Crisis Oriented

People, you know who you are, will say I’m experiencing a mid-life crisis with my latest car purchase. You would be incorrect on a couple levels. One, I am way too old for a “mid-Life” crisis, I’ve successfully aged out of that category. Secondly, this wasn’t my idea. I knew it was time to trade in my 14-year-old Camry which had served me so well. She said I “deserved” a sporty car after relegating myself to the rather mundane all my life. I thought it over and realized it would be kind of cool to have a sports car. Of course, a couple days later, she showed me what she thought was a hilarious video of an elderly man struggling to get out of a sports car.

With the New Car

We visited the Toyota dealership about a month ago because their product has always proven superior in our journey through many cars over the years. I thought the only one they made was the Supra. That turns out to be a really tough car to locate. Our local Toyota dealership promised to try and work out a deal with another dealer who had one. That proved unsuccessful as the other dealers wanted three cars in trade for the Supra. I thought I would have to go with another brand and did a search last night for “reliable sports cars”. I was surprised to learn Toyota makes another one called a GR86, at almost half the cost of the Supra. I emailed the salesman I had been working with and they had one sitting on their lobby floor.

Went from This

To This

My Favorite Panamanian and I went there this morning, and I loved it. My wife insured I could mount the car without issue (remembering the video). The salesman moved a couple cars out of the way and got the car outside so we could take a test drive. That sealed the deal, and we returned to the dealership to fill out the paperwork. As always, that was a bit draining, sitting around waiting. I decided to add a couple features which meant the car would need a few hours of work. We returned late this afternoon to take possession. Having learned my lessons from earlier cars, I insisted the salesman show me what all the buttons did.

With my Benefactor

We went for a joy ride, and I reluctantly allowed my wife to drive for a bit as well. She’ll need to drive for the return trips from Thunder Runs. I texted a picture of the car to the family and received some comical responses. My son opined that I wouldn’t be able to fit in the car (and this without seeing that video), but I assured him that was not the case. My wife informed me that this would be my 70^th birthday present, delivered a few months early. It will also serve as motivation for the next few years for me to stay in shape so I don’t appear in any videos. She also gets an extended drive home tomorrow since we’ll be heading back to Keene from the monthly high school classmate lunch.

Speaking of staying in shape, I had my semi-annual full body check at the dermatologist on Tuesday. This is yet another reason to stay in shape because these visits involve a cute dermatologist running her hands all over my body. It would hurt so much if I saw her gagging. The best news was, for the second visit in a row – no biopsies!!!!! This means no Mohs surgery. So, the silly swim caps that dominated my time in the tropics this year, did their job. I’ll see her again in December. If I get through that and the one in a year with no more cancer, then the visits will be reduced to annual. Very cool.

I had a dateless date night on Tuesday since my Favorite Panamanian doesn’t do horror movies and the only non-kiddie film out this week was 28 Years Later. This may be the best movie of the series about a zombie plague in Great Britain. That’s a significant comment since the first two were both very good. There’s a very talented new cast to carry the story forward, set, obviously, 28 years after the original outbreak. A young boy is trained to deal with the zombies by his father as they leave their protected island. The zombies have also evolved with a very scary “Alpha” leading the way. This has the potential to be a very special film as the focus is not on the horror but on the very human reactions to an almost untenable situation. I’m sure there’s a larger message behind some of the film’s points but this was a very enjoyable watch as a horror movie that didn’t depend on jump scares.  

Four movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers and I know they are out of alphabetical order, this is due to reaching the shelves in the library that the granddaughters can reach, just saying: Prince Valiant – love this old movie from my favorite comic strip as a kid, felt so bad for Wagner’s haircut and the ridiculous horned Vikings but still; The Proposal – great rom-com with real chemistry between the leads, love anything Bullock is in; Predator – Arnold at his peak, two future governors facing off against the original alien; Predator 2 – better than you might have heard, with Danny Glover nailing his action role.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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