars to drive to BR3’s final gymnastics meet of the year. I’m including way too many photos from that event, but what can I say, I’m a proud grandpa and she was amazing. She was particularly remarkable when it came to climbing both a cargo net and a rope to the top of a very high ceiling. This was lot more fun to watch than the dreaded dance recitals because a lot more action was involved. BR3 doesn’t like to receive the applause and recognition she earns but she was forced to endure a bunch of it yesterday. We all departed for respective homes after the meet. I had no trouble falling asleep last night. Go figure.

BR3 on the Right Climbing Cargo Net

Uneven Bars

Balance Beam

Fam in the Stands

Floor Exercise

Scary Rope Climb

Medal Ceremony

Looking for a Way Out

Fellow Grandparents With the Gymnast

Proud Parents

Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, Namesake Nephew further enhanced Great Aunt’s new deck by building a pergola for her and assembling a new table and chairs. He reported it wasn’t hard, or in his own words, “nothing a 30 rack can’t build!”. A boy after my own heart. I’m sure a McShawn’s Night is in the offing with Soxfather’s family to properly christen the new deck. Wingman attained hero status for the day with my daughter down in New Jersey. He’s currently on tour with his band but after performing in a show in Pennsylvania he drove home late at night to walk the FBR to her school bus stop in the morning and then mowed the lawn before boarding a plane for the band’s next performance in England.

New Pergola

 Table and Chairs

New Jersey Hero Work

The A-Z watch continued with four movies, all keepers: While You Were Sleeping – one of my favorite romcoms of all time, fall in love with Sandra Bullock every time I watch it;  White House Down – almost comical level action as the poor White House takes another beating; The Whole Nine Yards – semi-sad to watch, knowing what happened to stars Perry and Willis, but still lots of fun, with Amanda Peet stealing every scene she’s in; Widows – such a good movie, amazing cast with a heartfelt crime drama.

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