Thespianating

Okay. That’s not a word, but I’m a little overcome with emotion having viewed a video of the FBR becoming a thespian. She had been attending an after-school acting class and that culminated with the production of a scene from Hello Dolly. She was clearly the star of the show (that might be a slight granddad bias speaking). She sang, danced, and acted with some real charisma. I could not be prouder of her. It brought back memories of her mother in a high school play where I thought she had the same immense stage presence. At least the FBR comes by her talent honestly.

FBR About to go On Stage

Taking her Bows (blue dress pink hat)

There’s been some drama back here in Las Lajas as well. The new bedstead we had hand carved for us by a village craftsman developed a crack. My Favorite Panamanian contacted the guy and he quickly promised to retrieve the head board and repair it. He showed up yesterday with his father, also a master carpenter, to pick it up. We got to talking and he was surprised to hear I had a child over forty years old. He asked me my age which was about the same as his father. He then pointedly told his father I was taking a lot better care of myself than he was, which did my ego some good (not that it needed any massaging). We hope to have the repaired headboard back today along with two side tables he’s also creating for us.

Cracked Headboard

I was pulled away from the beach on Tuesday for a threefold reason. We had to return to David to do some grocery shopping ahead of this weekend’s gathering of my wife’s female cousins here, to see a movie (that would be how she got me to leave the waves), and to go to the annual Feria of David. We knocked out the grocery shopping early, followed by lunch at El Fogon, and then to the movies. Tia Loca was attending the movie with us and my wife waited until it was time to leave to invite her 92-year-old mother as well. That became a bone of contention as I hate to arrive late for a movie and miss the previews. My Favorite Panamanian knows this, but she loves her mom (I do too) and relishes a chance to get her out of the house. I was impressed at how fast they got their mom ready to go and I think we only missed one preview. It was funny to see both daughters trying to cover their mother’s eyes when a graphic scene took place. It was a lot of fun.

Last Night's Sunset Was Maybe the best of the Year
With an Immense Pelican Flyby

An the Usual Sunset Crew

Best Part was After Sun was Below Horizon
Newly Christened as "Afterburn" by Upstairs Neighbor

After the movie I was informed two of Tia Loca’s friends would be joining us for the Feria. At this point I made a tactical decision. I wasn’t that excited about dodging the crowd at the Feria (a huge county fair type event) and especially not in the company of four Panamanian ladies intent on shopping. I volunteered to stay at her mom’s house and read. This prevented me from being the source of irritation at the feria and attendant shopping. Win Win. It was a rare David evening with a cool breeze blowing while I read on the front porch until my Favorite Panamanian returned via taxi and we drove back to Las Lajas. She kept me laughing for the entire trip back trying to capture an image of the ¾ moon which was a brilliant orange.

See What I Mean?!

Last week in Colombia, we saw Captain America, Brave New World. This is seemingly a step back in the right direction for Marvel. Anthony Mackie, while no Steve Rogers, effortlessly carries the movie and more than holds his own with Harrison Ford, no mean task. The plot harkens back to some earlier Marvel efforts bringing former subplot villains to the fore. The head villain turns out to be a guy with a misshapen head and some serious anger issues. There are the usual plots within plots which culminate with Ford becoming the Red Hulk and destroying part of the White House. I saw a very funny quite saying Ford was only the second most rage filled US President of recent history. I enjoyed the action but it still didn’t have the magic of some of the original Marvel movies. A diminutive female security chief was a clear miss, don’t know what the casting director was thinking there. An enjoyable action flick.

The movie we saw Tuesday was Novocain. This is incredibly funny, very dark comedy about a guy who cannot feel physical pain. Jack Quaid continues in his nerd persona from The Boys as a mild mannered bank manager. He falls for a fellow employee only to see her kidnapped as part of a robbery. The rest of the film has him in hot pursuit of his lady love, sustaining injuries which he can’t feel, some of very graphic type. The funniest sequence is in the booby-trapped house of his quarry, way too funny to describe without ruining it for you. There are plot holes you could drive a truck through, but the movie is saved by Quaid’s performance, ably assisted by Spiderman’s high school buddy. There is verifiable chemistry with the love interest as well. A nice surprise of a movie, I really liked it, not for the squeamish though.

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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