Airborne, Almost

Well, I seem to have survived my “death defying” stunt yesterday of clearing out the backyard rain gutters. I was surprised at the pleas I received from my Favorite Daughter and wife after they discovered what I planned to do. I assured them both this was still within my capabilities, although, to be honest, about half way up the ladder I started to question my confidence. During a recent rain storm, I noticed the gutters were overflowing and nothing was coming out the downspout. It wasn’t genius level intellect required to figure out it was blocked. Unfortunately, the block was at the downhill side of the house which meant it was the highest from the ground.

The Climb,
I Needed the small Ladder to fully Extend the Big One

I took it as a challenge which is easy to do when your feet are firmly planted on the ground. I assured my Favorite Panamanian that I was up to the task and even if I fell I would utilize my airborne training to properly fall (Yeah, it didn’t work with her either). I also had my checkered past with falling from ladders to contend with. Back in the day (more than thirty years ago) I was helping Great Aunt paint her house and had improperly set up the ladder and fell from the highest point of her house. I luckily caught hold of the first-floor gutter as I fell by and arrested the fall with only a shin skinned down to the bone for injuries. I became something of a legend in her neighborhood as several neighbors witnessed my idiocy.

I’m not saying that was foremost in my mind as I set up the tallest ladder I had. The problem with the hillside is finding level ground to anchor the bottom of the ladder. There was a platform for the air conditioning system that I ended up using but it made for a rather steep incline. The other problem being, as I set up the ladder, it banged on the wall outside the room where my wife was. She came to the window to assess the situation and immediately decided I was sorely lacking in supervision which she just as quickly appointed herself to provide. I also received a text from my daughter asking me not to try and take pictures from the top. Oh, yee of little faith.

Favorite Panamanian Manning the Bottom of the Ladder

As I said earlier, about halfway up the ladder I realized it had been a long time since I was jumping out of airplanes and the ground looked fairly far away. After my earlier braggadocio there was no way I could take counsel of these fears though. I accomplished the promised pictures but will admit I had an absolute death grip on the ladder at the time. I was able to reach up into the gutter and cleared the blockage provided by an old shingle and some really “fragrant”, well soaked leaves. I was rewarded by a huge surge of water through the base of the pipe, right at my wife’s feet which vindicated the whole reason for the climb in the first place. She wasn’t about to admit it was necessary especially when, as I was cleaning some of the fragrance off my hands, some of it landed on her head.

Deckzilla From Above

My Favorite Panamanian had remained at the base of the ladder during my entire time aloft although I’m not sure what she could have done if it started to slip. I still admired her steadfastness, especially as she maintained it while being showered (accidently I assure you) with debris. During our evening FaceTime call with my daughter and the FBR, my granddaughter asked me about the climb. As it came up in the conversation, I mentioned that I had jumped out of many airplanes while in the Army. She seemed very concerned about this until I clarified that each time I jumped I had a parachute. She looked at me with incredulity and then stated, “I’m never joining the Army.” Airborne!!!

Should Have Remembered Old Airborne Advice 
Never Look Down, Always Focus on Horizon

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Creaky Thoughts

I wrote last week about my new profession, in retirement, of staying in some sort of good physical shape. That doesn’t come without certain codicils that the body insists upon. One of the most noticeable is not to sit down for an extended period of time after a workout. When I do this, usually after a bike session, I am reminded, in no uncertain terms, that I am no longer a spring chicken. Everything seems to hurt and it takes real effort not to groan (like old people do). We used to kid my mother about this and it’s scary to be almost at the same age she was when she passed. I’m getting an assist in preventing excessive sitting from my new watch which reminds me every now and then that it is time to stand up and move around. I’m a little spooked at how it manages to determine this but I’m singularly obedient for some unknown reason.

I’m taking my new found “fitness” up a tall ladder this afternoon, so if this is my last post, you’ll know why. Just kidding. I hope. During a recent rainfall I noticed the back of the house rain gutters weren’t draining which means something is blocking them and the requisite climb up the tallest ladder I have is called for. When my neighbor across the street moved away a couple years ago he bequeathed me a truly mongoso sized ladder. It’s so big that I have to back the cars out of the garage it get it out. I’ll try to take some aerial photos from up there to prove I made the climb.

The Birthday Girl

More Recently

Today is a special day as it marks the birth date of my youngest sister. She’s a lot younger than me so not afflicted with all this senior citizen nonsense I rave about. I’m very proud of the lady she’s become, a well-respected analyst for a DOD entity. She also is married to the love of her life, finally a prince after some notable frogs. She’s only a few miles away but this pandemic thing has gotten in the way over the past couple years. We’re going to solve that soon. Happy Birthday Sis! I love you and miss you.

My Favorite Panamanians and I took a date night movie in yesterday with Elvis. I was never a huge Elvis fan growing up, the Beatles happened, but my parents were so I heard a lot of him. He was hard to miss as he dominated popular culture for his entire adult life. The movie is fantastic as only Baz Luhrman could have made it. He doesn’t ignore the many flaws but he focuses on what made Elvis – his music. Unfortunately they didn’t use many of his original recordings and whomever did the singing didn’t have the rich timbre that was so distinctive for Elvis. The acting was superb, especially from Austin Butler who is mesmerizingly transformed into the King. It was weird to see Tom Hanks in a rare villain role as Col Tom Parker. I’m thinking they may have gone overboard on that aspect but there needed to be some entity dragging at the supernova. It was a fascinating look into the life of someone we all thought we knew. The biggest difference in this outing was the focus was on his talent instead of his well-trod path to self-destruction. You can understand why he will always be, Elvis!

Finished Another Puzzle
It Even Had all the Pieces

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Impromptu

There was no special event planned for this past weekend but there was no denying the infinitely special quality it managed to achieve. My daughter and the FBR decided to travel up for the weekend since Wingman is on tour and, well, we always manage to have a spectacularly good time when we spend time together. There is that. We share the same relational excellence with the other people who ended up on Deckzilla on Saturday so we realized a truly excellent weekend without the needed crutch of a special event to make it so.

The Very Special Ladies I Got to Hang Out with This Weekend

Friday marked the FBR’s last day of kindergarten where she has thrived. My Favorite Daughter and the FBR jumped into the car shortly after saying their goodbyes to the teachers for the summer. Connecticut wove its usual obstacle course, including a fully engulfed car fire, to pass through, but they made just in time for the First Friday Family Facetime call. Th FBR was very happy and immediately asked me if the BRS had arrived yet. This became a theme. I had the unhappy task of telling her that her cousin wouldn’t be with us until Saturday.

FBR Hugged by Teachers as She Leaves Kindergarten

After the call and obligatory Friday pizza we descended to the Man Cave for movie night; yet another of the FBR’s well-honed Friday traditions. While we were watching, my daughter received a text from the FBR’s kindergarten teacher asking how the FBR was doing. The FBR then said she had to talk with her and a quick, almost too cute phone call took place where the FBR invited her to movie night which had to be declined, given the whole 200 mile distance involved. It’s what the FBR does, she winds her way inextricably into your heart which is apparently what happened with the teacher.

New Carpet in Living Room
Received Acid Test This Weekend

Abuela and FBR Together Again

FBR Sweeping Water Off Deckzilla

And Washing Windows

Deckzilla Breakfast

The FBR provided the Saturday morning wake up duties and asked the first of the thirty-seven times what time the BRS was arriving. I made the same deal with her that I did when traveling across country while in the Army with my kids. Every time they asked how much longer I would add five minutes to the response. The FBR didn’t appreciate my attempt at humor any better than her mother and uncle did. My Favorite Panamanian hired her to do some minor cleaning tasks which she was very good at. They came to an agreement that the FBR would be paid if she was asked to do something but not if her abuela asked her to do it as a favor. This fine semantic point was argued for the rest of the day as the FBR acquired a $1.87 fortune and every favor asked led to a negotiating session. After a while the FBR, armed with binoculars, took up station in the shade of the front yard tree waiting for the arrival of her cousin. She would come in every few minutes to ask one of the 37 times.

The Front Yard Vigil

Could This be Them?

Maybe from this Direction

Together at Last

The first person she spotted however was none other than Keene Friend who was invited to join us because, well, he’s family. Shortly thereafter the FBR was finally rewarded with the arrival of my son, the ABFA, BR3, Riggins, and, most anticipated, the BRS. These two young ladies immediately set off to explore fun together. BR3 was a little miffed at being the odd person out but she managed to hang around the periphery of the two older gals who were very good about including her when possible. The old adage, “there’s just something special about cousins”, was once again fully proven.

BRS on my Daughter's Lap Next to my Son

Favorite Aunt

Keene Friend on Right

Great Aunt and ABFA Mom on Left

Walking Through

Son, Keene Friend and I Solving World Problems

My Favorite Son was feeling a little creaky. He’d taken an unintentional ride down the stairs with BR3 earlier tin the week. He earned his dad merit badge by protecting BR3 when he started falling and sacrificing himself. He was left with a very bruised back. BR3 thought the whole thing was a lot of fun and wanted another ride down the stairs with dad.

Cousins

Dinner Time

Kids Table

Dance Party Breaks Out

The rest of the most excellent crowd was filled out with the arrivals of the ABFA’s parents as well as Great Aunt. The shade had overtaken Deckzilla which made for a very comfortable afternoon out there while the youngest generation flitted about between the pool, unannounced dance parties, water balloons, chalk decorating, and water pistols. One of those afternoons where it paid to have your head on a swivel. The BRS befriended one of the back yard terrace chipmunks whom she bribed with a piece of watermelon.

Helping Abuela Peel Corn

Team Effort

Water Was Supposed to be Going in Pool

Okay Grandpa

Pool Time

Corn in the Pool?

Okay

I’ve said this before but there is just something almost undefinably pleasurable just sitting around a table and talking with some of the important people in your life. Saturday was all about that. We thawed out the remaining steaks from our Mother’s Day gathering and I manned the grill since my son was still “creaking” although I did summon him for the expert final opinion on the state of the dead animal flesh. My Favorite Panamanian had prepared a fantastic meal which was topped off with a veritable landslide of brownies. It was about the most pleasant time I’ve had in a very long time but I’m very lucky in that department so It doesn’t bear comparison. I do recall trying to solve Keene Friend’s robin infestation problem. Apparently, the amount of Coors Lite imbibed effected certain pronouncements. I felt it entirely appropriate to point out that owls do fly. This arose from the failure of the plastic snakes he had employed to prevent the robins from crapping on his car. I suggested a plastic owl and we went from there.

Dad, Let's Take Another Ride Down the Stairs

BR3 and FBR

FBR and BRS on the Hunt in Pajamas

Deckzilla Decorated

BR3's Room

Bedtime is usually the ultimate challenge when the cousins gather. The two older cousins refuse to settle down and sleep while BR3 routinely wakes her parents up at 3am to start the day. While their intense level of daylong activity should have guaranteed the FBR and BRS would fall asleep quickly, this has not been the case in the past. When they did this time, we were amazed but we later learned they had been told if there was a repeat of the Christmas Eve shenanigans they would be placed in separate rooms. That did the trick. We tried a new technique with BR3. We set her up in the walk-in closet of our master bedroom. Her parents were sure that my Favorite Panamanian and I would be awoken at 3am but they were ready to try anything at this point. As soon as she saw the set up BR3 proclaimed, “This is MY room!” She went right to sleep and slept through the entire night to everyone’s amazement. I wasn’t worried because, remember the Coors Lite, it would have taken a small nuclear device to rouse me. Of course, a determined Panamanian is more dangerous but it was unneeded. We were all astonished at a complete night’s sleep with all three granddaughters in residence.

BRS on the Move

I May be the Shortest but I will be Heard!

BRS Befriending Chipmunk

Time for Goodbye

Special Ladies

The two older cousins did get up early Sunday morning but were quiet. I got up and found the FBR reading to the BRS in the hallway outside our room. Impossibly cute. That set us off on the quest for hojaldras and kielbasa for breakfast. It was a very fun morning although overshadowed with the impending departure, of, well, everybody. It’s so interesting that the only person that really needed supervision was BR3. She’s at an age where her judgement is still vestigial at best while the BRS and FBR delightfully engaged with each other, leaving the adults their own time to awaken.

These Two
I Could Not be Prouder

Everyone eventually had to leave and make their way home leaving a spectacularly quiet house in their wake. Two very tired grandparents retired to the Man Cave to watch the Red Sox and await news of safe returns home. The lasting impression I have from the weekend was, yet again, the intense pride I feel for the two “kids” I’m so privileged to claim parentage of. They’ve both grown into outstanding adults and even better parents than I could ever hope to be. I’m always amazed at how well they turned out. So, I guess there was a very special event this past weekend, impromptu though it was.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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