Back Home 2

Since this will be my last post of 2023, before I have trouble remembering we’re in 2024 (thank God I rarely write checks anymore), I am pleased to report our annual southern deployment is complete. It was not without its challenges, the main being having to get up at 2am on Thursday morning. We went with Knight’s Limo for the trip to the airport and the van showed up just before 3am. This was preceded by the usual two days of intense cleaning supervised by my Favorite Panamanian. I would be a little more circumspect if I was in charge, since only the house sitter will see the conditions over the next four months, but I’m not my wife. We tried to go to bed early and I thought, as tired as we both were, this meant we would get some sleep. I was wrong. According to my trusty watch I obtained two hours of sleep prior to the wakeup. I’m a victim of my night owl ways.

The Greeting in David

The rest of the trip went really well. We opted for business class seats as a Christmas present to ourselves and that made all the difference. We arrived in Panama City around 1:30pm and were on a plane to David a couple hours later. My wife’s entire family was waiting for us and our bags were some of the first that came out. Luckily my brother-in-law had a truck because we do not travel light for this four-month sojourn. Although we were operating on fumes at this point, we had to make the traditional family dinner at El Fogon. My favorite waiter required I catch him up on everything since we left last April.

Dinner at El Fogon

There was no problem falling asleep Thursday night even though we went to bed early. Apparently operating on 2 hours sleep and traveling five thousand miles is what it takes. We spent Friday laying in supplies at a couple grocery stores and the local vegetable stand (that last was predictably all my Favorite Panamanian). Since we were bringing my mother-in-law and my wife’s two sisters with us, we had a logistical problem, especially since, even without these passengers, we’d be hard pressed fitting our luggage in the car, not to mention all the food we had bought. Once again, my brother-in-law came to the rescue and we all set out for Las Lajas together.

Our Car Packed
No Room for the Luggage

Pizza Dinner

We arrived just as the sun was setting to learn that the condo elevator was not working. That meant everything in our vast collection of luggage and supplies needed to be carried up two floors worth of stairs. The new condo caretaker stepped up and helped (a lot) and although I was completely soaked in sweat after we got everything upstairs, it really felt like coming home as we set about putting everything away. After the kitchen was taken care of we drove back to the village of Las Lajas and renewed our relationship with the best pizza place. We were remembered and the pizza was excellent. My wife was a little upset that the accompanying gelato place was down due to a faulty freezer but the owner had saved some selections in her freezer which were very tasty.

Good Morning Beach from our Balcony

The Crowded Beach This Morning

Back to the condo where I tackled my one suitcase and quickly evacuated the bedroom as the four Panamanian ladies descended on my wife’s five suitcases. A lot of those suitcases were taken up with presents and clothes she was gifting to her sisters. That meant an hours long fashion show that stretched to after midnight. Luckily I got Netflix working while this was going on. That was followed this morning, after I re-established my morning beach workout routine, with getting the Super Streamer operating. I waited out the peak sun hours watching the Patriots latest debacle and then the Red Zone. Our upstairs neighbors showed up later in the day as we got in our pre-sunset boogie boarding (yep, still doing that). The ladies are prepping for our New Years celebration so I better get this posted before they note I am unemployed. Just so you won’t feel deprived I’m including the obligatory sunset photos (you had to know that was coming).

My View at Breakfast

One Very Happy Camper

As Promised

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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; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him 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); 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; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; 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

Top Ten Movies - 2023

As promised/threatened what follows is my rundown of the best and worst movies I saw this year. I am an unashamed movie nut.  Each year I pontificate on the best and worst from only the movies I went to see. I’ve also included what I considered to be the worst movies of the year, because that’s almost more fun. You won’t find my movies on many critics top ten for the year because we go to the movies for different reasons. I go to be entertained not to judge. I’ve also chosen a quote from each of the top ten movies. As you can see I lean heavily towards action (and science fiction) but I think these films are a lot more mainstream than the out of touch film critics whose top tens are usually incomprehensible and barely entertaining. If nothing else the films below (except for the bottom two) were hugely enjoyable. Again this is only one man’s opinion and reflects only the movies I saw this year.

Best Movies

 #1 – Dungeons and Dragons Honour Among Thieves – This really snuck up on me and totally charmed me. A silly story but told with energy and acted with conviction and heart. Who knew Chris Pine could be so funny? I loved every minute of this.

Quote:

[the characters can ask a revived corpse five questions before it dies again]

Edgin: Were you killed in battle?

Corpse: Yes.

Edgin: Great!

[to Simon]

Edgin: Four more questions, right?

Corpse: Yes.

Edgin: No, no, no, that wasn't for you.

[to Simon]

Edgin: Did that count as a question?

Corpse: Yes.

Edgin: Dammit! Only answer when I talk to you, okay?

Corpse: Yes.

Simon: Why did you say "okay?" at the end of that?

Corpse: I didn't.

[lies back in its coffin, dead]

Edgin: Fantastic. Where's the shovel?

#2 – Blue Beetle – Another surprise for me, with so many of the quotes my Latina wife has used during our four decades of marriage thrown out. Loved it.

Quote:

[Jaime reveals the scarab is embedded in his back]

Milagro Reyes: Oh, that looks as bad as I remember.

Rudy Reyes: I've seen worse!

Milagro Reyes: Where?

Rudy Reyes: You don't wanna know.

#3 – John Wick 4 – The star-crossed killing machine gets a fitting send off. Longest walk up a set of stairs. Ever.

Quote:

The Elder: None of us can escape who we are, and no one escapes the Table. And the only way John Wick will ever have freedom or peace, now or ever, is in death.

John Wick: I know.

The Elder: I'm afraid you've come all this way for nothing.

John Wick: Yeah... not really.

[shoots him in the head]

#4 – Mission Impossible, Dead Reckoning, Part 1 – Scary scenario with an AI villain and Cruise continuing to amp up the stunts.

Quote:

Ethan Hunt: [As he rides a motorcycle higher up the mountain] When do I start going downhill?

Benji Dunn: [Knowing that "the jump" is coming] Won't be long.

 #5 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 – Still wish they put Star Lord and Gamora together but still a very fond goodbye to these awesome characters.

Quote:

Peter Quill: I'm-a tell you something: I'm Star-Lord! I formed the Guardians! Met a girl, fell in love... that girl died. But then she came back. Came back, a total dick.

Gamora: Oh, please!

Nebula: He left out some important information. But that is the gist of it.

#6 – Equalizer 3- yet another send off but Denzel defines cool as the mafia learns how to behave.

Quote:

Marco Quaranta: You like being in other peoples business?

Robert McCall: Trying very hard not to be, but you make it very challenging for me.

Marco Quaranta: You should stay out of things that are not your concern. Right? It's bad for you.

Robert McCall: Lord knows I'm allergic to bad things.

Robert McCall: You know, I believe that everything in life is about timing. Now unfortunately for you, yours isn't very good. 3 weeks ago we wouldn't be having this conversation but I'm here now. I'm really beginning to like this place. And the people. I'm starting to believe from the bottom of my heart that this is where I'm supposed to be. So whatever it is you and your friends do please, do it somewhere else.

Marco Quaranta: You warning me?

Robert McCall: I'm preparing you.

#7 – No Hard Feelings – Jennifer Lawrence returns with an awesome comedy turn.

Quote:

Sara: Women have all sorts of reasons for having sex. I mean, I had sex once because I didn't want to commute in the morning.

Maddie: I've had sex with a guy to get out of playing Settlers of Catan.

Sara: I had sex with a guy on a first date because I thought he was going to kill me.

Jim: Jesus. You're with me now, babe.

Maddie: She's talking about you, dumbass.

#8 – Oppenheimer – One of the greatest stories of the 20^th Century told with memorable verve and great acting.

Quote:

Leslie Groves: Are you saying that there's a chance that when we push that button... we destroy the world?

J. Robert Oppenheimer: The chances are near zero...

Leslie Groves: Near zero?

J. Robert Oppenheimer: What do you want from theory alone?

Leslie Groves: Zero would be nice!

#9 – Creator – very entertaining look at the future and a war between humans and AI. Denzel's kid can carry an action flick.

Quote:

Uncredited Scientist/Engineer: [heard through speech translator which translates everything it hears] Go make love to yourself. Go make love to your mother.

#10 – Kandahar – under-appreciated action flick as a CIA agent returns to post-exit Afghanistan.

Quote:

Tom Harris: Is there anyone around here who drives a brand new SUV? You know we're supposed to blend in, right?

Mohammad 'Mo' Doud: We will. Americans left dozens of these at the Embassy. Even the drug dealers have these... .Welcome to New Afghanistan.

Mohammad 'Mo' Doud: Same as the old.

Honorable Mention –

Renfield - Cage can do anything, which he proves again as the Prince of Darkness torturing his long suffering assistant.

The Holdovers – Giamatti shines as a stern but ultimately triumphant prep school teacher in the 70s.

The Worst Movies of 2023

Expen4ables – a disaster for this formerly beloved series, whoever thought of putting Megan Fox in charge of grizzled mercenaries should be shot.

Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 - no magic whatsoever left with this previously fairy-tale scenario.

2023 Superlatives:

Best Comedy:  No Hard Feelings

Best Horror Movie:  Renfield

Best Drama:  Equalizer 3

Best Romance:  Blue Beetle

Best Action:  Mission Impossible

Best Special Effects:   65

Best Scene of the Year:  The graveyard scene in Dungeons and Dragons (see quote above)

Two movies fell in my A-Z watch, both keepers: The Hunger Games, Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2:  Fitting wind up of the action series which Lawrence carries effortlessly. NOTE:  Will have to suspend the A-Z watch while I'm away in Panama, starting tomorrow. I made good progress since returning to this in April. Have just about finished the H's. See picture below to see where I'm at on the shelves.

Blue Circle Marks the Progress So Far

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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; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him 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); 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; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; 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

What to Say

I’m definitely in the back wash of enjoying myself entirely too much over the past few days. Certainly too busy to post on anything as mundane as this blog. Needless to say my three granddaughters and their parental units are to blame for this development. I’m going to be completely inadequate in describing all that has passed since my last entry. There is just so much gushing even I am willing to inflict upon you. The best description I can offer is that the Christmas holiday met my expectations which are wholly unreasonable in their lofty aim. Therefore, saying the past few days not only met, but greatly exceeded, those standards is truly remarkable.

Signature Photo of the Weekend by the ABFA
3 Granddaughters with the rest of the Family in the Mirror

It all started on Thursday with the arrival of the New Jersey bunch. The FBR immediately reestablished her nest in the granddaughter room and started with the first of 7,437 questions about when her cousins would arrive. They arrived with a new batch of Christmas cookies which immediately became an endangered species (not my proudest moment). Friday was spent preparing for the festivities to come and also celebrate Wingmom’s birthday. That meant a trip out for lunch followed by a movie with the plan involving escaping the environs before the post work shopping crowd arrived to clog all the roads. The movie was fun and we made the planned for escape with a line of cars nearly a mile long awaiting entry to the mall as we were leaving.

FBR and Daughter Arrive

Friday at the Movies

Saturday brought the arrival of the New Hampshire bunch and the end of the thousands of FBR questions. The three cousins were instantly back into best buddy mode and grandparents and parents became secondary considerations. My Favorite Panamanian had set up a program of family Christmas themed games to play during the weekend and despite some initial doubt from some (guilty), these turned out to be a real highlight and so much fun.

Son's Family Arrives

BRS and her Dad

Game Time

The Fun Bunch

Saturday night called for a fire in my style-challenged back yard fireplace. The three granddaughters and the ABFA were only ones to join me for the fire which produced the requisite number of S’mores. As we waited for the fire to die down, post-S’mores, the ABFA and I heard an owl in the back woods. We tried to call the kids’ attention to this but they were more interested in S’mores fueled sugar rush charges around the yard, including a terror campaign with the people inside the house with a doorbell campaign. I was drafted to join a balloon chasing game on Deckzilla which ended the night’s festivities.

ABFA Leading the S'mores Crowd

Deckzilla Time

FBR and BRS

C'mon Grandpa, Try and Keep Up

Each night over the weekend, after the granddaughters were sent to bed (if not sleep), we’d gather in the man cave for a holiday themed movie. We watched The Holiday and Christmas Vacation as well as the usual Christmas Eve viewing of Love Actually. The Keene Friend joined us via text for Love Actually although he was watching a TV broadcast version which left out a lot of the good bits. I tried to assist by sending him some screen captures to so he could see what he was missing.

Writing Notes to Santa

And Leaving Snacks

Of Course

BR3 With One of her Usual Maniacal Looks

Christmas Eve was high energy with the three granddaughters still highly charged about the arrival of Santa Claus. I don’t know how many more Christmases we’ll have with that belief intact, but I’m bound and determined to enjoy it while it lasts. My Favorite Panamanian wore a pair of Christmas slippers over the weekend that had small bells which made me think we’d acquired a cat whenever she walked into the room. On Christmas day BR3 told her dad that she knew Santa had come because she heard the bells walking down the hall outside their room before she fell asleep. Way too funny.

Christmas Morning, Waiting on the Adults

Grandpa Preventing Early Descent

What Was Awaiting Them

Christmas day dawned (literally) with the usual granddaughter wakeup avalanche on our bed. They were required to wait at the top of the stairs until everyone was up and ready to descend. I’m not sure they would have abided with this if I didn’t station myself at the bottom of the stairs. The next hour involved the annual flurry of gift distributed and wrapping paper storms in the living room. BR3 made it a point to hug the giver of each gift she opened. Both she and her sister, the BRS, have figured out the gift opening process. What used to take several days was accomplished in about forty-five minutes this Christmas.

ABFA Christmas Morn

Mimosa Time

The parents were busy charging their mimosas while my Favorite Panamanian prepared a fabulous hojaldra/fried dough breakfast. The gift giving continued throughout the morning with subsequent arrivals of the ABFA’s parents and Great Aunt joining us for Christmas day. I got up around 5:30am on Christmas day to put the turkey, my son and I had prepped the night before, in the oven. That meant the day passed permeated with the smell of cooking turkey. My son, Wingman, and I completed prep of the big Christmas dinner and we all sat down right on schedule. I’m told the food even tasted good. I’m not one to judge as the food was heading downrange too fast at this point.

Movie Time in the Cave

More Games

Wingmom with a Throw

After dinner we played a couple more of my wife’s games. One game involved rolling a ball into a number of cups which revealed a prize, usually candy. With my well acknowledged luck, I rolled into a cup which required me to sing a Christmas carol to the group. We won’t know the psychological damage inflicted on those who were forced to hear my singing voice for years. My son and I were competing against each other in fantasy football and he was skull dragging me all day and enjoying it maybe a bit too much. We went to bed with his team only needing 5 points from his quarterback to win. You can imagine the crow consumed the next day when we awoke to find his player had thrown four interceptions and I won by two points.

BR3 Had a Crying Jag, Cured by Magical Photos

Granddaughter Conference

Dance Party!

The day after Christmas was spent dismantled all the panoply my Favorite Panamanian had spent the past month preparing the house for Christmas. We leave for Panama on Friday so the decorations had to get into storage. In a very nice development, everybody pitched in and the work went really fast. The house was completely de-Christmased by noon time which meant my wife could join us for the annual trip north to celebrate the day after Christmas with Keene Friend.

Christmas Eve at Church

ABFA Parents Arrive

Son with Christmas Turkey

Dinner Time!!

FBR in Disguise

More Games

That event was every bit as much fun as hoped for except for the abysmal performance by Keene’s preeminent pizza establishment. The Cantankerous Friend and a number of other worthies joined in the fun as we gathered around Keene Friend’s living room. Since Athens Pizza wouldn’t answer the phone, we drove down and ordered in person and was told the pizza would be delivered in 45 minutes. An hour and a half later there was still no pizza and since they still wouldn’t answer the phone, my son drive down to find out WTF. They couldn’t help him and the pizza finally arrived a couple minutes after a very frustrated son returned. That wasn’t his only frustration though. We all contributed to buy Keene Frind a new 4K smart TV as a Christmas gift. We were setting it up when my son noticed there was a defect in the screen that will require it to be returned. Except for that bummer moment, the night was a complete success. I wish I could have stayed another couple hours but the double edged sword of young granddaughters’ and bedtimes necessitated an early departure. Still a great Christmas seeing these friends since that won’t happen again until April when I return from Panama.

Keene Friend's House

Granddaughters at Keene Friend's

Today was the usual down turn as we were reduced to one granddaughter as my son’s family had returned home from Keene last night and the New Jersey bunch left today. Both my son and Wingman deserve some recognition for the incredible packing job they did in their cars to get all the gifts and suitcases packed. Side mirrors were required for each of the trips but everything made it home. We continued out deployment prep here today. I conducted a walk through with the house sitter and the washing machine has been going non-stop all day. For some reason my wife refuses to leave the house with a speck of disorder. That’s a tough standard with a lord of disarray, such as myself, in residence. Tomorrow, I pack suitcases. My wife’s have been packed since late October.

The movie we saw was Wonka, the latest film trying to capture Dahl’s immortal candy lord. I’ve never been a big Timothy Chalamet fan but after nailing Paul Atreides in Dune and his performance here, I’m a covert. He’s tone perfect as Willy and ably assisted by a very capable cast. The whimsical setting helps as Wonka’s undefeatable good will cannot fail to capture you. After the last disaster featuring Johnny Depp, this was a welcome return to the heartfelt character. I doubted it going in, but I was totally conquered by this movie. It helped that it was Christmas time and my granddaughter was sitting next to me.

Two movies fell in my A-Z watch, both keepers: The Hunger Games, when you knew Jennifer Lawrence was going to be a star and Hunger Games, Catching Fire, not as good as original but still a keeper.

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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; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him 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); 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; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; 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