Heartfelt

The Day She Told Me I was Going to be a Grandfather

Today you’re not going to get the usual deluge of photos of my magnificent granddaughter. You will however be blessed with conclusive photographic evidence of where her undeniable pulchritude originated. It’s her mother’s birthday today so bear with me while I extol the virtues of a daughter any father would be similarly proud and braggadocious about.

I wish I’d had the same courage as she had after college. After dominating college life at a very competitive university she packed up her gear and headed for New York City with nothing but a plan to live in the city. She thrived. She found work and was soon hired by the same firm which didn’t want to lose her when she pulled up stakes for the warmer climes of L.A. so she works for them remotely from there.

Along the way she acquired Wingman, to his infinite good fortune, as well as the First Blog Reader. I’ve been so amazed, but not surprised, that she turned out to be a fantastic mother. It’s tough to imagine a little girl who’s own diapers you changed evolving into such a competent and caring mother, while still working full time.

She is in a word – astonishing - a successful businesswoman, mother, wife, daughter, friend, movie fanatic, voracious reader, feminist, brother tormentor, and one of the best writers I’ve ever read. I know she’ll write a novel someday that will astound the world. She had a special relationship with my own mother who called her “Heart”. I think she saw in her granddaughter what is apparent to everyone who knows her – “She’s all heart”. As you can see from some of the photos – she’s also kind of springy! So happy birthday “little” girl, I love you more than I can ever adequately describe.

Of a decidedly more mundane nature I got back to work on the hill last night after work. The Panamanians in the house were in recovery mode from their late night ER adventures. My brother in law and his wife are both renowned ecologists in Panamá and were busily cataloguing the exotic (to them) wildlife circulating around the hilltop from Deckzilla. Funny how much is going on around you that you don’t stop and take notice of.

The Third Terrace Starts

I got started on the third terrace and was halfway through the bottom row in the painstaking detail that requires when I ran into a rock. This is not out of the normal as the pile of rocks excavated earlier will attest. This one refused initial effort at moving though and I kept digging further into the hill trying to find the edge. It turned out to be the largest rock yet and was, in a word – “Mongoso”. By the time I had it out with assistance of my brother in law, his wife, a rope, and a pry bar, it looked like a meteorite had hit the side of the hill and left a huge crater. I rolled the rock to the top of the hill to get it out of the ay and declared victory for the day.

The Rock

My wife and I did sneak away for a Date Night and saw The Magnificent Seven. I guess this is the year for remaking iconic movies from my youth. They do much better job here than certain biblical chariot race movies earlier in the year. Of course the movie has to be updated for millennials as a six white and one Mexican hero simply wouldn’t do for millennials. So we have Asian, indigenous, Latino, and an African-American included in the seven this time out. They also moved the conflict out of Mexico because we all know they can solve their own criminal problems without caucasian help.

I really liked this movie because we all know Denzel can do anything and he carries this movie with ease as the leader of the seven. I think they erred when they made this more of a revenge flick than a rescue of an oppressed village. The lofty ideals of the original were sacrificed on the altar of required body counts. Still, the action is extremely well choreographed and the exterior shots impressive. The final battle is long and full of unrelenting action. All of the seven got their piece of the pie. Sarsgaard as the main villain was okay, but he’s no Eli Wallach. I finally got what was missing most when the end credits rolled and original theme started playing – amazing what movie music can do.

Passing on her Love of Reading

Curbside Friends

Mom to Be

Love the father Daughter Movie Times

Best Weekend Ever Part 1

Such a Great mom

Surprising Her on her 30th Birthday

Her Daughter looks So Much Like Her

Her First Birthday