Surprise Calls

There I was minding my own business yesterday, when, out of the blue, my phone started ringing. This is a rare occurrence for me (the same is not true for a Certain Panamanian I sleep with). Since I knew it couldn’t be her calling (in the shower), I was stumped. I answered the Facetime call and was extremely pleased when the visage of no less a worthy than BR3 greeted me. I was a little confused since she was supposed to be in school at the time. She quickly advised me she was home from school sick. She didn’t seem overly upset about that situation. She was her usual bouncy self, working on some art, between growling at the screen. The ABFA filled us in on that situation which had both myself and her abuela (safely out of the shower by then) laughing at BR3’s antics.

Sunset Social Hour Crew Today

This luck was compounded later in the day as I took up station for the sunset social hour to receive yet another call. This one was from the FBR who also reported being home from school sick. My daughter provided the necessary background while simultaneously chasing down Walnut (the cat) who was wreaking havoc in the kitchen. It was a nice reminder of how blessed I am when I looked into these two small faces. The FBR was coming off a recent triumph. My daughter sent us a video which depicted the FBR’s first ever time on ice skates. I was astounded as she looked like she’d been doing it for years. She’s signed up for hockey in a couple weeks.

FBR 1st Time on Ice Skates

They were alone in the house last night as Wingman is on another tour with his band. I’ve been getting regular updates since this is an east coast tour and last weekend he was in NYC where my daughter and the redoubtable Curbside Gals took in the show. Last night the tour hit Boston and my son and some of his buddies journeyed down to see the show. He said the experience was excellent but he didn’t get to bed until 2am which is at least four hours later than usual.

Wingman Cookies at the Concert Merchandise Table

Wingman Executing his Patented Moog Keyboard Handstand

Wingman Outside the NYC Venue

Curbside Gals - Still Got it

Scenes from Show in Boston Last Night

Son and His Friends Before the Show

I am following my strict regimen of truly savoring my time on the beach. The waves have reverted to their earlier weak condition which is unwelcome, to say the least. I assuaged my frustration by conspiring with the Upstairs Neighbor to address my pyromaniacal side.  We’ve been eying a huge piece of driftwood that washed up in front of the condo complex a few weeks ago. It is literally the size of a small tree; which is what was before it launched on its ocean voyage. I thought it was too deeply embedded in the sand to move but the neighbor disabused me of that notion yesterday during the sunset social hour. Since the waves were so bad this afternoon, I used the afternoon boogie boarding session time to move the tree into position over another buried tree. I piled some more debris from the surf line and we are in business. We’re aiming for a Saturday night conflagration, as long as the tide doesn’t rise and bear away our fuel.

My Future Bonfire Start

In semi-tragic news, we had a completely overcast afternoon. When you combine that with the poor state of the waves, you can see how badly I am suffering 😊. Since we are made of stern stuff we still gathered for the sunset social hour at the appointed time today (socializing always trumps the view anyways). We were rewarded with an epic secondary sunset as the entire western sky lit up, putting a definitive end to my day long suffering.

Slow Start to Sunset With Overcast

Then it Rallied

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