Missing Pieces

I’m still basking in the afterglow of the fun time had with Great Aunt, Keene Friend, and the Cantankerous One. My feet have finally unthawed as well. I now have less than a week to prepare the house for the return of a certain Panamanian. While I know I will fall short of her exceedingly high standards I know she will look for some effort on my part. I’m hoping to distract her from those unachieved standards by spreading mulch over her vast garden complex. I’m having a literal truckload delivered tomorrow. I’ll have to put a tarp on it because tomorrow afternoon I’m making a thunder run up to Keene to hang out with those two guys again. It’s one of those “not wanting the good times to tend” situations so we agreed on a Saturday get together. I’m reasonably certain beer will be involved. It happens. I finished a puzzle last night and predictably it’s missing one piece and this as a brand new one that I took directly out of the bag it was shipped in. I think I have a poltergeist.

Latest Puzzle with a Missing Piece

I was saddened earlier this week when I saw pictures of what used to be the building that housed the Cobblestone Pub. After the fire earlier this year the building was razed and no longer exists. I know when you get old (guilty), locations significant from your childhood (and later) are inevitably churned under the inevitable wave of progress. There were a lot of memories with that building and not only for being an integral part of the annual birthday pub crawl. I remember as a very young child stopping by there with my dad to pick up donuts from Sunrise Donuts after church. The building sat on the leading edge of the downtown Keene area and during my military career, whenever I came back to town, I’d glance over there and smiled at the memories of donuts with dad. Over the last fifteen years those memories include the pub crawls as the Cobblestone was where the crowd usually began to grow. I wonder what’s going into that space. I hope it’s a pub and not another college dorm.

The Cobblestone, Going

Going

Gone

Happier Times

I saw The Northman earlier this week. I thought this was going to be a straight action movie but it is a lot more than that. Some of the additional content was interesting while some dragged a little. The title role is a part Alexander Skarsgård was born to play with his light acting touch and imposing physicality. He’s a Viking princeling, wronged by his uncle who makes his way in life as a hired berserker, good work if you can get it. He eventually sets out on a revenge tour of Iceland where he meets Anna Taylor-Joy who is a fully grown woman now and a superb actress. The film veers between intense historical realism and fantasy as the vengeance efforts ensue. We get a down and very dirty exposure to Viking religion and myths as well. The cinematography is superb, especially when the story moves to Iceland. This wasn’t all that I expected but it’s a fascinating story, well-acted, and beautifully shot. As long as you don’t the odd dismemberment, decapitations, or noses bit off , you’ll love it. I did.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Wooing Sox & Old Haunts

The last vestiges of what I’m calling the BR3 virus was successfully vanquished on Tuesday. I kept thinking I was over it only to wake up in the morning still trying to hack up a lung. She has potent virological powers apparently. I‘m considering investing in a biohazard suit for her next visit. My Favorite Panamanian had an opinion (I know – shocking). She believes I was trying to do too much physically which tired me out and didn’t allow my body to heal. I’m thinking she might be right which is the last kind of news she needs to hear. At any rate I recovered in time for yesterday’s big event which I’d been looking forward to for a couple weeks, my first ever WooSox game.

With Great Aunt and Cantankerous at the Ballpark

It was huge news when the Triple A affiliate of my beloved Red Sox decided to move to Worcester from Rhode Island. I watched the stadium, Polar Park, take shape as I drove by its construction each day on my way to work. They opened their first season last year and I never got around to seeing a game. Soxfather and I had made a deal to see a game together but it never happened for a variety of reasons and now well, now.  The Cantankerous Friend was the driving force of getting me off my butt when he texted both Keene Friend and I about going to a game. I suggested yesterday’s afternoon game and we were off. I think Soxfather got involved at this point because in a very spooky moment, I was on the computer, about to complete the purchase of our game tickets when I received a text from Great Aunt suggesting she and I go to a game, specifically the game I was currently buying tickets for. Weird, but cool, so the ticket order went up to four.

First View of Field as we Entered

View from Our Seats

The game was supposed to start at 12:15 and having never been to the park I allowed for some extra time to get through the lines and to our seats. That wasn’t needed. We arrived at 11am and walked right up to the gate and entered the nearly deserted park as it was just opening. This allowed us some great views of the truly spectacular facility as we wandered around before game time. It is at this point I should mention it was cold. A damp spring cold that permeates most efforts to stay warm. This was accompanied by a fairly stiff breeze which allowed a diminutive visiting player to hit two towering homeruns but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Three Amigos

We were in our seats and in talking to one of the ushers, learned that the previous night’s game had been rained out so we were in for two seven inning games for the same price. Again, I think a dearly departed brother-in-law must have been involved in this somehow. The weather and the early start kept the crowd to a minimum. Even though you were allowed to stay for the second game on the same ticket, the cold sent almost everybody home for the second game. That was kind of cool (pun intended) though, with only about a hundred people in the park you could hear everything from the umpires making calls to the ballplayers swearing when they made an out.

Rain Delay for No Rain

It had been a while since I’d been to a live baseball game and it brought with it the abundant memories of past games. I can’t go to Fenway Park anymore because the small seats have my right knee in agony by the third inning so it was a relief this new park had the extra space needed to be truly comfortable. I loved the park and the convenience of everything, from the parking close by, the concessions, although, as with any ballpark, the prices were beyond gouging level, and the excellent views of the game.

View from Left Field Berm

We shivered through the first game as the Sox rallied to win it late. The second game was held up for what they claimed was a rain delay although that turned out to be the sunniest part of the day with no rain at all. We used the hour long wait to continue our wandering. We ended up beyond left field in what they call the berm area. They had some Adirondack chairs there that allowed us to sit in the sun and wait for the unneeded tarp to be removed from the field. The Sox tanked in the second game. It was started by a former major league Red Sox reliever who’d been sent down to learn some control. Since he hit two batters and walked another one in the first inning, well let’s just say it remains a work in progress. A series of Sox hurlers were lit up as the game progressed although there was one nice inning from another major league relief pitcher rehabbing from injury. God knows they need him to get back to Boston ASAP.

Sitting in the Sun During the Rain Delay

The games sailed right long as there was a pitch clock and the batter had to stay in the box. I can’t wait for major league baseball to adopt some of these measures to speed up the game and pull it out of its death spiral. The best part of the games though was hanging with my big sister and two oldest friends. The Woo Sox have a local restaurant sponsor a take-out place in right field for each game. My sister and friends had a two game long running joke about this at my expense when they announced the restaurant for the game featured West African cuisine. I didn’t think it was that funny but they seemed to have a lot of fun with it.

Second Game Debacle
The Adirondack Chairs Are Directly Under the Big Scoreboard

We headed home after the game to thaw out and send Great Aunt on her way. She didn’t want to drive back to Rhode Island in the dark and this marked her first long distance foray since Soxfather’s departure. I’m so proud of her. Since the day was still relatively young and we could now feel our toes again, we set out for my favorite old haunt, Brew City. The atmosphere remained the same although they finally cut a space in the bar for the bartender to walk though. There was only one waitress remaining from the glorious, pre-pandemic days as this marked the first time I’d been back in two years.

Brew City Baby!!

There is no better medicine for the soul than to spend time with the important people in your life and that’s what yesterday was all about, even though there were a couple of frigid baseball games involved. Cantankerous and Keene Friend spent a lot of time trying to convince me to return to watching the NBA playoffs in which they say the Celtics are playing well. We’ll see but every time I check in I see the same old problems of ignoring rules like carrying and superstars getting calls they don’t deserve. I might just be entering my official “curmudgeon” period. At any rate, a great day and night spent with truly excellent people.

Meanwhile, Down in Panama

Wife Sent Some Photos of her Adventures

PanaGal Cleaning Grill at our Condo
Before Storing until Next Year

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Kryptonite Encounter

I know there are literally thousands of you out there waiting with semi-bated breath for more news on Great Aunt’s “cat from hell” who emerged from her lifelong antipathy towards anything or anyone human last week. During our First Friday call, the cat would not abandon her perch on Great Aunt’s lap and demanded almost constant attention. You have to understand what a sea change in behavior this represents because this was a cat that engendered a standard warning to anyone entering Great Aunt’s house, “don’t try to touch the black cat”. My Favorite Panamanian believes it is Soxfather reaching out from beyond to change the behavior of one of his least favored beings. I opined to my big sister that the cat, up there is years, in probably getting ready to croak. She did not appreciate my bloodthirsty prediction and believes her decade long effort to reach the cat’s psyche might be finally paying off. I talked to her this morning and she says the cat is still affectionate – five days now. I’m really beginning to doubt reality at this point.

The Cat from Hell Still on Great Aunt's Lap

My loneliness was dealt a body blow last evening when I was invited over to the Neighborhood Mafioso’s home to help celebrate their youngest granddaughter’s confirmation. I apparently lucked out by missing the actual ceremony where the local bishop spoke, spoke, and then spoke some more. It was so fun seeing a healthy portion of the local Panamanian Mafia again. I was a little stunned when the two granddaughters walked in. It’s a sign of how long I’ve lived in one area (a novel experience after my vagabond Army days) in that I first met them they were not even teenagers yet. They walked in yesterday looking like two elegant ladies. I felt old but the company made up for it.

The Proud Grandparents With their Son, Daughter
and the Two Elegant Young Ladies Yesterday

A game has developed with the Neighborhood Mafioso’s husband and I where he sneaks beer refills to me under the watchful eye of my Favorite Panamanian who never misses the opportunity to scowl at our subterfuge. We remarked last night how much less fun it was without that needed ploy but the beer still tasted appropriate. I Facetimed my wife in so she could say hi and predictably she and one of the PanaGals were in the condo pool. Since a couple of us just had to come inside as the temperature dropped with the sun, she was suitably pleased. I had the advantage though since I got to spend time with these more than excellent people just by walking across the street. I was having such a good time I forgot to take any pictures of the gathering so you’ll have to take my word on it. I’ve been doing well in my comeback from a week of excess food after redeployment from Panama. That effort came to a screeching halt last evening when they rolled out the desserts which included my personal kryptonite. Yes. Whoopie Pies!!! I was helpless in the face of a package of mini-whoopie pies and did my very best to demolish as many as possible. I’ve never tried cocaine but this must be what it’s like because I just couldn’t stop. Not that I wanted to. Exctra laps this morning in the pool and for the foreseeable future. 

On Friday I saw the funniest movie I’ve seen in a very long time. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is awesome. It features Nicholas Cage doing a heartfelt send up of Nicholas Cage. He’s been the center of so many memes over the years that there was rich territory to explore on this effort and they mined it for all its worth. You have to admire him for this because 99.9% of actors wouldn’t be secure enough to so thoroughly skewer their cinematic personae like this. It’s also a very funny buddy flick as Cage teams up with superfan Pedro Pascal in a kidnapping plot worthy of Cage’s Con-Air era. This is Pascal’s best work since he was a Dornish prince. There are also some hilarious bits where Cage interacts with a younger version of himself. I can’t recommend this enough, Funniest movie I’ve seen in years. Cage is my new hero, taking direct aim at Hollywood’s endemic self-importance.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Ibuprofen Save

As I wrote about in my last post, I had a fairly sedentary week thanks to combat involving yet another BR3 donated cold. On Friday I was finally feeling better and yesterday I decided I need to make up for lost time. That may have been a mistake. One of the things I love about New England is the first warm, sunny weekend day people just explode out of their houses to begin the cleanup from winter. While I am little better tanned than some of my compatriots, that’s where I was yesterday. I don’t mean to brag (okay, maybe just a little) but yesterday I set up Deckzilla furniture, including the sun shade, mowed the lawn, cleaned out the garage, set up the grill, and added a layer of stones to one of my wife’s vast garden complexes. That last one was the kicker. A certifiable swarm of those emerging New Englanders also chose to be at Home Depot. That meant I had to park in the back forty which wouldn’t be a problem normally except for times when I’m pushing/pulling a push cart dolly loaded with thirty large wall stones and ten bags of top soil. Like yesterday. Oh, and just to make sure I got an adequate workout I had to drag it up a slight hill that I wouldn’t even have noticed except for, well, the five hundred pounds of product involved.

Side Garden

The stones were headed to the side garden facility of my wife’s vast complex. She’s always complained that it was located on a hill and wanted me to fix it. I added a retaining wall but there was still an incline so I had to add another level. After my Home Depot parking lot experience, I parked the car on the street closest to the garden to reduce the distance of moving them to the work site. I developed a technique to drop the soil bags out of the wheelbarrow without stopping. That happened by accident when I hit a rut but since it landed where I wanted it to, I kept doing it for the remainder. I was proud of the outcome and sent a photo to surprise my wife with the accomplishment. Her first comment was that I needed to add more dirt. That brought me back to earth (get it?) but she did eventually thank me.

Deckzilla Restored

The biggest adventure I had was the Deckzilla sunshade. We stored it for the winter because, well, snow. I knew if I stored the connecting hardware in the garage I would forget where that was when I needed them in the spring. I left them connected to the mounting brackets which are screwed into Deckzilla. I discovered the major problem with that decision when it came time to mount the sunscreen. Over the winter the nearly constant hilltop winds had unscrewed the brackets into its component three pieces which had fallen to the ground. I desperately looked through the winter accumulated debris and found three of the four missing pieces. I was nervous because one of the hooks was missing and I had just mowed the grass in the likely landing spot. I had visions of having to dig through the pile of grass clippings when I spotted the missing hook, unlikely caught around a clump of grass which kept it away from the mower. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than smart. Thank God. This all consumed about five hours and while I felt a certain sense of accomplishment, I knew I was pretty beat. I then made my biggest mistake of the day. I sat down. For thirty minutes. Feeling refreshed after this short break I went to stand up. Big mistake. My body decided to point out it was sixty-six years old and hadn’t appreciated the day’s efforts. Everything hurt as I shambled over to the drug drawer and fished out some ibuprofen. Therein lies the save mentioned in the title.

Front Yard, Tree is Starting to Bloom

There are a couple things left in the house to do that requires two people. It brought home to me as the least of the hundreds of reasons I feel so lonely. I’ve been basically by myself since I left the ABFA’s parents house last Sunday. While these solitary times are good in small doses I’ve come to discover that humans are basically social animals. The gaping hole in my social status is the absence of my Favorite Panamanian. In our previous winter long separations I always had a job to assuage the loneliness and need for social interaction.  There’s only so much movies, sports, and jigsaw puzzles can do. I get her back in a little over week and I can’t wait. I guess I’m pretty married.

Latest Puzzle

Speaking of jigsaw puzzles I completed my latest effort yesterday. I know there are friends who will say this should have been a bunny considering the motivation involved. It was a lot of fun and discovered there were six bottles depicted that I had never tried. My son and Wingman will be surprised by that statement as they are beer connoisseurs within the family while I keep to my more pedestrian Coors Lite (which was not represented in this puzzle – a grave error). It turns out I have tried a lot of different beers, all but six. I attribute this to a penurious youth where I would drink whatever beer was presented. Come to think of it, that hasn’t really changed. It’s just that I can buy my own. I also achieved something of legendary status in my War College Class when I participated in a worldwide tour of beers the pub sponsored, no less than five times. Hey, I got a t-shirt and a hat out of it.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Aged Immune Systems

I signed up, strictly due to the lack of other options, for getting old. I’m rapidly learning there are a variety of “benefits” that you don’t fully appreciate until you attain the vaunted age of senior citizen and I’m not talking about cheaper movie tickets (although that is pretty cool). The one I’m coming to understand this week is the severely reduced immune system. I guess there is a reason we were put first in line for all these Covid shots. The situation that brought this revelation home was the cold that BR3 bequeathed me this past weekend. She was only symptomatic for one day and even at the height was just coughing a lot while still engaging in serial couch jumping. I’ve been under the weather since Tuesday and am only now starting to recover. In my defense my immune system is more than sixty years older than hers and has been subjected to some fairly rigorous challenges over those six decades. I still feel like a bit of a wimp for being knocked down by a 1 year old but there it is. I’ll be back in the pool today as I finally feel better.

I was going to ambush Keene Friend and the Cantankerous One this week with an unannounced thunder run back to my hometown but canceled that so as to not infect them with my BR3 variant. Now that I think about it, maybe my Favorite Panamanian has something to do with the whole situation, to keep me on the straight and narrow and punish me for not being there to help her close up the condo. No. That’s crazy talk. Or is it?

She Looks So Innocent

It's been a busy week down in New Jersey as Wingman has created a set of garden boxes for Wingmom. It will have to be Wingmom because my daughter certainly did not inherit her mother’s green thumb. My wife always opined that my daughter’s house was where houseplants were sent to die. (I’m going to pay for that last crack). Speaking of the death penalty, I’d better stop writing and go water my wife’s houseplants. That was supposed to happen Tuesday and I don’t think she’ll accept any sickbed excuses.

In yet another startling development that may signal an impending apocalypse, Great Aunt’s two cats spent time together. I’m talking close proximity. You have to understand what an earth-shattering development this is, since they should be named Jekyll and Hide. The black cat follows in a long line of Great Aunt’s (she forgives a lot) “cats from hell”. People who enter her house are routinely warned not to approach it. The FBR has some scars to prove she didn’t listen well at Thanksgiving. This cat’s disdain extends to the other cat, who could not be nicer. My big sister was so stunned to see the good and bad cats tolerating each other that she texted this photo to the family. Watch the skies for large meteors.

Scary, Indeed!

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Vegetative State

Against all odds, I’ve been fairly busy, if not overly productive, since my return from Panama. That could be the lack of supervision from a certain Panamanian or just getting old. At any rate, yesterday I had my first day of complete hedonistic retreat into the Man Cave. I literally accomplished nothing outside of a morning bike workout. I binge watched a couple series to further deplete my overloaded DVR list and knocked out two movies as well. Before you leap on your well-appointed soap box to deride me for this lassitude, I had a fairly good reason.

My Personal Typhoid Mary with her Sister 

I wrote last time about the great time my Favorite Son, the ABFA, and the ABFA’s family showed me over the Easter weekend. Yesterday I was paying my dues for the abundance of good time because BR3, rapidly becoming my own personal Typhoid Mary, passed on her strong cold to me over the weekend. That makes two visits in a row for this potent young lady. I’ve been uncharacteristically super-healthy over the time of the pandemic, except for these last two visits with BR3. As I told my son though, totally worth it. She kicked it after a day so we’ll see how I fare with my recovery effort.

The Great Easter Hosts - The ABFA's Parents

I received a detailed report from my Favorite Panamanian on her efforts to close up the condo. She wanted to make sure I knew how much energy she was expending to accomplish this task. Her desire had everything to do with the fact I wasn’t there to help. She did admit, however, that I made the right call with the weather, which has been rainy season nasty since my departure. She’s back up in David for most of the rest of her tenure in Panama as she helps her mother through some cataract surgery today.

Favorite Son and I on Easter Egg Hunt
Typhoid Mary Behind Us

Monday, I had a visit from the cable guy since the kitchen DVR stopped recording my wife’s telenovela in mid-February (I know – panic time). He was an interesting guy and quickly figured out that even though the cable box is supposed to fully delete a deleted show that doesn’t always happen which impinges on disk space. He showed me an additional step to take and I got rid of the 147 already deleted telenovelas on the box. I’d noticed when he was parking that he took great care in positioning his van well away from the front door. I asked him about that and he said when they’re making a house call, there is equipment in the van which establishes a electro-magnetic curtain around the house which assists with diagnosis. Go figure. Now, back to the DVR list – the cold is still kicking.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Granddaughter Immersion Therapy

Whatever lingering loneliness was severely eradicated through the good offices and combined efforts of the BRS and her younger sidekick, BR3, this past weekend. After Safelight finally released my car from windshield bondage, I set out for the New Hampshire home of my son and the ABFA late Friday afternoon, actually right about the time I should have been sitting down for an appropriate recognition of the First Friday of the Week. I thought I was going to run into holiday weekend traffic at that hour but I made pretty good time since my itinerary did not include any time in Connecticut.

Best Medicine

I’d had a busy week with home renovations, hometown thunder runs, movies, and a windshield repair, not to mention getting my 4^th Covid shot. I was therefore more than ready to offer myself up for granddaughter immersion therapy. The BRS and BR3 both remembered me which wasn’t a given due to my long absence. Upon arrival I was shortly appointed as BR3’s personal conveyance platform as she imperiously pointed out where I should carry her to. The day care center said she was ill, requiring a Covid test but you couldn’t prove that by her behavior. I was talking with my daughter on the phone, mentioned the sickness, and as I panned over to BR3 she was enthusiastically bouncing up and down on a nearby couch.

Son Catching the Highly Mobile "Sick" BR3

BRS & Riggins

BRS is Also Highly Mobile

BR3 

First Friday was appropriately celebrated by my son and I after the ladies went to bed for the night. We had a great time catching up and watching some appropriately ghoulish television. Saturday, the fun continued as BR3 decided she was going to personally supervise me as I prepared breakfast. I would put her down when I needed to but as soon as I turned around, she was standing at my feet demanding to be picked up. She reminded me so much of her aunt, my daughter, at the same age. I eventually completed breakfast and wolfed it down while BR3 was distracted. The ABFA wasn’t as fortunate and had to pointedly share hers with her youngest.

BR3 Also Helped her Dad with Breakfast

Gymnastic Time for BRS with ABFA

Leotard Last Seen on the FBR

My View While Trying to Make Breakfast

trying to Log On

Sisters

Yoga Time

After gymnastics (for the BRS) and a quick doctor’s appointment (for BR3) we were cleared to travel to the ABFA’s parents’ home to celebrate Easter. The ABFA left earlier in order to take in the last college lacrosse game of a cousin. I really enjoyed driving across state with my son and the doctor cleared BR3. Since she had polished off a long nap, she stayed awake for the entire trip. As we neared the destination she and I engaged in a name calling game that had both my son and I laughing hysterically. I would say her name and she would respond with her version of “Grandpa”. I would change the tone and inflection each time and she would follow suit. Too funny but you had to be there to fully appreciate it.

ABFA and the Girls

BR3 Behind the Wheel

Helping ABFA's Dad Rake the Back Yard

Break Time

BRS was Very Dedicated 

We reunited with the ABFA, her parents, and the BRS at the ABFA’s childhood home. The ABFA’s parents are some of the very nicest people on planet earth and bent over backwards to be the perfect hosts over the weekend, to include preparing amazing hamburgers for certain segment of their guest population. The granddaughters were in high excitement mode concerning the predicted early morning arrival of a candy bearing rabbit. We received reports from Panama where my Favorite Panamanian and her family had to evacuate the condo earlier in the day when the power went out again. They were back in David roundly complaining about the humidity of the fully emergent rainy season. My wife even admitted she would come back with me on the earlier date in future years. Yes, you read that right, my wife actually admitted I got something right. I’ll have to remember this date.

Easter Baskets

Stuffed Animals

BR3, Fashion Explosion

The Cousins

My granddaughters apparently mistook my sleeping form on Easter morning as the aforementioned bunny. It is certifiably the very best way to awaken on any day though. They were strategically distracted from their awakening efforts by diving into their heavily laden Easter baskets. The egg hunt was delayed until the afternoon when younger cousins would arrive. The delay was fortuitous since it was sleeting and snowing outside (don’t tell my wife). The ABFA’s family started trickling in over the morning until we had a full house to celebrate the holiday. A very tasty ham was donated to the effort and my Favorite Son snuck outside to play the role of the rabbit hiding eggs. We tried to distract the kids but after he finished in the front yard and we moved them into the front so they wouldn’t see him in the backyard they almost immediately started pointing out the front yard eggs and plotting their routes.

The Egg Hunt

Son's Family

The egg hunt was so much fun. BR3 couldn’t keep up with her more mobile sister and cousins but the older kids rushed around so quickly that they over ran many eggs which BR3 quickly and expertly honed in on and snatched. BR3 must have inherited my fashion sense (not a welcome development). She wanted to wear a black shoe on one foot and a white one on the other. Her ebony and ivory fashion statement originated earlier in the week at day care. I had been charged with getting her shoes on and I honestly tried to put the same color shoe on both feet but BR3 was having none of it. My role in her style choices was roundly suspected by the other adults as I professed my innocence, to no avail.

FBR Ready for the Hunt

The FBR was also a-hunting down in her New Jersey back yard. It was also very cold there so the hunt was abbreviated because her mother, my daughter, is of the same thin blood as my Favorite Panamanian. The FBR was very imperious about her newest collection of candy and opined that there wouldn’t be any left by the time her grandparents made an appearance. Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, Great Aunt added to her legerdemain in the culinary arts. She is justifiably famous for forgetting to remove the turkey innards prior to baking (on two occasions no less). Yesterday Namesake Nephew reported she forgot to remove the cellophane covering from a container of sour cream before adding it to a dip. The nephew sent me a very unflattering picture of his mother via messenger and I accidently posted it to my Facebook site. I was soon dealing with a very unhappy elder sister who informed me of my failure and insisted I remove the photo. The only problem being, not only did I not know how I posted it in the first place, I couldn’t find it to delete it. I eventually did but my photo credentials for elder sisters may have been permanently revoked. Soxfather’s sister is grinning evilly somewhere.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course