Anticipation is building steadily with
next week’s arrival of our first February guests, followed a week later by my
daughter and the FBR. That means my Favorite Panamanian has been deeply into
the planning process, having mapped out meals for the next month (I may be
exaggerating there). Yesterday, as part of the process, we were back in sweltering
David on a grocery run. While there we also visited the travel agency and are scheduled
for a week-long trip, in March, to Medellín, Columbia. This is an anniversary
gift as my wife has been campaigning for another trip. I wouldn’t have thought Medellín,
with its unfortunate history, as a tourist destination but apparently, it’s
become just that over the past decades.
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| Lunch at El Fogon |
We were able to stop at El Fogon for
lunch and touch base with my buddy/friend Everardo. My Favorite Panamanian got
her mother out of the house for some shopping at the mall. There were benches
for me to read in air conditioned comfort, so win win.
We were back in Las Lajas in time to enjoy
the sunset and Las Lajas rallied from a less than stellar performance on
Wednesday with one of it’s best. It was fun having my partner in crime back
with me on the sunset crew. In further great news, the upstairs neighbors are
back in the house to further flesh out the First Friday sunset crew.
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| Back on Duty |
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| That Sunset |
My Favorite Panamanian has been working
on her balcony garden recently. A neighbor used shells in her flowerpot to help
with splash protection. My wife thought that was a great idea and spent a
couple days collecting shells, something the beach is never short of, the
result of a very hungry bird population. In way of explanation, the innumerable
birds spend a lot of time digging up shells, breaking them open and then depositing
them on the beach after consuming the resident. This is when they’re not eating
crabs and leaving a mess on the side of the pool.
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| The Balcony Garden |
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| Wife Cleaning Shells |
The return of the upstairs neighbors wasn’t
the only highlight last night. I finally remembered, after several misses, to
attend the zoom call with the redoubtable Root Huggers, my Command and General
Staff classmates. A simply great collection of American heroes. While my
internet connection was predictably bad, official labeled “unstable” by Zoom, I
truly enjoyed hanging out with these good friends. We collectively decided it
had been too long since we’d seen each other in person. There was talk of a
mid-May reunion in either Tampa or Tucson. I’m hoping for Tucson because that
means one of our members is well enough to travel. Now, to get back to celebrating
the First Friday of the Week in Paradise!!!
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| Roothuggers Last Night |
I checked out the latest version of The Wolfman
this week. It’s an interesting take on the venerable character with a young
family threatened in the deserted mountains of Oregon by a mysterious manlike
beast. There is palatable tension throughout without unnecessary jump scare,
just that building sense of ominous danger. There are the usual unbelievably stupid
moves by the hunted characters, but that’s required in a horror movie. Still, hiding
from a werewolf on top of a plastic sheathed greenhouse has to rank up there. There
is a nice twist near the end and a well thought out conclusion. Enjoyable horror
fare.
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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 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; 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
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