Funereal

The BRS Photos my Son Sent Helped with Morale

The pace of paperwork has slowed the past couple days as my wife has been drawn into a couple funerals that coincided with our arrival in Panama. The family wags automatically accused our arrival as the initiating cause for the respective demises, of course. The first was a parent of a very close friend from their neighborhood. I was struck by the similarities with the funeral of my Cantankerous Friend’s father earlier this year. The man was an important part of the lives of the tightknit group of neighborhood children that included my wife’s family. Yesterday the funeral was for a member of the Worcester Chapter of the Panamanian Mafia’s mom who passed away Sunday.

That funeral was in the nearby town of Bocaron and since this required navigation I was pressganged into driving. It always amazes me that a completely uncoordinated event happens routinely when my wife is involved and somehow bears fruit. She had only a vague idea of where the other person we were picking up lived and after three back and forth trips over the same road and two stops for questions of the locals we found the lady’s house and were on our way to the funeral since the lady we picked up was the only one who knew where that was (you can catch my drift) and were there at the appointed time.

The small church we walked into was crowded with people and we were able to greet the friend who’d flown in the night before from Worcester. We’d also stopped by the airport when she came in to express our sympathies. The church’s air conditioning was not up to the challenge of the assembled crowd. This was an Adventist church so my wife warned me there would be a lot of singing. I was at peace as long as I wasn’t expected to participate in the singing which would have added another whole level to the Ugly American syndrome. The songs started at 930am. By 1015 I asked my wife if there was going to be an actual ceremony or just more sweat soaked songs. She opined that they were waiting for the pastor to show up. By 1045 with no sign of the pastor and no letup in the songs we had to leave to make a previously arranged appointment at the bank back in David. Our friend understood and bid us safe travels.

My Wife and a Favorite Cousin from an Earlier Social Stop 

Later in the day we had a very entertaining gathering on my mother in law’s front porch. The son from the first funeral stopped by to say goodbye to my wife and mother in law but they insisted we sit down for a talk. I thoroughly enjoyed the next few hours as I was regaled with stories from my wife’s childhood that are very rare. This guy was a close friend of my brother in law and he and his wife showed up shortly after we sat down. The corner grocery supplied the needed beer and the stories and laughter flowed unabated. I think this is something we’ve lost as electronics are taking over our lives. The need to reach out electronically to connect robs time from actually sitting down, in person, with neighbors and friends to have face to face conversations. I hope at some point we’ll all realize what we’re sacrificing by keeping our faces glued to social media instead of actually being social with live people.

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

RECURRING CHARACTERS

BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law, formerly known both as MEF – Most Excellent Fiancé & MEG – Most Excellent Girlfriend; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt = my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got invole din planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rdmusquetera (musketeer); Buddy – AKA the Wonder Pooch – family dog, a black lab – hates squirrels, died in 2017; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting arrival of the BRS; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latin friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Excellent Boss – my former direct boss at work; Voices of Inappropriate Worth - members of public who come to every Worcester public meeting to complain, all are on public assistance along with demeanor issues