Airport Extraction Trip

We finally received our house guest yesterday as the PanaGal delayed overnight in Ft Lauderdale arrived in Hartford yesterday. The only issue was a scheduled car service appointment I had scheduled an hour before her flight was set to land. This meant no drop off and pick up later as I spent a delightful 45 minutes in the waiting room as the car was serviced. We hit the road about ten minutes before the flight landed seventy seven miles away. I know this because of the ole GPS technology.

House Now has Two Panamanians in Residence

That technology came in handy because I thought I was going to have to subject myself to extended time in that traffic maelstrom known as Connecticut; not for the faint of heart at he height of summer vacation time. It turns out the Hartford Airport is actually closer to Springfield, Massachusetts than Hartford. The trip to the airport was 77 miles regardless of whether I was using I-84 though Connecticut or the Mass Pike to Springfield. This was a no brainer as I sailed past the exit for I-84 noting that the majority of traffic and nearly all the 18-wheelers were taking that exit. I may have exceeded a few traffic regulations but, after negotiating deboarding, and baggage claim our target was only waiting a few minutes when we pulled up less than an hour after we left Worcester (okay, maybe more than a few).

Willing to Bet this is Connecticut

I was entertained on the drive back by the nearly non-stop conversation between my Favorite Panamanian and the PanaGal. Highly entertained, I should say. We made it back in plenty of time for an afternoon meeting I had scheduled as well as an opportunity to mow the lawn since it had been a whole five days since I had to last do that. When will the rain stop? We’ve already set a record in Worcester for the most rain ever in a July and we had another loud thunderstorm overnight.

We ended the day on an extremely high note though as the Panamanians were returning from, you guessed it, some shopping, and they stopped off at the neighborhood mafioso’s home. I learned this an hour later when a phone call interrupted a duel I was having with a very stubborn rabbit in the back yard. I had hit him square four different times with the bb gun and he kept coming back for more snacks in the garden. I finally scored a direct hit into his 4^th point of contact which had him jumping five feet in the air and disappearing for good (Great Aunt just rolled her eyes while reading this in sympathy with the bunny). While talking with my wife, the Neighborhood Mafioso yelled “cerveza!” in the background and I shortly found myself seated on their back deck enjoying their company and a couple cervezas. We also got to take a few potshots at their backyard rabbits. A busy, but very good day.   

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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 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