Ray Jumping

I sit here in my third day of geographical bachelorhood and wonder how I came to process this so differently. I blame my Favorite Panamanian. While she gets to spend the time back in David with her mom and sisters, I have thrown myself into the solitary beach life, which I enjoy more than is probably legal. My conundrum is that I find myself missing the constant back and forth with the wife. When I initially learned she would be gone for the week I was sneakily a little happy that I would have some alone time without supervision. It turns out, she’s ruined me over the past 43 years. I’ve come to depend on the daily challenge of keeping up with her, since her mind is always going at supersonic velocity. My “kids” know what I mean. It seems almost too peaceful here.

The Very Crowded Beach This Morning
"My" Rancho on the Left

View This Morning from the Rancho

That is not to say I am not enjoying myself. That would be a massive understatement. I’ve been able to focus on my daily workout and have finally shed the last of the Christmas weight. That additional baggage, the result of my surreptitious consumption of every Christmas cookie I could get my hands on. I go down every morning after waking up and take up residence in my rancho (the shady constructions along our beach). After contemplating the state of the surf I do the stretching, abdominal, and weights portion of the workout before heading into that surf for the morning boogie boarding. For those of you who scoff, I end up breathing harder during that session that at any other part of the workout because fighting those waves is tough work (but I’m willing to make that sacrifice😊). After the boogie boarding, I shed as much sand as possible before jumping into the pool for the swim workout, using my bungie cord restraint system to achieve the laps needed.

Yesterday's Ho Hum Sunset

This is all followed by a return to the rancho for some reading while the morning breeze wafts through. I know this sounds like very tough work, but someone’s got to do it. Yesterday was interesting when I first arrived in the rancho. A pod of dolphins was frolicking just beyond the surf break. They were beautiful but singularly devoted to ensuring I could not get a picture of them, camera shy, I’m guessing. There must have been some weird underwater doings yesterday, I was waiting for my last wave (they are rationed) when a fairly large manta ray jumped completely out of the water about 15 feet from me, close enough to hear the smack as he landed back in the water. I usually wait for a large wave to end my session but, since I didn’t want to learn what had caused the jump (something larger in pursuit?), I jumped on the next wave inwards. I’m sure he just wanted to frolic in the sun or shed some barnacles, but I’ve seen too many shark movies to assume.

Yesterday's Sunset Crew

The upstairs neighbors are a Godsend during my Favorite Panamanian’s absence. They’re that even when she’s in residence, come to think on it. I look forward to our daily sunset ceremony gathering to achieve some human interaction. Yesterday’s sunset kind of fizzled out a little but still qualifies as gorgeous. As to that beach reading, I just finished my favorite of the Travis McGee novels that I read each year upon arriving here. While I love all of them (hence the annual re-reading), A Deadly Shade of Gold is my favorite. Now I’ll have to wait another whole year before I read it again, but at least I have another 16 McGee novels to get through this year. A very good year (all fifteen days of it), 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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course