Cranking Up

It’s been a fairly uneventful week, or, as uneventful as any week can be with the Favorite Panamanian in residence. We’re cranking up for a couple holiday parties (I mean Christmas parties!! Dammit!) this weekend. One tonight for a group of church volunteers my wife has fallen in with, so that should be “fun” (do church groups even drink beer? Asking for a friend). Tomorrow we’re hosting some of the Worcester Chapter of the Panamanian Mafia which promises to be a lot more entertaining because I’ll know all of the people as opposed to tonight when my Favorite Panamanian is the only one I’ll know. The only problem with tomorrow’s party is the week leading up to it. My kids are nodding sagely as they have been through this before with their mother. In reality, I’m kind of worried because she’s been semi-sane this week but I’m confident her hair will be fully engulfed tomorrow. Pray for me.

FBR with her First Conquest

Only a bit of granddaughter news; the FBR completed reading her first ever, full length novel. It was the first in the Harry Potter series and she is justifiably proud (as are certain grandparents). Reading and the love thereof is the best gift that can be given to a child. It opens worlds, visions, and concepts a non-reader will never know. Just look at the glaring example of our former president to see the danger of being a non-reader. But it’s Christmas time so I’ll lighten up. I completed most of my Christmas shopping online and have gotten to know the Amazon delivery guy pretty well. I’ve got this down to a system where even Amazon’s arcane packing scheme cannot thwart me. I put each person’s gifts in a separate order and include a thankyou note for each gift. This means when Amazon puts gifts from three different orders in one box I can sort them out appropriately. Having three granddaughters to shop for has made this exponentially more complicated (not to mention, fun). I forgot to include a note for one and had to consult with my son for clarification.

The Front Entrance with Wife's New Creations
Lighted Version Tomorrow

Today's Amazon Haul in the Man Cave

The Christmas season also means decorating outdoors. Since we are once again flying south for Panama right after the holiday my Favorite Panamanian has taken mercy on me. She created her special front door displays in the garage while I was putting some lights up. I wasn’t even asked to climb a tree this year (you see, there is some benefit to getting older). I was forbidden from turning the lights on until later today because, in her words, it wasn’t December yet. Since we’ve now crossed that threshold, my electric bill starts spiking tonight. My wife receives her Christmas present a little early. I’m sending her down to Panama next week to surprise her mother for Panamanian Mother’s Day. She’ll be gone a week and since that means geographic bachelorhood for myself, I’m already coordinating two trips north to hang with hometown friends.

For date night we went to see Napoleon. I was excited to see this epic film but went in realizing I was bound to be disappointed. I’m a victim of knowing too much about the guy, having read most of the books written about him during my military career. For me to actually admire a French military figure was a huge undertaking in and of itself. I was right. It’s a fine film, well-acted, but they missed the essence of Napoleon, one of history’s great military leaders. He comes across as a bit of a brutish dork, which he certainly was not. They only covered a couple of his battles in the movie and missed out on the sheer genius he employed in his many others. I know, I know, it’s a movie but if you’re going after such a massive historical figure, simplification will hurt you. There is no mention of the Napoleonic Code or his role in lifting France from the chaos of the revolution. He was so much more than the portrait painted here. The director (whom I love normally) is from the UK and I guess there’s still some animus towards the most famous Corsican. In my view, a clear miss, but again, I’m biased.

Five movies fell in my A-Z watch, four keepers and one discard: Mission Impossible, Dead Reckoning, Part One, a new addition to the library, they just keep delivering; Hot Tub Time Machine, so funny “what if” movie (watched out of order due to granddaughter filing sabotage); Helen of Troy, a BBC miniseries, got only because of Sienna but she can’t even save it, discard; Hellboy, Ron Pearlman is perfect for the part; and Hellboy 2, The Golden Army, rare a sequel can maintain the good humor of original, except for here.

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

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