Leafy Day

My Favorite Panamanian and I woke up yesterday and started comparing our upcoming calendars. We realized we had forgotten to schedule one of our favorite activities of the year, our annual leaf peeping day. Each year, usually on Columbus Day, we take a day to drive through New England admiring the foliage and generally just wandering the back roads. I made the snap decision that we weren’t going to miss it, told her to pack her gear, and off we went. I was about an hour into the drive when I realized I had made a huge error. Earlier this year, I had promised Great Aunt we would take her along for the trip. This amounted to a huge “whoops” and was only compounded a few minutes later when my Favorite Panamanian reminded me of the promise made. In my defense, I am getting older and if memory serves me correctly (poor choice of standard there) beer was involved when I made the promise. Next year, I pledge.

My Traveling Partner and I Yesterday Atop Greylock

Each year I try to take a different route while still hitting some of our favorite spots. I set a destination of Mount Greylock in Western Massachusetts as our initial objective. The GPS system was getting irritated with me as it kept trying to coax me onto the major highways instead of the small byways I followed. It was a beautiful trip through some places in Massachusetts I had never heard of, much less traveled through. It resembled Appalachia in some places more than Massachusetts. I have a character defect where I genuinely enjoy being places I’ve never been before and yesterday qualified. The drive to the mountain took a lot longer than if I had used the major highways but I engaged the Robert Frost mode, taking that less traveled way, and it made a difference.

Some Views from Those Back Roads

We hadn’t been to Greylock in years and the drive up the mountain remains a true delight. My Favorite Panamanian was a little fearful of the walk up to the summit from the car, but her knee passed the test with flying colors. It was a beautiful day on top of the mountain and we could clearly see Mount Monadnock in the distance. Since it as a non-holiday, weekday there wasn’t much of a crowd either. I was able to climb the narrow staircase in the summit tower without issue. My wife was practicing some new photo posing recommendations she found while surfing the internet during her convalescence. I was mystified as to their efficacy, but she assured me it was the way to go.

View From Greylock

Trying to Up My Selfie Game

Wifely Posing

Me In front of the Tower

Our next stop was one of those aforementioned favorite spots, the Golden Eagle Restaurant. It sits at the famous hairpin turn on Route 20 above North Adams. It offers spectacular views extending into both New York and Vermont. We were late in arriving and had the entire balcony seating area to ourselves. We couldn’t decide if the colors were up to their usual standard. It seemed in some places it was past peak while others were still green. I heard an ominous report recently on the news. The weather lady said that the forests of New England are transitioning to mid-Atlantic versions as the weather gradually warms up and that in a few decades we won’t have the same fabulous foliage. That’s kind of scary and yet another reason to enjoy what we have while we have it.

Overlooking North Adams from Greylock

Tower from the Other Side

Some More Posing

Wife Said there were Too Many Photos of Her Being Taken

She is Much More Photogenic Though

Exhibit A

After our late lunch, we snuck up into Vermont which seemed almost deserted. We were on some of those back roads again. We wandered into Wilmington and then followed Route 9 to the overlook at the Hogback Mountain Gift Shop. Another of those special places, this is where we spread the ashes of my mother, a proud Vermonter, born and bred, despite all her years of New Hampshire residency. There was a lot of nostalgia in play because this was on the route we always took when traveling between Keene and my grandmother’s house in New York when I was growing up. We never stopped at the overlook though. We should have, it is spectacular. After the obligatory shopping this stop entails (I was with my wife, remember), we set out for home. I used the major roads now, as the sun was setting, obscuring whatever foliage was about. It was still a fun day hanging out with the gal I’m married to. It still surprises me we actually enjoy hanging out with each other. Although, she did throw away my favorite slippers without informing me.

View from Hogback

Earlier in the week, on a much more mundane level, I finally tackled a procrastinated task that had been sitting at my feet in the Man Cave office. I’m honest when I say I remove movies from the library if they don’t pass muster in the A-Z review. I had a box under the desk that I was shoving them into. The box became two and finally five without any kind of organization. My Favorite Panamanian, under spousal agreement, has no authority to mandate changes in this one area of the house, but she had been looking at the eyesore it represented each time she walked in. It is a wifely tactic, and it finally worked. It took a lot longer than I anticipated as I’ll eventually sell them but they’re now in three Coors Lite boxes, packed orderly and out of the way, while a new box awaits further ejections.

The Initial Mess

In granddaughter news, the BRS is thriving in First Grade. My son says that she now reads to him each night instead of the other way around. The FBR recently had an adventure in Baltimore. She and Wingman went down there to visit her other grandpa and took in the world famous National Aquarium while there. The FBR has become quite a fan of sharks after seeing the ubiquitous specials bandied about. She says her favorite is the Mako. Her fandom went so far as to tell her abuela she wanted a shark themed birthday cake instead of the earlier choice of Taylor Swift. I’m sure it will change a couple more times before the actual day, which is approaching all too quickly. That damnable calendar again. I’ll say it again. No one warned me about how much faster time passes when you get old.

FBR Loose in Baltimore

Four movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: The Martian, absolutely love this movie, best one Damon has ever made; Mary Poppins, a true classic, still makes you smile; M*A*S*H*, one of best and funniest anti-war movies ever made; The Mask, Carrey with a perfect vehicle for his zaniness and debut role for Cameron Diaz, so sexy.

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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; 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; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Recon Report

I survived the dangers involved in a forward recon of the November birthday pub crawl due to the stalwart assistance of my fellow reckoners, the Keene Friend and Kindergarten Friend. Okay it wasn’t as dangerous as it was fun, but someone had to do it. Well, if the truth be told, it wasn’t actually required but it was a valuable glimpse into the future, capturing the minor changes each year brings to the Downtown Keene, New Hampshire pub scene. Luckily the Kindergarten Friend is an internationally recognized expert on that scene, so we were in good hands. I tried to follow the agenda we will explore on November 16^th which meant a pre-crawl lunch at 5 Guys.

The Intrepid Recon Team at Penuche's

Kindergarten Friend and I Stepped out of the Nuche 
The Kindergarten Where we Met 64 years ago is Behind Us

After the essential text tormenting my kids about passing by the location of the kindergarten I attended (my son’s response, “this is the worst!”) Keene Friend and I linked up with the Kindergarten Friend at Penuche’s Ale House, the first stop of the crawl. In the past year we learned that one of our dedicated crawlers, despite being a lifelong resident of Keene had never been to this auspicious location, always joining us later. You know who you are! I anticipate severe peer pressure over the next month to get her there for the crawl. Hopefully they’ll mop the sticky floor and get the flies eradicated from the rest room by then, but of course, this is part of the charm of the ‘Nuche.

The Lab

Modestman

Then we ambled up to Main Street for the Lab ‘n Lager. Here the Kindergarten Friend proposed adding an optional stop 2A in addition to the Lab. Across Main Street a cigar bar resides. Since I have never and will never smoke a cigar, I’ve never explored the location. We agreed that some of our fellow crawlers might not be so biased and could break off to smoke a cigar while the main group occupies the Lab. Moving down the street, we arrived at the Modestman Brewery which features the only craft beer offerings on the crawl. In other words, another location I may have unwarranted biases against. We will still keep it as Stop #3 because the Kolsch was pretty good.

At the Pour House, Meant to Take a Picture at Every Bar
Couldn't Find the One form Kilkenny's
I Took One. Honest.

We walked out the back door of Modestman to arrive at one of my favorite stops on the crawl, Kilkenny’s Pub. They still don’t accept credit cards but had new cheap t-shirts, which I ended up carrying for the rest of the recon. The next planned stop was fraught with danger. Walking around to Railroad Square we approached Madame Sherri’s, a new bar. It occupies the former location of the fabled beer towers of Scores, the well-remembered final stop of the first few crawls. It’s had three different bars in that location since Scores lamentably closed. The newest one, named after a famous house of ill repute from the 1930s in the western hills above Keene, the ruins of which served as a party location for my generation in the 1970s. This new bar is LBGTQ friendly which I guess is what used to be called a gay bar. I hadn’t been in one of those since 1979 in Frankfurt, Germany when a friend and I thought we were doing really well with a couple gals when they invited us to their favorite bar. We entered to find ourselves the only males in a very crowded and decidedly unfriendly (towards us) bar; but that’s a story for another day.

Madame Sherri's

I was interested to see what old Scores had evolved to but when we entered, the staff said the bar didn’t open until 4PM. With only three of us we were moving faster than the crawl will so that timing will work on the 16^th. We decided to return after checking out the Pour House. While enroute there we noted that Local Burger, which we usually stopped in for a mid-crawl snack has closed. There was a sign saying it would re-open on July 18^th but it didn’t list a year. I love reaching the Pour House as it is located on Central Square and offers awesome views of the city, including the rotary around the common where Keene kids learn how to drive and are therefore never intimidated by traffic circles, having survived the crucible of Keene’s Central Square. Our group was momentarily distracted by well-endowed neighbors before concluding our recon of this, the final stop. We added to the momentous finish of the crawl path by making the traditional inebriated call to the PCR. We caught him in his car, but he deigned to speak with us and proclaimed he would not be making the trip north to join us for the crawl this year. We demanded to speak with his wife, the real brains of the operation, but he claimed to be a long way from home. After we hung up with him, we called her directly only to have him walk in from the garage, putting his long-distance assertions in doubt. He will become another target of peer pressure over the next month as we hope to get them back where they belong on November 16^th.

Central Square

The Kindergarten Friend had to return home while Keene Friend and I retraced our route to check out Madame Sherri’s. Madame Sherri’s will definitely be the cleanest stop on the crawl, and we were warmly welcomed by the staff. It was a little jarring to see the former televisions playing sports removed and to have table clothes in place, but it was still the place I remembered so well. The bar staff was warned of our planned November 16^th arrival and were pleased to hear they had made the cut. After finishing our beverages there, we made our way across the street to Margarita’s, the last recon objective. This is where the post crawl party usually forms up after declaring victory at the Pour House. They were removed from the crawl itself for poor bar service during an earlier event but serves perfectly as a final dinner destination for the crawlers. We were able to coax the Favorite Panamanian from her shopping spree at this point to join us form dinner.

Dinner Time

We returned to Keene Friend’s house  after dinner to watch some college football. At least that was the plan. An afternoon long recon, however, can be physically taxing as the photo below demonstrates. My wife was amused enough to take this photo while my friend and I conducted an inner eyelid inspection. We had a really fun and productive day. This morning we breakfasted at The Pub and then walked up the street to catch the annual Fireman’s Parade, a well-remembered event from our youths. Seeing the Keene High marching band was entirely nostalgic. I now consider the battlefield for November 16th properly shaped for a successful crawl.

Recon Recovery

Waiting for the Parade

KHS Marching Band

Two movies fell in the A-Z watch, both keepers: The Marine, John Cena’s first movie and an agreeable action/comedy combo and Marley and Me, schlocky but endearing look at canine love.

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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; 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; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Recon Saturday

Tomorrow is an important day. My Favorite Panamanian and our children are rolling their eyes at that last statement. My career in the infantry taught me the absolute importance of an effective recon before attacking an objective. Since 2013 I’ve done a birthday pub crawl in my hometown, always accompanied by my son and assorted friends and family. What, in all seriousness, can those last two statements be related, you might rightly ask. Well, the birthday rolls around again (as they seem to increasingly do with disturbing speed) in a little over a month. Every weekend after this before that time is spoken for, so, the much-needed recon to confirm the correct sequence of bars is required.

Tomorrow, with the dedicated assistance of Keene Friend and Kindergarten Friend, we will follow the projected path to confirm the pubs in question are up to the challenge. The reason for this involves the number of people involved. While the first crawl involved only a few people, it has grown over the years as the stalwart member of my high school class have decided to join the festivities. It resembles a mini reunion at times, which, of course, only adds to the fun. While I usually don’t have to buy a single beer during the crawl, being my birthday celebration, it is still one of the most expensive days of the year for me. That’s because my Favorite Panamanian isn’t much for the pub crawling so she devotes her time to tax free shopping and joins us at the end when I’m in too good a mood to object to her purchasing spree. So. Important day tomorrow up in Keene. If any high school buddies want to join us, I’ll be posting from each bar as we progress.

Three movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: Man Who Invented Christmas, very fun look at Dickens writing the Christmas Carol; The Man Who Knew Too Much, Stewart and Hitchcock together again, with Doris Day singing Que Sera; and The Man Who Would be King, arguably the best buddy film ever made, Caine an Connery were perfect for their parts.

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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; 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; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Choppers

I’ll start this out by saying although we technically live in Worcester, our neighborhood is incredibly quiet. Yesterday afternoon I was out on Deckzilla, minding my own business (sort of), when I noticed there were a bunch of helicopters circling our hill.  It was almost like being back at Fort Campbell with the omnipresent choppers passing by. These, however, were news helicopters which meant something newsworthy was happening nearby. I figured it was some sort of traffic accident on I-190 which is just down the street. I was almost right. I checked the news channels and there was nothing on so I figured it wasn’t that sensational. I was wrong.

House Where First Shooting Took Place

I-190 Completely Snarled

It turned out there weas a shooting down the hill, on the same street that eventually becomes the one we live on. The news alert said there was now a guy seen brandishing a pistol on I-190. I didn’t mention this to my Favorite Panamanian because she would have had me filling sandbags to fortify the house; I did lock a couple doors though. Eventually we heard that I-190 was closed in both directions at the height of the rush hour. I told my wife at that point that someone had to be dead because that extreme measure would only be taken in the event of a fatal incident requiring thorough investigation. The Neighborhood Mafioso stopped by with the update. She is wired into the neighborhood as few people are. She related that a guy had been shot just down the street and the assailant had run onto I-190 where he had been shot by police.

Shooting was at Where Heroult Road is Pointed At
Our House is on Same Street near Bottom of Map

That turned out to be almost correct. The only difference being the guy had aimed the pistol at cars on the highway and tried to carjack a couple. I’m thinking he wasn’t much a brain surgeon because trying to jack speeding cars on an interstate isn’t exactly brilliant. He exchanged some shots with police and eventually shot himself. The road was closed because of the police involved shooting. So. Excitement. The guy shot down the street eventually died from his wounds. It was kind of surreal as the local news channels started broadcasting about the incident and we saw our house a couple times as they panned back. We always watch the 6pm news (I know, we’re dinosaurs) but there was the trusty Channel 5 news lady broadcasting live about quarter mile down the street. They’re still there today.

Mary Saladna just Down the Street

The Neighborhood Mafioso said the people who live in the house just moved in a couple months ago. It’s strange because that’s the route I always take when leaving the house and pass by it at least two or three times a day. Again, a really quiet neighborhood where you nod to the people as you pass by, never thinking this kind of violence would take place. Worcester has its share of problems, but they are, for the most part, centered around the downtown area of Main Street South and the public housing neighborhoods. I’m psyched because I believe in the law of averages. This is the kind of thing that happens in this neighborhood maybe once in a generation, so, we’re all set for the foreseeable future. I still love living in Worcester.

Two movies fell in the A-Z watch, both keepers: Man with the Iron Fists, RZA may not be able to act but this is a great homage to kung fu movies and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Guy Ritchie does a credible job capturing the cool of the 60’s TV show.

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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; 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; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Dude Abiding

I am at an age where sad news inserts itself into life with increasing and unwelcome frequency. That happened again yesterday when I learned our handyman, the venerable Deckzilla Dude, passed away after a short illness. He was a true character and an artist when it came to his profession. I christened him Deckzilla Dude because he built our immense deck from scratch in just a week and threw in a back door to our garage at the same time which has made our life so much easier over the years. I was surprised at how deeply this latest loss cut, despite not having spoken to him in months. I was walking around the house performing our semi-annual window washing. I do this because of my Favorite Panamanian’s unfortunate history with window mechanisms precludes her involvement (outside of pointing out how poorly I’m doing it).

R.I.P. my Friend, You Will be Missed

Creating Deckzilla in 2015

As I walked around thinking about the Dude, I realized there is very little about our home that he wasn’t involved in. In addition to the deck, he replaced all the floors with hardwood, installed the kitchen sink, and constructed the new master bedroom addition over our garage. That last, immense project was probably too much for him at the time, but he refused to stop and we couldn’t be happier with the results. We found him through his lifelong friendship with the Neighborhood Mafioso’s husband. We walked over to their house after dinner to share some laughs and memories of the Dude with them. I’m going to miss his devilish smile and sheer artistry with carpentry, a good man and a significant loss to those who were fortunate enough to know him.

Finished in Just a Week, Along with new Door on the Left

The Addition he Created

I was channeling my own version of handman earlier yesterday when I received my latest Amazon acquisition, a set of battery powered, motion sensor lights. The stairs down to the basement have never been adequately lit, which is bad news for someone who’s getting into what some describe as his senior years. After I put them in, I was astounded that they worked as advertised. I walked up and down the stairs a couple times just to see check them out. My wife wasn’t as impressed as I was but agreed it was a valuable addition.

The New Lights

Knocked out a couple movies this week. I know. Huge surprise. We saw It Ends with Us on Sunday. I was a little distracted by Blake Lively’s out of control hairdo for a lot of the movie but other than that it was an excellent look at abusive relationships. What made the message so powerful was the understated way it manifested. This wasn’t one of those Lifetime movies where the abuser is the epitome of evil. Justin Baldoni, late of Jane the Virgin, has an almost too nice a screen presence for that part, but, again, that actually adds to the message as well. It was also shot in nearby Boston which is always a treat. Lively doesn’t get enough credit for how good an actress she is, and she proves it once again here, despite the hairdo.

Today we went to see Megalopolis. This is supposed to be Francis Ford Coppola’s magnus opus, so there was no way I was going to miss it. He renames NYC as New Rome with a heavy sci fi themed plot, including one of the character’s ability to freeze time. I liked the sometimes-subtle references back to the Roman Republic and the obvious lesson for our society facing challenges that could send us towards fascism as the Republic eventually did. I know this was conceived decades ago but there was a very clear connection to Trump’s Maga movement with film’s worst villains. The movie was a glorious mess, jumping around, but I loved it and I’m not sure I can adequately explain why. Beautifully shot with Adam Driver proving more than adequate to carry the movie as the leading man despite being surrounded by an all star cast. I loved it but too many will dismiss it as a vanity project. I saw a lot more substance in it than I was prepared to encounter. A good movie.

Three movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: Manchester by the Sea, gut wrenching with so much humanity; Man of La Mancha, O’Toole could do anything and then there’s Sophia in her prime, Yikes!; Man on Fire, Denzel carving up the screen as Creasy, avenging a kidnapped girl in Mexico.

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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; 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; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course