Fuego Finale

This will be my final post from Panama as our beach time is rapidly dwindling in the face of the onerous onslaught of time. All that being said, I’m sneakily excited to experience temperatures in the 40s next week in New England. Of course, that could be because I am sick to death of the week long cleaning extravaganza we’ve had going on. Today’s little slice of heaven was cleaning our gas grill in the 90-degree heat and 100% humidity that tells me the rainy season is imminent. One of the true downsides of getting older is the two hour cleaning exercise drained my meager energy resources much faster than what seems fair.

Pyro on the Loose

I chose to do that little workout because my Favorite Panamanian was gone for the day back in David. I always seem to work better without supervision which would have been omnipresent if she was on station. One of the lessons I learned early in my marriage is that wives are issued, upon walking down the aisle, with an encyclopedic knowledge of virtually any chore, enough to more than adequately guide their hapless spouses through practically any task. But I digress. I wheeled the grill downstairs and utilized a de-greaser (as recommended in a handy YouTube video) which made the work so much easier. In addition to the grill, I finished the final laundry and packed my lone suitcase (before it could be commandeered by certain spouses). There was also the cleaning and storage of beach furniture along with, well, you get the picture. On the upside, the waves were great once again for both morning and afternoon boogie boarding sessions. My wife made it back just in time for a rousing sunset social hour with the Upstairs Neighbors.

Today's Sunset

The big event though, titularly hinted at, was the final beach bonfire of the year. That happened yesterday with the more than able assistance of those worthies once again, the Upstairs Neighbors. I was so excited about the impending fire that I almost forgot to take the sunset social crew shot. I was rescued from that faux pas by the Upstairs Neighbor lady who reminded me just as we were getting on the elevator. They had done yeoman work earlier in the week, while I was out of town, gathering a huge pile of driftwood. I borrowed a rake and a wheelbarrow from the condo caretakers yesterday which I used to rake up the very dry kindling lined up at the high tide mark along our beach from a very high recent one.  We also utilized it to load up a couple huge driftwood logs.

Yesterday's Sunset

The Crew in Front of the Elevator

The result was a very respectable bonfire prepped on top of the seemingly invulnerable huge stump that had defied two earlier fires and continued to taunt us from its position just down the beach. My pyromaniacal side was in high gear as I approached the fire to ignite the festivities only to have my lighter decide to die. That meant the long walk back up to the condo to retrieve some matches. It was totally worth it as, with one match, the fire started on one side and quickly spread through the thick layer of very dry kindling and we soon as a veritable conflagration on our hands.

Bonfire Prepped

We Have Ignition

Upstairs Neighbors Sitting as Close as was Comfortable -
Fire Was so Hot it Killed the Humidity in the Vicinity

That Didn't Keep the Pyromaniac Away Though

The Upstairs Neighbors are good sports about letting me flit around the fire making adjustments as needed. Yep, a definite pyro. The best part remains sharing this with these best of friends and reflecting on what a great year we’ve had together at Las Lajas. I went out this morning to find the remains of the fire still smoldering despite a near hit by the overnight high tide. I threw the last small piece of a large log back onto the pile. The afternoon high tide swept up and over the fire, finally killing it. The recalcitrant stump is no more, it has been reduced to a vestige of its former confounding self. It was a great sendoff, especially since my wife and I got to share it with our good friends and we didn’t start any major brush fires  (as they say, that’s my story and etc. etc.). The next time I write will be from the Man Cave!!!!

The Remains Still Smoldering this Morning

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Reunited and it Feels so…..Busy!!

My Favorite Panamanian has returned from her nursemaid role assisting her mother recover from her recent fall. That is all to the good although my wife was seriously exhausted from those efforts. It was worth it to see my mother-in-law back to herself and looking healthier than I’ve seen her this year. It’s very good to have my Favorite Panamanian back in residence. We returned Saturday night after attending my brother-in-law’s birthday party. We now have only five days remaining on the beach as we leave on Saturday in order to catch our early morning flight out of David on Sunday morning.

Friday Night Pizza with Upstairs Neighbors

With our Dedicated Matre Di

My brother-in-law’s party was a bit of an adventure also. I’d been to his house twice last year and thought I could remember the route through the rabbit warren of streets where he lives. I was wrong. I turned off one street too early and thought I could wander back to the right street. Again, I was wrong. Adding to the excitement were the three Panamanian ladies I had in the car with me, offering their cogent suggestions and observations as I wandered through some slums. One of the most clear came from my wife’s twin sister, a teacher. She said her students warned her never to enter the area we were in as it was a very violent gang neighborhood. So, I had that going for me.

At the Birthday Party with my Co-Pilots

The Party Crowd

We reached out to the birthday boy who sent a map with his house pinpointed on it. That was very little help as he couldn’t provide an actual address. I noted a street near the house and used Waze to navigate towards that. My wife, ever the “helpful” co-pilot, was looking at the map and told me I was going the wrong way. Once I followed her directions, she admitted I had been right and we U-turned back the way we came, eventually passing right by the party location. Since they had it sealed up pretty good, we didn’t recognize it. Eventually I got us back to the airport road and my brother-in-law came out to guide us in.

Birthday Boy and his Wife with the Hulkster Assisting

Good Times

After all that “fun” the party was sort of anticlimactic. Most of the other party guests were from my brother-in-law’s wife’s family, very nice people. The six-year-old dancing star of their wedding remembered me and welcomed me with a Hulk stance. We sat around in a large circle eating dinner and then ice cream in the sweltering heat. My wife was on her last legs as the nurse duty offered very little in the way of sleep. We begged off early and headed for Las Lajas. I’ve written before about how much my wife seems to enjoy packing suitcases. She denies it but, after a day of rest on Sunday, she launched this morning into packing and providing abundant guidance on what I should be doing to assist in the effort. It’s very important the condo gets cleaned to surgical standards before we leave it for eight months. At least that is what she tells me. We are currently involved in that effort which resulted in the titular “busy”.

Beach This Morning

I’ve still managed to get out for boogie boarding this morning, before she got up a full head of steam. It must be time to go home because I cannot seem to derive the same amount of joy out of the boogie boarding. It could be the lousy waves we’ve been having lately but I think I’m ready. Another sign that it is time to go home was yesterday’s sunset ceremony. The rainy season is imminent. After a gloomy late afternoon the clouds settled in and as we walked out to set up for the sunset social crew, it started sprinkling. My wife, despite coming from here, one of the rainiest countries on earth, executed an about face and declared she wouldn’t endanger her freshly washed hair in the rain. The Upstairs Neighbors and I bravely set out to our designated location but had to retreat to a rancho when the rain picked up. It was still fun hanging out with them.

Under the Rancho Sunset Crew

Poor Sunset

Speaking of fun, the BRS and BR3 learned this past weekend the big secret their parents had in store for them. They’re going to Disneyworld!!! They were understandably excited when we spoke to them briefly. In a nod to a well-remembered and cherished visit of his own when he was about their age, he booked them to stay in the Wilderness Lodge, which is where we stayed on that earlier trip. The FBR had the tips of her hair colored earlier in the weekend because she was attending a concert with her mom that involved a pop star where that was a thing. I’d, predictably, never heard of that worthy. The in-family pop star is out on the west coast this week as Wingman and his band have a weeklong tour.

FBR's Gilded Hair

Finally, yesterday was also an auspicious day in that it marked the date our good Lord decided the world needed a dedicated commentator on, well, just about everything. The Cantankerous Friend marked his 71^st birthday yesterday and Keene Friend sent me this picture at old friend, the Lab ‘n Lager, along with some other good friends. I’m sure the afternoon was spent digesting my good friend’s “observations”. I wish I could have been there and look forward to getting back to buy my share of birthday beers for my Cantankerous Friend. Yep, ready to get home, if I survive this week’s cleaning efforts.

At the Lab Yesterday

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

3rd Generation Spookiness

My Favorite Panamanian discovered the photo below during her stay in David. It depicts my wife’s family including ours. It was taken at a family gathering in 1991 if I had to guess. It’s memorable not only for the dashing moustaches the guys are sporting and the unfortunate “tall hair” for the ladies (that was a thing) but for how the FBR and BR3 got into the photo decades before they were born. Of course, it is not them, but both my wife and I were struck by how much my daughter resembles the FBR at a similar age to what the FBR is now and likewise for my son and his daughter, BR3.

That's me in the Middle Back with my Wife on my Right

This is what grandchildren do to grandparents. They evoke the long held and cherished memories of their parents at the same age for the grandparents. I struggled through the most recent photos of the FBR and BR3(especially) to find similar expressions and this was the closest I found. The BRS clearly resembles the ABFA side of the family but BR3 definitely got her dad’s side of the gene pool. I see similar faces throughout the photographic family history going back more than a hundred years. The FBR inherited a lot from Wingman as well but there’s no denying she got her mom’s good looks as well. Spooky to see those faces staring out at me after more than thirty years, but then immediately linking them to the granddaughters.

FBR(l) and her Mom from the Photo

BR3 and her Dad from the Photo

In more current news, my Favorite Panamanian also sent me this picture of her mom, taken yesterday. She looks fantastic considering she’s coming off a scary fall that resulted in two hospital stays. My wife remains back in David serving as her personal care attendant until I relieve her tomorrow so we can get started on packing the condo up. It’s hard to believe tomorrow will mark my last Saturday in residence here at Las Lajas, at least until December. Leaving will be difficult but the waves have been so frustratingly weak that it makes it easier to cut ties. Looking forward to sleeping without AC (once we get back to New England of course).

Mother-in-Law on the Mend

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Powerless Procedures

First of all, the good news. My mother-in-law is back home and recovering. She was finally released from the hospital on Monday. My Favorite Panamanian remains in David to help out with home care for her mom so my geographic bachelorhood proceeds apace. In today’s update, she revealed I would not be picking her up tomorrow as planned. She is going to continue her role as a PCA until Saturday. I have a sneaking suspicion that she’s enjoying her time back in her home town with the opportunity to hang out with Tia Loca. I certainly don’t begrudge her that, family is just that. I’m not exactly suffering either, as I just looked up after writing that previous line and saw the waves beckoning. They have been sub-standard this week so it hasn’t been a cake walk. The Saturday change is because we will be celebrating my brother-in-law’s birthday, which is actually today. So, feliz cumpleanos Hermano!!!

The Birthday Boy and his Wife

As my time in this tropical paradise winds down, I made the crucial error a couple weeks ago to remark on how lucky we’ve been with power outages this year. I know, rookie mistake. You can all guess what that has led to since that unfortunate statement. Yesterday was a scheduled outage, which is a little easier to prepare for. That period joined a couple of other unscheduled ones, including a fourteen hour one. The Upstairs Neighbors decided to abandon the condo complex yesterday while this was going on so I had the entire place to myself, kind of lonely, but again, a tropical paradise.

Today's Completely Substandard Sunset

But We had a Great Crew

We have honed our power outage techniques over our years here because they are a regular occurrence. The complex has a generator which is supposed to kick on when the power goes out. That only feeds the common areas and the elevator and not inside the individual condos. Once the power goes out, we have a spooled-up power cord that reaches out to one of those common areas which we can plug the fridge into. We also draw the curtains to block the tropical sun since the air conditioning is not working. I spent the entire day out on the beach under our rancho since a nice breeze was blowing. The only time I was in the condo all day was for a short lunch where I hooked up a small fan to the external power.

Power Out - Fan Set Up

Fridge's Lifeline

Curtains Drawn

Since I was by myself last night a horror movie was appropriate. The Bride is a wild mix of horror, humor, and just plain craziness. Jesse Buckley follows her Oscar winning role with something completely different. That is a vast understatement. She is compelling as a resurrected lady in 1930s Chicago at the request of Christian Bale’s Frankenstein monster. They are a bizarre couple, to say the least, but despite their body count, you can’t help but root for them. The bride is possessed by the spirit of Mary Shelly and that didn’t really work well, distracting when it didn’t need to. While this movie has a lot of faults, it’s hard to look away from and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

FBR with Pistachio - Can't Wait to See Them Soon

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course