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