For the second day in a row we were
hosting old friends yesterday at the beach. We were lieutenants together way back
in the day when I first showed up in Panama as a very green lieutenant, fresh
out of Ft Benning School for Boys (OCS and the Infantry Basic Course). He was
my sponsor and was already married to a Panamanian gal and a year later when I was
married to my Favorite Panamanian the gals became friends as well. We never served
together again but always had fond memories of the time spent slogging through
the jungles of Panama in the early 1980s and singing drunken military ditties on
a high-rise balcony. He’s gone on to be a very successful writer, mostly of
military science fiction, with over eighteen published novels. He, his wife,
and two young relatives came to spend the afternoon with us.
 |
| The Two Wives |
 |
| My Fellow Lieutenant and I |
We spent a lot of time conversing on the
beach about those shared memories of serving in the 193
rd Infantry
Brigade as young lieutenants. It was a great learning experience for
infantrymen. Especially officers since we were given a degree of freedom neither
of us saw again in our careers. We joked this was probably because our superiors
couldn’t or didn’t want to find us as we operated in the jungle.
We trained hard and long, spending weeks at a
time living in that very inhospitable environment. It was a great stroll down
memory lane while the gals engaged in the usual non-stop dialogue involved with
catching up after a couple years apart. Another great afternoon spent with old
friends.
 |
| Water Heater is Fixed! |
Earlier in the day we had the handyman
back to fix a couple things. I hadn’t had a hot shower since leaving the USA
and his primary mission yesterday was getting the hot water heater functional. He
had to jury-rig something to get it to work but that may have been the best
shower I’ve had in ages.
The water here
is never really cold, cold like we have in New England, but I still don’t enjoy
a shower without real hot water. He also fixed the balcony doors which needed
some minor adjustments and hung some of my Favorite Panamanian’s increasing
stockpile of beach related nick-nacks on the wall.
 |
| Sunset Last Night |
 |
| My Usual Photo Back to the Family to Rub it in |
I don’t want everyone to think life in paradise
is not without its challenges. On our first day on the beach, I forgot the age-old
lesson I learned back when my friend and I were running around the jungles of Panama,
everything in Panama bites. I forgot to apply insect repellent for that first day
on the beach and I was rewarded with a couple legs that look like I’ve got a
case of smallpox. The sand fleas and chiggers seem to have acquired a real
taste for gringo blood. We’ve taken to keeping the balcony doors open with the air
conditioning off during most of the day as we get a nice breeze. I have to put
the balcony sun shades down to ensure we don’t get overheated in the afternoon
but it's nice to hear the pounding of the surf so clearly through the open
doors as I write this.
 |
| Beach This Morning |
 |
| End of the Beach, River on Left |
I had to do some extra work this morning
on my exercise routine for a couple reasons. The first, and most obvious, is
that I may have had more than a few Atlas beers yesterday while in the midst of
intense reminiscing with my fellow lieutenant. The second was the Patriots’
playoff game last night, or more accurately escribed, massacre. I was so excited
to be able to see the game live with the new apparatus my daughter and Wingman
gifted me with. I was cursing their name (just kidding) as the Bills just had
their way with the Pats. The Bills’ quarterback is something special and he certainly
rose to the occasion while the Patriots’ defense just did not show up. So, the
extra work this morning. Since my Favorite Panamanian didn’t join me for the
walk I extended it to the far end of our beach where a small river flows into
the ocean. It was kind of cool, especially since I had the entire place to
myself. I discovered where the omnipresent pelicans hang out. There was a small
fishing boat offshore that was surrounded by pelicans, both in the water and in
the air. I’m not sure their presence was exceptionally welcome.
 |
| Our Condo Seen from the Beach |
 |
| Balcony Doors Left Open |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RECURRING CHARACTERS
BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – 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; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course; 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
No comments:
Post a Comment