I’ve written before about the accumulation that comes with civilian life. During our military career my Favorite Panamanian and I had the chance to jettison extraneous possessions every couple years because that was when the movers showed up to escort our homestead to its new location. That doesn’t happen now that I’m a civilian; granted we have moved three times since 2005 but that pales in comparison to the 15 times the Army called upon us to move. I say this in the way of introduction to yesterday’s activities which had both my Favorite Panamanian and I in the storage area of the basement bemoaning the decisions required. Decisions on what to keep, what to donate, and what to throw away. Since the Man Cave occupies fully half of the basement and I guess it’s a requirement to have space for the furnace and all that mechanical gear, our storage area is only a ¼ of the basement. This is good because it forces yesterday’s type gleaning of that which is not needed. It was definitely a trip down memory lane as various objects re-appeared for the first time in years. This included a set of my old field uniforms. I tried it on and was pleased that I have finally reached the weight I carried as a major because it fit once again.
The
biggest issue came up when I uncovered the bins of old photos. With the advent
of digital cameras, these type collections stopped accumulating. All the photos
now sit on the computer. We have some well ravaged photo albums which my kids think
of as quaint. The work in the basement came to a screeching halt when I decided
I needed to go through the photos before once again consigning them to the
bottom of the storage area. I bit off way more than I thought I was. There were
literally thousands of photos to review but it was an exercise of love as old
friends, family members, and locations reappeared along with their attendant memories.
I spent several hours on reviewing the photos (I wasn’t kidding about the
thousands). I started pulling photos that caught my heart as I reviewed them. I
put those photos in a separate pile and it grew into a couple hundred by the
end of the review. I am gong to put those here on Frail Deeds over the coming
few days so they’ll be preserved more than just in a bin that will probably get
thrown away after I pass on. I’ve separated them into categories as listed. Some
great people and places follow:
It Fits Again!
FAVORITE
PANAMANIAN AND PARTIES
Wife (l) with Tia Loca and Twin Sister in Panama 
The Family Goodbye Group at the Airport 
My Farewell Party as Battalion Commander 1999 
Wife's Farewell from Battalion's Wives
FAVORITE
SON
Always Elegant
Always Had a Great Smile 
Semi-Dangerous in the kitchen 
I'm Going to Murder You Smile 
With Soxfather at Christmas
FAVORITE
DAUGHTER
My Big Guy and I
Learning to Walk - Ft Benning, GA 1984 
Teenaged Happy to Help (Not so Much) 
Visit to Panama 
Graduation from BU
SON
AND DAUGHTER TOGETHER
Early Ballerina Career
With Great Aunt Making Cakes
After She Abducted Them, Again
Dancing with Mom 
Kitchen Helpers 
Showing Dad how to Fix It
FAMILY
Son Nervous About Having her Behind Him
Christmas with Mom, Tia Peg, and Nephew 
Great Aunt 
Soxfather, Namesake Nephew, and Great Aunt 
Beer and a Juice Box with Namesake Nephew 
At Mom's House After Filling Dumpster with Backyard Debris
ARMY
LIFE
NCO and I After Grueling Training Event in Hawaii 
Peacekeeping Mission, Egypt 1994 
Looking Out Over Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba
Peacekeeping Mission 1994-5
Day Assumed Battalion Command 1997 
Promotion to Colonel 2002
My Dad with my Favorite Cousin 
Cantankerous Friend Looking Back at Me During his Birthday Party 
My Deceased Sister, Lisa 
Dad and his Sister Aunt June 
One of my Early School Pictures
MISCELLANEOUS
 |
| With Mom and Two Sisters |
 |
| "The Bone" From Fraternity Days Still Not Sure Exactly What it Meant - Have to Ask Woody |
 |
| 1976 Version of Me People Never Believe I have Curly Hair |
 |
| Stopping by Woody's on Way Back from Spring Break in Ft Lauderdale 1977 |
 |
| Fraternity Formal Event 1977 |
Three
movies fell in my A-Z effort, all keepers, and you’ll notice they are not in
strict alphabetical order, I blame the granddaughters and their re-organizing effort
over their most recent visit: Book of Eli (Denzel, best actor alive, carving up
baddies and the screen), Bicentennial Man (my favorite Robin Williams movie –
just love it), and Big (when you first realized Hanks was something special).
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; Connecticut
Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor
of the big river; 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 3rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew –
son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; 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
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