Quiet Yet Still the 4th

This was definitely the quietest 4^th of July in my personal memory stretching back more than sixty years. It was even more exciting, if for other reasons, when I spent the 4^th in the middle of the Egyptian desert. The pandemic is shifting experiences which were thought of as routine or traditional on a very basic level; not that this is something everyone has already realized. Another blinding flash of the obvious from yours truly. Since this is an election year, amongst all the other distractions, I expected the nonsensical candidates to emerge and this weekend brought one – Kanye West. Can you imagine a Kardashian as the first lady. Thank you but no, we’ve already seen the effect of having a reality TV star at 1600 Pennsylvania. I only worry this is a republican plot to syphon votes away from Biden and therefore helping the Twitterer in Chief.

BRS Geared up for the 4th

The granddaughters were not as idle as I was this weekend as both were able to participate in some socially distanced Independence Day celebrations. The FBR finally got to play with her good buddies, the twins, who live a couple houses down from her. This even involved a ride around their backyard in an electric Barbie car. The FBR , according to Wingman, was a ferocious driver. No surprise. The FBR called early on Sunday morning in a very nice breakfast surprise. I asked her if she wanted to wake up her abuela, the Favorite Panamanian. She was all in and relished the chance, almost as much as her grandparents did at receiving the call.

As Was BR3

The BRS was likewise engaged with a barbecue/pool party at the house of one of their parents’ closest friends. They also have two girls at the virtually same ages as the BRS and BR3. The BRS’ pathway to swimming suffered a minor setback due to an inadvertent face submersion, something she doesn’t brook well. She invented a new game with her dad that dates back to Skyla days. My son would torture Skyla by “side eyeing” her, basically staring at her from the side of his eyes until she bounced up barking in frustration. The BRS now expertly “side eyes” her dad.

Last Two Watched

All official fireworks displays may have been canceled but on Saturday night the entire skyline of Worcester was lit up by almost continuous fireworks, some of them very robust. Our hilltop home with its Worcester facing window gave us a great view of all the beauty and chaos; it still felt like the 4^th after seeing this. There was also dedicated Man Cave time over the three day weekend. I started the next puzzle which will be a challenge, mainly because there is no picture of what the completed puzzle should look like. It’s based on Hitchcock movies but it would be nice to know what its supposed to look like. I also finished my Christopher Nolan movie watch. My ranking of the ones I watched is below. It’s a real tribute to him because there is not a bad movie in the entire list, the guy is really good. After I knock out some recently acquired 4K movies (thank you Favorite Son) my next list to serially watch will be Luc Besson movies.

1.    Memento

2.    The Dark Knight

3.    Inception

4.    The Dark Knight Rises

5.    Dunkirk

6.    Batman Begins

7.    Interstellar

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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; 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