I
have one very happy Great Aunt on my hands. Last year she journeyed here for
her first ever use of a passport. She fell deeply in love with the condo pool,
especially since she was luxuriating it in the middle of January. She named the
pools her “happy place”, something she was certainly owed after what she’s had
to endure over the past couple years. As I am writing this, she is back in the happy
place again. We picked her up at the David airport yesterday as she emerged.
She’d had a long day since she got up from her airport hotel in Boston at 4am.
What a difference a year makes as she was so much more confident this time
around and handled the trip, including the plane change in Panama City, like a
champ.
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| At Terra Last Night |
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| With my Big Sis |
 |
| In Her Happy Place This Afternoon |
We
stopped off at Terra Ristorante for dinner since they are one of the few places
that serve a gluten free menu. We had just arrived when Great Aunt made a
rookie mistake by commenting on the possibility of rain. While we’re in the dry
season, there has been a few rain storms, mostly confined to the mountains. It
was a mistake because as superstitions go, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
She said she wanted to see what a tropical downpour was like after hearing me
talk about them for so many years. A few minutes later there was a loud
drumming on the restaurant roof as her wish was redeemed.
 |
| Afternoon Pelican Parade Finally Posed for a Photo |
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| Thursday Sunset Ceremony |
It
rained for about half of the trip back to Las Lajas which added to the usual
adventure of driving at night in Panama where some cars believe tail lights are
a luxury item they can do without. The annual village festival was underway in
Las Lajas as we made our way through town which definitely added to the local
color. Horses were tied up at the local saloon, a bull fight was underway in
the small corral erected for just that day, and Panamanian music was blaring. The
added benefit gained as our slowly moving car wended through the crowd was
every time the headlights fell upon one of the local lasses, she felt obligated
to start dancing. I told my Favorite Panamanian that it was important I remain
laser focused on the road ahead. It's so good to have my big sister in
residence as it probably saved me a head rap at that point.
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| Thursday Sunset |
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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 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; 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
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