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
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. 
With our Dedicated Matre Di
At the Birthday Party with my Co-Pilots
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. 
The Party Crowd
Birthday Boy and his Wife with the Hulkster Assisting
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”.
Good Times
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.
Beach This Morning
Under the Rancho Sunset Crew
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. 
Poor Sunset
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
71st 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.
FBR's Gilded Hair
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------RECURRING CHARACTERS: 
At the Lab Yesterday
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
3rd 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
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