Mom Day and Mini-Thunder

As the attached photos will attest, my Favorite Panamanian has safely arrived in her native land. That was all in preparation for today which is when Panama celebrates Mother’s Day. The Panamanians celebrate Mother’s Day the right way, it is an actual national holiday. As my wife’s Christmas present, I flew her down to surprise her own mother for the day. They’re headed for an idyllic weekend in the mountain town of Boquete to celebrate along with the rest of her siblings. So, the first, and by far most important, task is to wish a heartfelt happy mother’s day to the remarkable Panamanian women who inhabit my life and make it so much fuller: my Favorite Panamanian, my daughter, my mother in law, Tia Loca, the Neighborhood Mafioso, our condo friend, and those fabulous ladies that comprise the Panamanian Mafia in all the far flung areas. Pana-moms truly rock!!!!

My wife first had to get home which went remarkably well, except for Logan Airport Parking. She arrived in Panama City and after a couple hours finally called from a restaurant as she celebrated her return with Tia Loca and a favorite cousin. She flew up to David yesterday and totally surprised her mother. Her mother accused me of being a party to almost causing a heart attack but I could tell how happy she was.  I made the nearly mistake of driving my wife to the airport by myself. The only parking close to Terminal E requires you to stay in the car and that was no way to send her off. So, after dropping her off at the terminal, I went in search which is not as easy as it sounds, since Logan changes their parking plan almost daily it seems. After three trips around the terminals I finally located what is now the only entrance to Central Parking. I followed signs and eventually found one of the few remaining parking spaces and walked to the entrance, walked to the moving beltways, and then walked to the terminal. All in all, it was nearly a half mile walk and that was from the nearest parking available. By the time I got to the terminal she had already checked her bags and was ready to enter security. I watched her as she eased into that line and I headed back on my half mile return trip. I then had one of those blinding flashes of realization and dashed back to the security station. When I said goodbye to her, she didn’t have her carry on bag with her. I quickly checked the area I had found her in and finding nothing, sprinted to the security area. I was able to shout to her as she walked into the baggage screening area and through pantomime asked about her bag. She signaled back not to worry that she had checked it in.

Leaving Boston

Arriving Panama City

I felt immense relief and took a much more leisurely pace on my journey back to the car. I’m usually very good about re-tracing routes (a necessity in the infantry). In my hurry to reach my wife, I had hurried enough to confuse myself when I tried to remember where I left the car. Anyone who has parked in Logan’s cavernous central parking area knows the dauting task I faced. I knew the floor and row I was in but it looked very different when I got there. I roamed about a bit and then pulled the old “push the alarm button” trick to find the car a row over than where I thought it had been. After this adventure I almost didn’t mind paying $9 for the short time the car was incarcerated. Returning to a much less vibrant home was weird. It is truly remarkable that such a small woman has enough personality to affect a house that way but it seemed much less like a home.

Keene Friend and I at L&L Last Night

I tried to remedy that yesterday with a quick run back to my home town where I linked up with Keene Friend for a movie and some hang time. The movie was less than memorable but the hang time was sublime. Keene Friend recently received a copy of a picture of his visit to us when we lived in D.C in 1989. The little boy between Keene Friend and I has grown into the strapping young man who recently served as my wingman on the annual pub crawl. Time is truly a thief, this seemed like just a few years ago.  While awaiting movie time, we went on a driving tour around Keene pointing out the many landmarks that held memories for each of us. We then had an early dinner at Lab ‘n Lager, and yes, they do serve food. Then it was back to Keene Friend’s house to watch the first half of the Patriots’ game. I had no illusions about the football as the Pats are having an historically bad year. If they are going to be this bad then they have chosen the right teams to beat. If all they beat are the Steelers (which they did last night) and the Jets then I can at least sleep at night. The pictures of the preening Steelers fans booing their own team last night was almost worth tolerating the disreputable offense the Patriots feature.

Myself, My Son, & Keene Friend 1989 D.C.

The movie we went to see was Dream Scenario. I thought this would be comedy gold. A movie where Nicholas Cage invades everybody’s dreams, talk about fertile ground. In the end the director couldn’t bring home the premise as the final act of the movie was a mess. Cage was his typical brilliant as a befuddled college professor suddenly thrust into the glaring light of pop culture fame. It doesn’t go well. I loved the send up of the cancel culture, today’s super-sensitive youth, celebrity, and the ivory tower college mentality (so thoroughly exposed just this week in congressional hearings on Ivy League antisemitism). This does give you a lot to think about, I just wish it had been brought home as effectively as it started.

Three movies fell in my A-Z watch, two keepers and one discard: Highlander Endgame, terrible movie, end of highlander series, pale imitation of original with really poor acting; High Plains Drifter, excellent Eastwood western as ghostly retribution falls on a town that deserves it; and A History of Violence, such a good movie, taut, violent, and so well acted.

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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