35 Years Ago

35 Years Ago Today

Thirty-five years ago today a young, beautiful Panamanian lady with devastating eyes walked down the aisle in her hometown to marry a gangly, bespectacled gringo. It seemed unlikely at the time, to most those observing, that this hasty marriage would survive the test of time. While uprooting her from home and family did provide challenges along with the inherent ones being an Army wife we’re still together these thirty five years later.

I’ve often repeated the story that I asked her to marry me three days after meeting her and we were married four months later. She didn’t speak English and my Spanish at that time could be described as rudimentary at best. That’s doesn’t seem to be a recommended course of action for a successful marriage but it’s worked, at least in our case. The funny thing is the tough years weren’t the early ones and certainly not these latest ones.

More Recent Picture

It’s all too easy to throw in the towel and not work through issues. I’m so glad we did because these last ten years have probably been the best. Part of that could be that we get to spend more time with each other now, despite the past year’s separations as she cared for her ailing father. The removal of the military lifestyle with the stress of raising two children with an all too often absent father allowed us to stop and almost get to know each other again. We discovered we kind of like each other, a lot. So happy anniversary to mi mujercita linda, gracias para los anos mas bella. By the way, those eyes still sparkle.

More Pictures of Condo Construction - The pools

The FirePit

Beach Side - Ours is Left Corner 3rd Floor

Predictably we are apart again this year for the anniversary. It’s much nicer in Panamá in March than New England. Our March wedding there would be the same thing as an August wedding here. We talked this morning as she travelled down to Panamá City yesterday to help a cousin paint her apartment. While driving down they were held up because of a huge bus accident with over eighteen people killed. She was still shaken up when we talked this morning as they had to drive by the scene with multiple bodies lined up.

I escaped Sunday chores yesterday to see Logan which might be the best X-Men movie ever. It is certainly the most violent with some very graphic depictions of Wolverine’s claws hitting home, mostly in the cranial region. Hugh Jackman achieves real depth in his last turn as turn as the most iconic of X-men playing him as age finally catches up. There’s a great road trip with a senile Professor X and a ferocious young mutant who resembles a young Wolverine. If this is truly the end of this set of X-men movies then it went out on a very high note. There’s also a clever little plug for another character at the start of the movie. 

And of course - the New Jersey Miracle: