Dickensian Descent

R.I.P.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

I had a much different blog ready for today, most of which is below where I celebrate the joy we’ve experienced over the past few days as our dream of a beach front condo was being realized. We can also celebrate the anniversaries of both of my kids who generously scheduled their weddings on subsequent dates so I wouldn’t have any trouble remembering them. Truly the best of times. Then came the gut punches and worst of times.

Most seriously my wife’s close friend – the Virginia Musquetera, lost her husband as he succumbed to the mysterious collapse I wrote about in the last blog post. Our thoughts have rarely left the pain my wife’s sister of the heart and her daughters are going through and my wife’s frustration at being so far away. Then this morning Great Aunt texted me that Buddy the Wonder Pooch was in bad shape and descending. We FaceTimed and Buddy could barely walk. He stopped eating a couple days ago, was breathing laboriously, and couldn’t keep his medicine down. He was also bleeding from his nose.

I found it hard to credit that he could descend so fast as the vet said he could last a couple months and I’d looked forward to spending those last days with him. I couldn’t stomach seeing him in so much pain and so far from the lively Wonder Pooch who had wormed his way into the depths of my heart. Great Aunt, being the best sister the Good Lord has ever created, has taken it upon herself to get him to the vet’s today to end his pain. Some acts of kindness can never be fully repaid and it helped immensely to have someone who loved Buddy as much as I did with him. I was able to be with Buddy via FaceTime as he drew his last few labored breaths.

You’re going to have to excuse me if I rant a little bit here but Buddy was about as special to me as caninely possible and this qualifies as grief therapy. All of our other dogs have been family pets but Buddy was mine. I rescued him from a very bad situation when he was a year old and I was his third owner. I ascribe to the theory there are no bad dogs only bad owners. I think we found something special in each other as he quickly understood he was with us for the duration and I truly think that’s all he ever needed.

He So Loved the Snow

Fresh out of Burrowing

He Hated Thunderstorms

He loved the snow and I’ll treasure the memories of the legendary Charlton snow storms that we shared together. I found a little bit of my inner child as we cavorted in the snow together. An accomplished beggar Buddy completely lost his mind whenever food was around. He has a firm spot in family history for his legendary theft of both drum sticks from a whole chicken my wife left on top of the stove as well as his steak tug of war with Wingman. Despite Buddy’s very typical Labrador rambunctiousness he had a way of making human friends almost at will. His death has hit his Panamanian family very hard as any who’ve visited us during his time always ask how their friend Biddy is doing. His two best friends though were my Favorite Son with their pell-mell chases around the old Charlton house and Keene Friend who never failed to take him out for an early morning walk.

Devoured Bones

Loved Riding in the car

And Hanging his Nose in the Breeze

Always thought of himself as a Lapdog

Partners in Crime

Watching the World Series Together

Buddy was the key element in the months long separations from my wife over the past few years as she spent most of the winter in Panama caring for her parents. I spent many a night watching a movie or a ball game with Buddy’s head resting on my legs as he stretched out next to me on the couch. That’s how I’ll remember him and I’ll know I’ll find myself reaching down to pat his absent head in the coming months. If the measure of any creature’s life is the amount of love is generated in their honor then Buddy’s time on earth was a genuine treasure. I told him as he drew his last few breathes that he was finally going to catch the damned squirrels that had eluded him for so long. Good bye my friend, my heart is broken.

Sleep Well Old Friend - No One's Going to Kick You Off the Couch Again

What today’s blog was going to be:

Wife Waiting for the Truck to Show Up

It’s been a hectic last couple of days here in Panama. We spent Monday rushing around to arrange the delivery of furniture and installation of air conditioning in our condo. It’s not like US but much more informal. A family friend who’s also an electrician was scheduled to install lighting fixtures. My wife’s brother arranged for a friend of a friend who had a truck to transport the living room couch and the massive air conditioning units which had been stored in my sister in law’s house for the past few months. The furniture store was delivering the purchases she’d made and which they had been storing. Finally the construction firm recommended an installer for the air conditioning and arranged for him to be there on Tuesday.

Sister in Law on the Balcony

Sisters at First Meal in Condo

Watching Storm Blow in

Very Smelly Author

Posing

Work in Full Force

After Picture with AC and Lamps

That’s a lot of moving parts and anyone who’s ever done business in Panama knows that’s a recipe for disappointment if not disaster. Remarkably the only miss for the day was the truck being over an hour late. That telescoped everything into perfectly coordinated chaos when we arrived. The truck was supposed to rendezvous with us at a neighborhood store since street addresses aren’t as well marked here. My wife and I spent the hour+ waiting outside the store drawing interested glances from the neighborhood regulars wondering what the big gringo was doing in their hood.

Storm Posing

The truck finally arrived and their last load had obviously been a large amount of horse manure, so we had that going for us. Our delayed arrival meant we pulled up at the same time as the furniture store truck, the electrician, and the air conditioning installation team. The building caretaker couldn’t get the elevator to work so we had to carry everything up three flights of stairs in Panama’s omnipresent heat and humidity. The two guys from the truck were struggling with the couch and I ended up playing a much bigger role than I or my back planned on. By the time we got everything up in the condo I was thoroughly soaked and at muscle failure. I was in better shape than one of the rotund Panamanian movers who looked like he needed to head to the emergency room.

Looking into Future

Guest Bedroom - Ready for Granddaughter Climb

Talking with Architect

Once the dust settled and the technicians got to work we set up on the balcony to stay out of their way and to eat our first ever meal in the condo. Our plan had been to spend the day on the beach while the work was being done inside. The Panamanian rainy season had other ideas though. Shortly after lunch an impressive monsoon blew in to consume the rest of the day. It went quickly as my wife and her sister are a lively pair and the conversation never lagged. This marked the second time this week I spent a day at my favorite beach in the world and didn’t get a chance to swim. I hope to rectify that later today.

Storm Blowing In

Back at my Mother in :Law's House

I had to drive back through the same monsoon and crossed a couple streams that decided to use the same roadway we were. A very full day but seeing furniture in the condo as well as the air conditioning working made it seem so much more real than before. I sat out on the balcony imagining my kids and grandchildren (one can hope) rushing around the complex in future years. That balcony time has me seriously reconsidering my retirement timeline, cutting some significant years off how long I plan to continue working. My only wish was a certain black lab at my side jumping into the waves.

Future Viewed

Wife and I on our Condo Balcony Yesterday

It’s been a hectic few months but one of reasons I continue to work when I don’t have to was brought home in very bright tropical colors yesterday. Early Saturday we loaded up the household and journeyed into Boston for our flight to Panama. My mother in law ran into a young TSA agent in training and got to know her on a very intimate level. I’m sure 85 year old great grandmothers present an imminent threat to airline safety. A couple of the infamous PanaGals and the recently visiting uncle greeted us at the Panama City airport during our layover there awaiting our onward flight to David. The uncle had his new girlfriend along for a quick, laugh filled lunch. They’re both widowers and had only met over the internet until he returned from his visit with us. He must have a good chat “game”.

The Layover Lunch

Yesterday saw us traveling to Las Lajas for the inaugural event of the homeowners at our soon to be completed beachfront condo. This was our first chance to meet all the other owners. They held a day long party at the complex with no less than three separate min-bars set up and a barbecue with non-stop music. I was the only gringo in attendance but they all made me feel extremely welcome. I’d been a little nervous about how we’d mesh with the group since most of them are lifelong friends or business associates.

Wife and I On Our Condo Balcony

At One of the Mini-Bars

The Party

Of course I had my secret weapon in dealing with strangers – my Favorite Panamanian. I don’t I’ve ever seen her fail to make friends in any social situation. She has bone deep charisma. She’d met a couple of the ladies at Tai Chi classes last year while she was in David caring for her ailing father. There was a very nice mix of young families and older residents. I really liked the social dynamics and the last reservations I had about spending half of my retired life there dissolved. We had complete access to our future condo and can start moving furniture in this week, even though we don’t sign the papers until later this year.

Wife in our Condo Living Room

The Kitchen

Guest Bedroom

Balcony

View from Master Bedroom

I spent a lot of the day with my gaze drawn to the beach and pool (not just because of the bikinis either) imagining my children and their kids cavorting. I had a definite vision of teaching the First Blog Reader how to body surf in Las Lajas incomparable waves as early as next year. There’s always doubt when you enter into this kind of future but as stated above – it looks nothing but promising after yesterday’s magical day.

We returned to David where that future body surfing student entertained the assembled family in a FaceTime call. The Cousin of the Legendary Laugh stopped by for a visit with stories of her sixth and seventh grandchildren who were both born this week. We topped off the night with a very entertaining dinner at El Fogon. The waiter there remembered me from earlier visits and went out  of his way to take care of us (the power of generous tipping). My hope of recharging my spiritual batteries during this week is certainly off to a good start with two nights of more than eight hours sleep; something that’s eluded me for the past couple months.

Happier Times for Virginia Musquetera

In news from back home, reports from Great Aunt on Buddy the Wonder Pooch have him doing well in her canine Shangri-La. The other two dogs seem to accept he’s not up to his usual rambunctiousness and Great Aunt is doing her customary fantastic job of caring for her old Buddy. My wife received some shocking news concerning the Virginia Musquetera. She was on vacation down in North Carolina when her husband collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. The initial diagnosis was a burst aneurism with only a ten per cent chance of survival. It was painful for my wife to be so far away from one of her oldest and closest friends during this personal crisis. Please keep her family in your prayers.

Hit Parade Continues

Running to her Next Appointment Yesterday

My love affair with Southwest Airlines continues to blossom. After cancelling my flight and requiring an overnight drive from Baltimore to Washington they’re still holding my luggage hostage. I contacted them yesterday and they confirmed the bag was in Boston and politely promise to have it delivered by the end of the day. That was apparently just to get me off the phone. When no bag arrived I called them back this morning and after making my way through the arcane phone tree eventually spoke to someone in Boston who confirmed that yes they had my bag and that no they don’t deliver for cancelled flights. Even for ones they refused to give the bags back for. So I have a delightful mid-day drive into Boston today. Never. Fly. Southwest. Again.

Condo at Night

Party on Sunday

I do have these daily photos of my granddaughter to keep me afloat in these morale challenging times. That and tomorrow’s trip to Panama for a week where some serious morale battery re-charging is scheduled to take place. On Sunday we attend a welcome reception at our condo and will start moving furniture in over the upcoming week.

Last night my wife and I took in Atomic Blonde which was a very interesting female driven action flick. If anyone had any doubts about Theron’s action credentials after Mad Max they are surely put to rest after this journey. Charlize kicks total ass as a British operative sent into Berlin as the wall is falling and all the cold warriors are scuttling to redefine their shadowy world. The action scenes and Theron’s participation are almost visceral; some of the best I’ve seen this side of John Wick. My only issue with the movie was the pacing as these fantastic action scenes were placed amidst a series of plodding “who done it” scenes which brought everything to a screeching halt. Luckily Ms. Theron and the action salvage the viewer from those doldrums each and every time.

Tappan Zee Sunrise

My Late Night Greeting from Wingman

I had the unique opportunity of watching the sun rise over the far off glittering towers of New York City from the Tappan Zee Bridge this morning. This was not what I was supposed to be doing. Mother Nature and Southwest Airlines collaborated to make it happen. I’d heard there were some inbound East Coast thunderheads rolling in so I rushed out of the hotel at the end of the general manager conference trying get an earlier flight. That proved unsuccessful so I hunkered down in my future gate and hoped for the best. I ended up being there for more than eight hours.

Everything seemed copacetic as the afternoon evolved into evening. However the two conspirators had serious game up their respective sleeves. My 530pm flight was first delayed to 8pm. Around 520pm they announced the flight was cancelled. This led to the inevitable rush to line up at the gate to get re-booked. This is where Southwest definitely did not cover themselves in glory. They had one very personable but limited intellect ticket agent who took more than fifteen minutes with each passenger in line. The line comprised more than 150 people.

By 745pm I was only fifteen people away from the lone agent and people leaving his kind attention reported he was unable to get anybody back to Boston before Friday. This wouldn’t work for me because there was some critical software training scheduled for this morning, in Worcester. I decided to drive. After wasting all of that time waiting for nothing I pulled my IPhone out and used it to reserve a rental car. I hope my children are proud their father has embraced technology to the point I was capable of that action. I owe it all to them.

I then went in search of my checked bag and was told that it had already made it to Boston. I was a little enraged that the bag had made it while I had not. I eventually made it to the rental car facility, cancelling my Boston limo ride while enroute. My phone reservation actually worked and the only hold up was waiting in line behind a poor German kid vomiting into a cracker box (must be a European thing). The rental car agent took pity on me and upgraded me to a larger car and I was on the road after figuring out how to use my Phone as a GPS device (those kids again).

I left the rental car agency around 920pm and planned on getting the long delayed dinner while on the road since I-95 is liberally laced with rest areas with every known fast food emporium. I was making pretty good time when at the first rest stop I reported my decision and progress to the Favorite Panamanian. While I thought my idea and intended overnight drive was epic, she was less than complimentary. She brought up the whole age thing and not wanting to see me smeared along the side of the road somewhere.

Studying Hard

Unhappy that my heroic efforts to reunite with her were being underappreciated, especially since I received them at the same time I learned the fast food places with their hyper-energetic teenaged work force decided to stop serving at 1000pm, or thirty minutes earlier, I cast about for victuals. I raided the rest of the rest stop and ended up with caffeine rich soda, sugar cookies, and two bags of popcorn – the breakfast of champions. My wife continued to cajole and eventually brought my daughter into the fray to convince me to stop over in Maplewood for a semi-night’s rest.

Just Missed this Face

I pulled into their driveway a little after midnight and Wingman stayed up to welcome me , provide sustenance, and conversation. He brought me up to date on my granddaughter’s latest shenanigans. She’d lost chalkboard privileges when she decided to apply her art work to the living room carpet. She’s also forming complete sentences and allowing her hair to be pinned back as long as Wingman distracts her when it’s being pinned. I loved the brief opportunity to hang with Wingman but it was frustrating to be in the same house as both my daughter and the First Blog Reader, knowing I wouldn’t be able to see them. Wingman kept a close eye on me to keep me from sneaking in an awakening hug.

And This

I was back on the road just before 430am and reached Worcester before 8. The rental car was turned in by 9 and I was present for training in my office by ten. Note to self – four hours of sleep and a long night drive are not conducive to software training. But I did get that glorious sun rise. Now I have to track down my high flying luggage. Additional note to self – never book a flight on Southwest to Baltimore again, ever. 

Next Time

Baltimore Strand

Electrifying Time on the Slide

I’m at a conference for General Managers near Baltimore and feel stranded on certain levels. Since the very nice hotel, see photos, is near the airport we all flew into, there is no need (read – authorization) for rental cars. The only problem with airport hotels lies in their remote locations – there is nothing within walking distance. I feel imprisoned, albeit a very nice prison with free beer during daily happy hour. The hotel takes full advantage with a gift shop charging exorbitant prices for the smallest items. I’d much rather be back home hanging with the Favorite Panamanian.

The hotel from my Room's Front Door

She didn’t let any grass grow under her feet. When I called last night she had the house full of fellow Panamanian women. She also decided Buddy’s final weeks called for gourmet dog food which I wholeheartedly concurred with. Buddy, of course, was both amazed and forgot he didn’t have an appetite any more by voraciously devouring the new food.

My Room

The conference here is okay. It’s great sharing experience with guys trying to do the same job at different places around the country. There were a couple of good presentations as well as one that had me fighting desperately to stay awake. One of the fundamental questions in life is why HR managers seem to have their personalities excised to reach senior manager level. A monotone is no way to go through life.

I finished up Michael Connelly’s latest book The Late Show on the trip down here. Connelly wanders away from his usual two heroes and introduces a female lead character for the first time and she’s awesome. She’s been sentenced to the late shift after a promising start to her career as a detective because she reported the harassment by a senior officer. She’s obviously over talented for the graveyard shift but goes about making LA a better place with a relentless pursuit of the guilty. As usual Connelly displays an in depth familiarity with the workings and politics of the LAPD. A great read.

Reading the Polar Express Yesterday
Christmas Never Sleeps