Tropical Landing

I was a little nervous about yesterday. I had to make an early morning flight out of Boston and ingeniously scheduled it for the day of the Boston Marathon. For that reason we left a little earlier than usual, not easy considering my marriage to a Panamanian woman. She did spectacularly though and we only left fifteen minutes later than hoped for.. The Mass Pike was a little fuller than usual as we approached Boston but it all petered out before the center of the city which was uncharacteristically easy to get through. We passed Fenway and the scads of police gathering on all overpasses in anticipation of a busy day and arrived at Logan more than an hour earlier than anticipated.

I absolutely love flying Copa Airlines which treats customers like, of all things, customers. The direct flight they now offer from Boston to Panama has proven a Godsend. We were in Panama City by 1:30pm and after waiting a few hours caught a domestic flight up to David. We caught an early dinner at the airport while waiting and watched the monsoon rains fall outside.

My Wife and I Yesterday in Panama City

The last few years I’ve only travelled to Panama during the dry season when it doesn’t rain at all. The downpour, which in an age old Army saying was referred to “like a cow pissing on a flat rock”, brought back a lot of memories of a very soggy lieutenancy in the 1980s. We spent a lot of times in the jungles surrounding the canal in those days and during the rainy season were never really dry, but looking back on it, against all odds, it was a great way to train and harden up infantry units.

When we arrived in David I had a mad dash to the rental car office which was closing in less than fifteen minutes. The reserved car was waiting and after the typical bureaucratic process (which Panamanians seem to embrace) my wife and I sped through David to her parents’ house. Less than twenty minutes later all of my wife’s sisters and brother were gathered on the front porch and laughing almost maniacally. That’s one of the things I love about her family, you will always end up laughing at some point in any conversation.

My Wife Showing Her Mother Some Photos of the Grandchildren

We shared photos via the new medium of I-phones and I-Pad which is a t lot less cumbersome than the old way. My mother in law had thoughtfully stocked some Atlas beer which met its fate in short order. There is an indescribable feeling of contentment when family members are reunited and even jaded observers such as myself can enjoy basking in the reflected good will distributed on that tropical porch last night.

Wife Surrounded by Brother and Sisters Last Night

We ended the night in an ice cream parlor down the street (still trying to figure that out). While my wife and her younger sister engaged in a non-stop talk fest I did a credible job of creating my worst brain freeze ever. My wife emerged from her conversation at one point and asked what was wrong after seeing my stricken face. I responded that I was simply waiting for my throat to unfreeze before I finished off the sundae.

A truly great day, especially since we can now leave Boston and still have an entire evening to spend with my wife’s superb family in David. A new paradigm has been realized. I slept the sleep of the semi-blessed last night and endured a series of grapefruit falls on the bedroom roof without waking; at least until 3am. My wife, tropical gal that she is, slept through them all. My wife is back in Latina Wife mode since she is under her mother’s scrutiny and prepared my breakfast this morning like I was some lord of the manor. I could get used to it except for the look in wife’s eye which whispered the exact opposite message. Well we’re shortly off to the real estate office to see about our future second home; hopefully big news in tomorrow’s blog.