Beginning Fifteen

I find myself in September, which seems incredible even with my understanding of how much faster time moves as I get older. The other tendency, with altogether too many accumulated years, is to reflect. I started Frail Deeds in September of 2011, which means this is the start of the fifteenth year I’ve been doing this. It annually leads me to question whether I should continue because my fractured prose isn’t worthy of that many years of transmission or, better said, inflicted on an unsuspecting public. Strangely, I still enjoy writing, capturing this life which, as I stated above, continues to accelerate towards the inevitable conclusion. I was aided in my September reflection by returning to the weekly date night on Tuesday with my Favorite Panamanian, put on hold due to the presence of granddaughters for the past couple weeks.

With my Very Cute Date Last Night

In a turn about from our usual date night, where we take in an afternoon movie, we decided to combine it with dinner out, then the movie. We both enjoyed the change and decided this will be our new standard operating procedure. We hit the local steak house which is cleverly close to the movie theater. The upside being there are four other restaurants at the same location that will allow some variety (as long as they sell dead animal flesh). After two weeks of being surrogate parents, we felt almost like adults again. Young parents will understand that emotion and we hope our son and daughter, along with the ABFA and Wingman, were able to experience that feeling while we had their kids with us.

FBR Heading out for 4th Grade

Tuesday was also a big day in New Jersey which saw the FBR undertake her first ever day in 4^th grade. Thanks to her recent shopping forays with her abuela, she was more than adequately prepared for her debut. The scary thing for her grandfather is that I clearly remember my own days in 4^th grade (the first year I noticed girls which is probably responsible for the memories sticking) more than sixty years ago. Since it is September, it is appropriate that school is starting. I’m deeply offended that the BRS and BR3 had to start school in August. That seems unconstitutional, where a full week of summer is being stolen.

With Mom and Dad at the Bus Stop

In danger of becoming cyclical, remembering 4^th grade brings me back to Frail Deeds and whether I’ll continue to write here. I started this out in 2011 because I was reasonably certain that I’d be acquiring grandkids in the near future. The wait was longer than I hoped, but, as it grew, I wanted some record of what life was like for their grandparents, what we were like. I was worried that by the time they knew us, we’d be fossilized remnants of ourselves, drooling in the corner while they bounced through puberty. I wanted them to know us. Since 2011 I’ve become, by necessity, more acquainted with what old age is truly like and am more confident they know us well enough that some memories will stick. Part of my plan involves printing out the content of Frail Deeds each day. That’s one of the reasons I realized I was onto year 15 because I printed out the last month of year 14 with the conclusion of August. In one of my best Christmas presents ever, my daughter had the first couple years of Frail Deeds edited and printed in book form, so I’d have something solid to pass on to the FBR, BRS, and BR3.

MY Printed Library of Frail Deeds Safely Resting in Back of Man Cave

That Christmas Gift, Awaiting full grown Granddaughters

The movie date night involved was Nobody 2. I loved the first movie and was fully prepared to accept a watered down, money seeking sequel. I was therefore more than pleasantly surprised to find an awesome movie in its own right. Bob Odenkirk continues his role as the most unlikely of all action heroes as Hutch Mansell. He’s still dealing with the ramifications of the path he carved through the Russian mafia in the first flick and decides the family needs a vacation together. Of course, trouble ensues as he returns to a beloved amusement park of his youth which had not been updated since and conveniently supplies a full team of villains led by a deranged Sharon Stone. The entire cast that survived the first movie is back and, if possible, were even more fun this time around. I loved that they didn’t waste time trying to explain Mansell to the audience. Too many sequels assume the audience needs a re-introduction to the main characters. This movie takes for granted you’re watching it because you loved the first movie. I did and this one as well.

Seven movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: Shaun of the Dead – funniest zombie movie ever, hilarious slackers; Sherlock Holmes – Downey carries this off with a new take on the title character; Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows – great turn again as they highlight bond with Watson; Shoot ‘em Up – silly but effective action flick with a serious body count and Monica Bellucci; Shooter – great action movie, one of my favorite of all times; Sicario – a fabulous drama with Blunt and Del Toro elevating a Tyler Sheridan script; Sicario Day of the Soldado – solid sequel focusing on Del Toro and Brolin.

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