Frail Deeds Dancing: March 2020

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Relevancy of Information

One of the toughest challenges in dealing with this pandemic is getting verified medical advice versus the avalanche of information we’re all inundated with. It is unclear at times what to believe and the news organizations seem more concerned with reporting statistics or covering the politics of it all. I’ve been very proud of both of my children in handling this crisis. My daughter especially because she lives very near ground zero of the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States – NYC. She’s already been touched by it as a close friend just down the street and his entire family tested positive.

She is doing all the right things to protect Wingman and the FBR and yesterday sent out this link to a very informative and informal video. It was from a respected NYC doctor who works on the 'frontlines' at ground zero and she thought it was interesting to share. It's quite long (just under an hour) so she took notes in case I couldn’t listen to all of it. I took a bit of umbrage that I wouldn’t watch the whole thing, but she does know me. I ended up watching it to the end. It’s well worth the time and I provide the link here for you as well as her notes below.

https://vimeo.com/399733860

Notes:

- really spreads through contact, from hands to face

- mostly from sustained contact with people who have COVID19

- physical contact; not from surface touches but we do that out of abundance of caution, making sure your hands are clean at all times - ALL TIMES

- it comes from touching your face!!! start to be aware of when you touch your face

- use mask so you stop touching your face - you do not need a medical mask. Wear a mask to train yourself not to touch your face for now and for the future

- just stay away from people

- Transmission = droplet; hands to face. Not air.

- going to the store is fine: if you are washing your hands, not touching your face. This doesn't reset your quarantine time if you're being safe, since this is not airborne.

- transmitted through family most of the time

What do you do if you get this disease?

- if develop a fever and otherwise fine, isolate yourself from your family immediately (separate room, separate bathroom if able); if person has to interact, put the mask on the person who is sick

- can start interacting with family after seven days, but still need to keep a mask on and wash hands constantly to keep them safe

- Go to hospital only if you're feeling short of breath. Don't go to the hospital just because you think you have it

"This disease is a wimp. This disease dies as soon as you disinfect it." – hand sanitizer, washing hands, Lysol wipes - DIES

If you have a mild cold? - still take the precautions that you have COVID19 for a couple of days, isolate until you're sure it's not COVID

Danger = people being cavalier when they get symptoms, and not isolating from family. You can be safe in the same home as someone with COVID19 as long as you are not touching, sharing, and are cleaning, etc.

Wipe down groceries? General answer, no - a reasonable idea to leave delivery to you outside your door, so you don't have interaction with delivery person. Throw away bags delivered in; groceries inside are fine.

Go out and come home - need to launder your clothes after coming home? Absolutely not. For health care workers, yes, because droplets. If you're a regular person practicing all the rules when you go out, no. Do not need to launder immediately. (If you're far away from people, you're not coming home with droplets of covid19)

This is not only a disease of old people. It hits the entire spectrum of ages.

Just follow the rules: you're going to be fine.

If you feel sick: follow the rules, stay home, and protect your family.

If you have trouble breathing: go to hospital.

Take acetaminophen, Tylenol when you have a fever. Not ibuprofen. Do not use ibuprofen.

As a doctor, there have been patients who go on ventilators and then come off and go home. If you're short of breath, don't be scared, you'll get taken care of, even if that means a ventilator.

Course of disease:

This is incredibly predictable: social distancing could be potentially a year.

First, flatten curve. Bring down cases so hospitals don't get overwhelmed.

Second, people will become relaxed from distancing. So it will spike again but not as bad.

Third, then it will become under control.

Now that you know the rules, you don't have to be scared. Learning the rules is empowering. Will go on for 3-6-9 months.

If you're unaware you have the virus in the 14 day incubation period, you don't have it. There are not a large group of asymptomatic people spreading the disease. People who have it can spread it 1-2 days before symptoms appear.

People are immune after they recover. Develop antibodies. Natural course of disease: enters our circulation, as it mutates, it's going to get milder. Five years from now you'll get coronavirus and it will feel like a cold. Seeing more men in the emergency room. (Not sure if that's because they're not being as cautious or they are more susceptible)

Does sanitizer mess with the pH on your skin rendering it useless? No. Hand sanitizers work.

Herd immunity will happen, but what the UK is doing is not correct (being together in crowds at pubs; that's change now) - overwhelm the hospitals and people will die. in 18 months after flatting the curve, the disease will get more mild and the immunity will develop.

Having completed my trek through the Marvel universe I started my next journey a long time ago in galaxy far, far away. Last night that meant Episode 1 and the Phantom Menace.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

BR3 – inbound granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; 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 involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; 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; 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; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn

Monday, March 30, 2020

Quarantine Tales

The eerie solitude of the coronavirus era was brought home to me on Saturday morning when I opened the blinds to see a huge turkey strolling down the middle of our street. He obviously got the word on social distancing because instead of the usual flock you see these birds operating in he was all by himself and apparently felt very free to just stroll around with all the humans bunkering down in quarantine. The explosion of turkeys over the past few decades points to the lack of hunters.

Hunkering Down for Movie Night with Pee Wee

Our food supply was depleted so I was given the mission of venturing forth out of the quarantine zone to the grocery store. My Favorite Panamanian is increasingly adamant about counter-measures and I knew I’d have to strip down as soon as I returned from the infected zone. I may be exaggerating a bit. Anyways I returned home from a fairly well stocked grocery store to find a strong disinfectant smell in the garage. My wife’s newest weapon was a shoe disinfection station on the steps from the garage. I asked her what was in it and she blithely responded with vinegar and bleach. I asked her if she realized that this combination produces toxic chlorine gas and could be highly flammable. She said not to worry, that it was out in the garage. I then pointed out the garage is directly below the master bedroom now. Luckily we had a feisty rainstorm which allowed me to dispose of the the mixture and air out the garage.

Saturday was a better day, weather wise, and I decided to get a jump on the usual seasonal mandates for my wife’s vast garden complex. An annual ritual is the removal of the preceding year’s mulch. I was so happy to get out of the house that I didn’t take into account that this would not be a lot of fun because I had to lug it all up the hill into the woods behind the house. The wheelbarrow is more trouble than it’s worth getting up the hill so I transported everything in a couple of large pails. Again, not fun. At all. I’m too stubborn to admit I was overmatched physically and completed the task by sundown. That hill got progressively taller throughout the day. I’m still feeling the effects two days later. It was a lot of mulch.

Our Newest Neighbor

I opened up the grill on Deckzilla only to find something had created a nest in it over the winter. I don’t know if it was chipmunks or a mouse. After removing the nest I decided to fire up the grill to help sanitize it. I turned it up and let it go for a while. I came back outside to see the entire grill encompassed in a raging inferno as last year’s grease was still present and caught fire. I rushed back inside for a bottle of water to quench the flames. At least any resident contamination was thoroughly eradicated. My spring chores are off to an ignominious start.

This Weekend's Final Marvel Movies

I finished off my march through the Marvel universe over the weekend as I tried to recover from my Saturday exertions with my couch potato act in the Man Cave. Since I’m receiving the last Star Wars movie today I think my next endeavor will be to watch all eleven of those movies in order. I loved all the Marvel movies but after this exercise I decided to rate the movies in my perceived order to quality. Again I loved all of them but this is where I think they rate:

1 - Avengers: Endgame

2 - Thor: Ragnarok

3 - Avengers: Infinity War

4 - Guardians of the Galaxy

5 - The Avengers

6 - Captain America: The First Avenger

7 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

8 - Captain America: Winter Soldier

9 - Iron Man

10 - Captain Marvel

11 - Iron Man 2

12 – Captain America: Civil War

13 - Doctor Strange

14 - Ant-Man

15 - Ant-Man and The Wasp

16 - Black Panther

17 – Thor

18 - Spider-Man: Homecoming

19 - Spider-Man: Far From Home

20 - Thor: Dark World

21 - Iron Man 3

22 - Avengers: Age of Ultron

23 - The Incredible Hulk

I wasn’t the only one watching movies this weekend either. The FBR organized a movie night with her parents which has become a major family event weekly. As noted in the picture above, one of the strangest recent developments has been the bonding of Pee Wee the cat and the FBR. Pee Wee has heretofore employed his default reaction to the FBR which was to run as swiftly as his girth allowed as far away as possible. As she does with everything the FBR has apparently won him over. Up in New Hampshire the BRS has decreed at least a daily viewing of Frozen 2 and my son succumbed to pressure and signed up for the Disney+ channel.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Friday, March 27, 2020

Piecemeal

I feel like I’m stuck in one of the very bad horror movies I’ve watched over the years. It’s most telling on my morning commute. During normal times it takes me about 10-15 minutes to navigate traffic through Worcester to my office. I’m now making it in six minutes because there is literally no traffic on the road. I’m not complaining obviously but it’s a daily message that life has changed significantly. I think my life goal of driving all of the lower 48 states this summer may have to be postponed for a year because this thing doesn’t look like it’s slowing down at all. It’s so much tougher for an open society like ours to deal with a crisis like this. Totalitarian/authoritarian states have much more control that is unfortunately needed at times like this.

BRS Stealing Marshmallows From Dad's Cereal

Granddaughters and their parental packages both seem to be handling the new normal very well, although the BRS was in a time out yesterday for biting the ABFA. This was a result of just getting too excited versus malicious intent. She had a multi-room lineup of all her dolls and stuffed toys wrapped up, put to bed, and perfectly aligned. Methinks she’s getting ready for the arrival of her sister, BR3.

Some Samples of FBR Artwork
A Girl Crying Because She took too Long Eating
Dinner And Couldn't Play and a Rat

A Triangle Monster and a Layer Cake

A Cell Phone Cut out to Specifications

During our call with the FBR last night we witnessed an occasion of the new socialization norm. One of my daughter’s and Wingman’s best friends live a couple houses down from them. Their twins, boy and girl, are good friends with the FBR. They were out walking last night and my daughter, Wingman, and a very excited FBR talked to them through an open living room window. The kids were very excited to see each other after all the time spent with parents only. During this conversation another girl, from directly across the street, opened her window to join in. It was so cool to hear these four year olds conducting a separated but very excited update with each other. It’s in basic human nature to reach out to each other.

The Progress So Far

I’ve continued my march through the Marvel universe and doing a lot of reading when that burns out. I finally started seeing the benefits of the solar system I installed last October. The vendor cautioned me that the winter months wouldn’t be as productive but I was starting to question the efficacy as I didn’t see a big reduction in my electric bills. The vendor checked things out and related that the electric company was six to seven months behind in creating the special billing required to credit me with the electricity I’m producing. Yesterday the bill came and it was obvious they caught up because I now have a more than $200 credit. So some good news in this morass of negativity.

This Month's Electric Bill

I’ve stopped commenting on the books I’ve read but I finished one yesterday that sparked a lot. It was Sally Field’s autobiography, In Pieces. It was a fascinating look at the underside of the movie industry with a movie star I grew up watching. She pulls no punches and it was obvious she, not some ghost writer, penned this. It’s very personal and at times uncomfortable as she details a step father’s (a former Tarzan!) childhood molestation of her and the perils of actresses in pre-MeToo Hollywood. Burt Reynolds does not emerge unscathed. Field comes across as a very strong woman who self-taught herself not to be a victim. The book was hard to put down and deals with her life in depth up to her first Oscar win for Norma Rae. She speeds through her most productive years and I was disappointed there was very little on Steel Magnolias which is my favorite movie of hers. For a bona fide movie nut (guilty) I truly enjoyed the read and left with a profound respect for Ms. Field. I like her, I really do.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Viral Decision-making

This time in our collective experience will be interesting to look back on in a few years. It’s certainly nothing like the world has seen since the 1918 flu epidemic and for once I’m not that glad to experience something so historic. My mother must be resting easier knowing that I’m finally washing my hands as regularly and energetically as she always wanted me to. A week or so ago my customer came to my office and requested I think about delaying my scheduled May retirement because of the crisis.

BRS at Entry to her Fort

I was genuinely touched that he thought so well of me. He didn’t want a quick answer and I knew I had to discuss this with my Favorite Panamanian. You see, I have learned something over 38 years of marriage. She doesn’t like the idea of me coming in to work during the crisis but she also understood my inclination to stay on to see the company through the crisis. I told the customer today I would delay my retirement until we were on the other side of this situation.

Why I Love Worcester
Today's Headline

I feel it hypocritical of me to encourage my employees to still come in to work while knowing I would be punching out in what looks like will be the worst part of it. It felt too much like sneaking off a sinking ship. It’s not all altruistic. It’s not as if there’s anything to do outside the house right now but in a larger sense I feel honor bound to continue working until everything is a lot calmer. I guess the Army kind of ruined me in that regard. Interestingly it was exactly 42 years ago this week that I first put on the uniform that would come to define my adult life. I had no clue at the time.

The Fort Complex

As evidenced by the pictures it was fort building time in granddaughter land yesterday. The BRS coaxed her dad into putting his engineering degree to work at home yesterday with an extensive array. The FBR in New Jersey was very talkative last night until my wife recommended she should share some of her cake with her mother. The FBR went into silent mode and engaged in what I can only describe as panic eating to insure all of frosted part of her cake went into her mouth. It was too funny. They are a little bit on pins and needles as one of their best friends/neighbors recently tested positive and they’re almost at the two week mark from their last contact with him. Luckily the friend and his family seem to be on the mend.

Watching Frozen 2 for the 87th Time

Marvel Progress

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Silver Linings

So the governor sent everyone home yesterday except for what he deemed essential businesses. Much to my wife’s disappointment transit falls into that essential category. I’ve experienced a wide range of reactions at work and I’m constantly reminded I now work with civilians. It’s at times like this that you learn a lot about the people surrounding you. I’ve actually had people saying they are too scared to work but still want to be paid while others want to profit from the crisis. On the other end of the spectrum are the ones who realize that many of our customers depend on our service and are willing to work. It’s a tough adjustment for me, having spent most of my adult life in the military. The culture in the Army when times are tough you are expected to step up even further. I remember catching a bus into the still burning Pentagon on 9/12 when all civilian businesses were closed – the bus was packed with a very determined pack of fellow service members. There were hundreds of other less serious situations during my Army career when you knew you could count on the guy or gal next to you to step up when challenging situations arose. Like I said though, I now work with civilians. It is an entirely different kettle of pescadores.

BRS & Her Buddy Riggins

If there is an upside to this I witnessed it in talking with my granddaughters. They are thriving by getting to spend their entire days with their parents now. It is the happiest I’ve seen them in our nightly FaceTime calls. The parents also look happier and who wouldn’t; getting to spend all this time with these two young ladies has to be uplifting during these dark times. Of course, it is very easy for a grandparent to say this without entering the calculus of dealing with the full spectrum of a housebound 2 and 4 year old. Still, they all seemed very happy.

BRS Atop a Tower Prior to Destruction
Methinks the Legomaster - Her Dad Was Creating

The BRS was having a good time with her dad when we called while the ABFA worked from home upstairs. The BRS spent a lot of the call perched on top of Riggins who was a very good sport. It is cool to see the bonding that is inevitable with a dog. She would only leave her perch to throw herself bodily at my son. Near the end of the call the ABFA finished her work and was greeted with a spectacular welcome by the BRS. Of these small things is life made worthwhile.

FBR With her Cake

Meanwhile in the Garden State the FBR was proudly proclaiming the successful baking of an apple cake with her mother. My daughter had a bunch of apples that were about to go bad so she teamed up with the FBR to create an apple cake. The FBR promised to save a couple pieces for her grandparents. Again, this is the most talkative the FBR has been in a while during our calls. It could be the return of her abuela to the calls but I think it has more to do with spending the day with Wingman and my daughter instead of a daycare classroom.

BRS Also Helping in Kitchen

When Not Hanging with Riggins

Progress Through the Marvel Universe

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Quarantine Friend Zoned

I knew once my Favorite Panamanian returned that virus threatcon levels at home would skyrocket. For maybe the first time in our marriage I was able to correctly predict my wife’s behavior. Returning home from work yesterday I was immediately ordered to remove all my clothes before walking into the house from the garage. In more sane times this might have led to something more entertaining but that sadly not the case. Our laundry room is right next to the entry hall from the garage and I was instructed to drop my clothes there before being sent upstairs for a decontamination shower. This is the new reality.

The Obligatory Welcome Home Snow Storm

Luckily I Hadn't Put Snow Blower Away for the Summer

Still, it is such a relief to have her back under the same roof even if at appropriate social distances. I was a lot lonelier than I was willing to admit to myself. Mother Nature also heard about her return and deposited 4 inches of snow as a welcome back; more than we’ve had in a couple months. This has become something of a ritual on the date of her return over the past couple years. It was also why she delayed her homecoming this year until later in April although that return date was another victim of the virus. She is making her way through all the TV shows I DVRed for her while she was away while I continue my march through the Marvel universe. Last night in the Man Cave I finished up through the Age of Ultron.

Both granddaughters were exceptionally pleased to have their abuela on the nightly Facetime call again which led me to question my own entertainment value. The BRS was hysterical as she put her newly acquired vocal skills to work. She was trying to ransack a kitchen cabinet when my son came upon the scene to enforce the law. The BRS blithely said, “Daddy, Go Away!”. We then asked her to show us her new computer. She took off at a dead sprint to her play area where she pulled out a laptop and mouse. She expertly put them into operation on her trampoline. My son revealed this used to be the ABFA’s personal computer but the BRS had seized it in some sort of eminent domain as only a two year is capable of. The BRS topped off the call by clearly saying “abuela” for the first time which made a certain Panamanian extremely happy.

The FBR was also in fine form last night. She told her mother she didn’t want to talk until she heard my wife was back. That changed the whole equation and again – led to severe self-questioning. The FBR regaled us with her quarantine exploits and revealed previously unknown plans for traveling to our house next week to visit us. Her parents had no idea this was going to happen (it isn’t). Her parents did say that the FBR has been a model citizen during these dark times, being an extremely good girl. This does not surprise me in the least.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Monday, March 23, 2020

Subdued Return

I reacquired my Favorite Panamanian last night although it came with a social distancing clause. She was so concerned with her exposure during her flights back that we need to wait two weeks before any physical contact to protect me from any potential contamination picked up on her trip back. My willingness to chance that eventuality fell on deaf ears. She caught literally the last flight out of Panama for an entire month. She arrived wearing a face mask and gloves.

Favorite Panamanian Returns!
Complete with Halo Intact

Pre-warned, I showed up with a bunch of alcohol wipes which we used to wipe down her luggage before putting it in the car. She then sat in the back seat for the drive home joking that I had fully transitioned to the role of her chauffer. The phrase “Home, James” was even used. Although I can’t grab her, it’s so good to get her home. It also came in handy having two master bedroom suites. She got the new one since I had saved a bunch of Spanish TV shows for her on that television. Since I couldn’t bring her usual bouquet of roses this time I substituted a week’s worth of ironing done.

Son and BRS in their Matching Quarantine Outfits

I spent the entire weekend prior to her arrival cleaning (and ironing). We were really well prepared for the virus outbreak in terms of cleaning supplies. My wife has always kept a generous supply based on her goal of achieving pristine, sanitary levels of cleanliness, even before the virus. I’m not saying the consumption rate on those supplies went down in her absence but you can read between the lines. The rest of my weekend was spent deeply immersed in the Marvel universe. Since I last posted I watched an additional eight movies.

FBR in Art Class

The kids are also doing well. The FBR returned to our rock skipping creek discovered during my last visit. Wingman reported achieving the around the bend epic rock skip that eluded him during my visit. Likewise the BRS is handling her self-quarantine with aplomb, seizing control of the ABFA’s work at home station when she isn’t dragging my son into another viewing of Frozen 2. They’re happy to have their abuela closer if currently unavailable for hugs, same as me.

BRS Taking Over for the ABFA

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Friday, March 20, 2020

Topsy-turvy Then Breakthrough

My Favorite Panamanian had a roller coaster ride yesterday. The door knob guy was in the process of fixing the lock for our condo when she was summoned downstairs to speak with the immigration police (no one expects the immigration police!). They had been traveling through resort areas to identify foreigners so they could share the list with the appropriate embassy. This struck me as really weird but, given the current situation, anything is believable. We learned later there was a very good reason for the police effort. During his nightly broadcast the President of Panama announced that effective this Sunday he was cancelling all air travel in and out of the country for thirty days.

This of course sent my wife into a full blown panic since it would affect her planned April 9^th return. She immediately ordered me to see if I could get her on a flight back before the flights ceased. I was in the middle of that when she called back to report one of the PanaGals, a veteran traveler, was going to make the effort talking directly with Copa Airlines. An hour and a half later she called to report they were able to get her on literally the last plane out of Panama heading to Boston. She’ll be back home on Sunday night! It was at this point I did a little jig celebrating the early return. Of course, this will mean some frantic cleaning over the next two days but the reward is more than worth the effort. Her friend is my newest hero. Kudos also to Copa which waived the usual fees associated with flight changes.

FBR Building Towers

BRS So Happy to Have Mom & Dad Home All the Time

Wife With my Newest Hero (r) Earlier this Week

The virus continues to educate. I have learned that I am physically incapable of not touching my face. Absent wearing a full face covering I remain in full contact with the various itches and other signals my face transmits that requires immediate attention. I’ve touched it twice while typing this sentence. I guess my only hope lies in keeping the hands clean. Last night’s gyrations impacted on my continued march through the Marvel universe. I only watched one, the next in the series, Ironman 1. Relearning how well done these movies were/are. At least amidst all the bad news I’ve been getting on the virus I now have something to truly celebrate – The Return of the Favorite Panamanian!!!!!

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

RECURRING CHARACTERS

BR3 - Granddaughter #3; 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; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (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 the real thing; 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