Tomorrow we usher our current president out and it can’t happen soon enough. As weird as Trump was during his first few years, the past couple months have descended into outright chaos. I took my Favorite Panamanian on a drive through the countryside yesterday, just to escape the house isolation for a couple hours. During the drive through some rural areas I noticed a couple of the white supremacist flags that were so prominent during the January 6 insurrection. For those of you still hanging onto vestiges of your respect for the president (and I hope it is by your fingernails), I offer the following observation. He has tacitly encouraged the main-streaming of the white supremacist movement. What used to be a thankfully minor fringe group has gained a national stage during his presidency that started with his “good people on both sides” comment after Charlottesville. Think about that as you continue to defend him.
View I should be Enjoying Right Now 
From our Condo Balcony
It
is a frustrating day here in very cold Massachusetts. The Covid restrictions in
Panama have eased enough that my sister-in-law and her friend went down to
check on our condo, where we should be, absent the pandemic. This was supposed
to be our first winter spent on the beach but Covid had other ideas. We were a
little nervous about what they would find because the condo had been shuttered
since my wife left last March. Nearly ten months shut up in the tropics combined
with the salt air can invite some serious issues. They were also going to let
in the air conditioning guy to service the systems. 
Taken this Morning
A/C Guys in our Living Room
It
was therefore with a huge sigh of relief when they found the place in a nearly
pristine state. They sent the accompanying photos. The A/C started up without
issue and even the washing machine started, unbidden, which was kind of weird.
We were talking with them via video chat and it was heartbreaking to see the
view out the balcony to the pools and the beach. We’re going to find away to
get down there, post-inoculation, even if it is for the start of the rainy
season. I felt a real pull to be down there. I’ve lost a full season of body surfing
and I don’t know how many more of those I have left. 
Where we Should be Sleeping
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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; Kindergarten
Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; 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 3rd 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
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