Neighboring

It was a soggy, miserable kind of day in Worcester yesterday and today, yet I received a clear indicator about what makes our time in Panama so special. Our upstairs neighbors from our Panamanian condo complex few into Boston from yet another European adventure and we were lucky enough to host them overnight. Yes, I know the soggy weather could also serve as motivation for sunbaked Las Lajas. However, what makes Panama so special is not the glorious weather, it’s the people. Two of the best of those people are those upstairs neighbors. We’ve really clicked since we first ran into them as they sought information on buying a condo in our complex five years ago.

Dinner Last Night

What makes them special is despite just being five years, it’s as if we’ve known each other for decades. It helps they are, despite Arizona residence, Red Sox fans, as most displaced former New Englanders are. They recently celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary by walking the Portuguese Camino, a historical pilgrimage route leading to the tomb of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. They set out from Porto in Portugal and walked for sixteen days to Santiago. Impressive; again, for their fiftieth anniversary! They decompressed after the walk with a couple weeks touring around Spain. They flew into Boston to attend a family wedding this weekend in Maine.

The Rest of the Seis at the Gym

When they arrived last night, we took then out to dinner to one of our favorites, Val’s in Holden. After their month-long sojourn in Europe, they were a little surprised at the size of their dinners. I had to remind them they were back in the States, which, of course, the size of the meals had already done. When we got home, we tried to make a call to the other two members of the Seis Amigos but they were at the gym and provided a photo to prove it. By the time they were free to talk, the upstairs neighbors were sound asleep, having been up for nearly twenty hours. We’ll have to make up for that call as soon as we’re all back to home base.

Lunch Today

The ladies treated themselves to a spa morning today while the guys remained home and caught up on some much-needed laundry (okay that was mostly the other guy and not me). As we waited for the ladies to call and report their readiness for lunch, I noticed that, in a newsworthy event, my Favorite Panamanian had left her call phone at home. This is memorable because she never allows herself to be separated from that device. We eventually decided to descend upon them at the beauty shop. We finally located them inserting their fingers into some sort of nail baking device. The building also hosts Pepe’s where we were going to lunch. We set up there to await the final baking phase to conclude. The lunch that followed was every bit as much fun as the weekly dinners we enjoy together down in Panama. They set out for Maine from the restaurant and the soggy day became immediately mushier with their absence. The light at the end of that dampness is we are now just about three months from seeing them daily in much sunnier climes.

Six movies fell in the A-Z watch, five keepers: Spotlight – an important movie and one of the best I’ve ever seen, should be mandatory viewing for the commentary on the real world abuse of power and privilege and the importance of a free press to expose it; Spring Breakers – hate this movie, despite focus on spring break, not a redeemable character in the entire movie, eject from the collection; Spy – hilarious send up of espionage, especially with Statham satirizing himself; Spy Game – taut, fascinating spy drama with now poignant Redford starring; The Spy Who Dumped Me – an inch deep but comedic gold, especially with Kate McKinnon fully unleashed; A Star is Born – so well acted with a timeless love story, Cooper and GaGa are magical together.

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