My Favorite Panamanian and I journeyed
down to New Jersey this past weekend to confirm if her dancing genes had been passed
down to the FBR. This will be my month
of granddaughter dance recitals and this was the first. While I love watching the
granddaughters in action, the recitals are akin to some diabolical torture
invented by a truly sadistic mind, except of course, when my granddaughters are
on stage. It’s testament to my deep, abiding love for these gals that I willingly
submit to these sessions.
 |
| 3 Generations of Pulchritude |
We tried one of my old tricks to deal
with my traffic nemesis, the benighted state of Connecticut’s highway system.
That trick involves shooting the gap between the rush hours on a weekday, in
this case Friday. My prior successes with this strategy was not realized,
however. The usual 3.5-hour trip ended up being an hour longer but had the
requisite prize of arriving at my daughter’s house to be greeted by her and
Wingman. My daughter and wife took off almost immediately to pick up the FBR
from school. I had had enough time in the car at that point (Connecticut does
that to me) so I got to hang with Wingman.
 |
| FBR Zooming at Pizza Place |
The FBR arrived in tears after learning her
planned sleepover with a friend had been canceled when the birthday girl came
down sick. Her morale recovered when my daughter offered the chance to go to
the movies with us to see the latest animated release, Lilo and Stitch. Speaking
of genes, my movie watching genes have clearly been inherited by the FBR. While
the movie was forgettable, the time with my daughter and granddaughter was not.
Before the movie, we walked down the street for the obligatory Friday night
pizza. A new pizza place opened just down the street and became a big favorite
for them.
 |
| Movie Time |
While we were there, I made my usual attempt
for a selfie capturing the table. The FBR, who was zooming around the parking
lot on roller blades, pulled up and told me she would take the photo. After we
all assumed our best poses, she claimed to have taken the photo. When I checked
the results, she had snapped a picture of herself and glided away laughing when
I discovered it. I came down Saturday morning to find the FBR, an early riser,
had found my phone and I was now the proud owner of forty-seven selfies of an
early morning FBR.
 |
| My Attempted Photo at Pizza Place |
 |
| FBR's Photo of the Table |
 |
| 1 of the 47 Selfies I found on my Phone |
She had to rally for a dress rehearsal
for her dance recital. We linked up with her and my daughter for lunch at a favorite
eatery that specialized in breakfast offerings. While I was little stymied by
the very specialized menu (nothing like the simple fare I adhere to), I saw an
old friend, who rode to the rescue. Anyone who spent any time in the Army knows
what SOS is, the last two letters stand for “on a shingle”. You don’t need much
of an imagination to guess what an infantryman would insert for the first
letter of this delicacy. Anyways I had a biscuit with gravy (turkey instead of
Army beef) and I was reminded of so many breakfasts in the field back in the
day. Hot meals were rare in the field but I can remember rushing by the table
to score a couple pieces of toast with the milky gravy laced with beef (at
least I think it was beef).
 |
| Saturday Lunch |
Saturday evening called for the other
big event of the weekend. Tomorrow is Wingman’s birthday and we celebrated it, in
accordance with his wishes, by going out to dinner at an exclusive steak house
(you can see why I like Wingman). Roots Steakhouse is a NYC type steak house in
nearby Summit, New Jersey. While the prices were certainly up to NYC levels,
the night was so much fun and the food more than worth what we paid. We had a very
entertaining waiter who made the evening even better. When he learned we were celebrating
Wingman’s birthday, he provided a complementary, huge sundae that the entire
table partook of. After an immense steak and probably more than my fair share
of that sundae, there is no truth to the rumor that I had trouble getting my
belly behind the steering wheel for the ride home.
 |
| FBR Reading at Saturday Dinner |
 |
| Wingman with his Sundae |
 |
| Great Steak Place |
 |
| That Sundae Again |
Sunday was recital day and the FBR didn’t
want anyone seeing her costume ahead of time. The recital took place in a high
school theater. We were expressly warned that photos and videos could not be
taken during the performance which I thought was kind of silly but abided by
it. I was “lucky” enough to have an older lady sitting in front of me who
brought a booster seat which combined with her “tall” hair meant I had to lean
around her to see the stage. We had just sat down when my daughter informed me
that the FBR’s dance was in the 27
th group, according to the program.
I have mentioned before how much I “love” these recitals, didn’t I? My Favorite
Panamanian has a much better attitude about these things and thoroughly enjoyed
the parade of acts which he thought were “so cute”.
 |
| FBR in her Dance Costume |
The day and my attitude were completely
rescued when the FBR marched onto stage. My daughter had tried to temper my expectations
but saying the FBR was the only in her group that had only one year of classes.
That made her performance all the more remarkable. She was clearly the best
dancer in the entire group. The only one in synch with the music. The kid also has
stage presence. I know what you’re thinking. I am understandably biased when it
comes to granddaughters but she really was the best in the group and smiled the
entire time, like she knew it. So, her abuela’s dancing genes have been
redeemed in the FBR’s along with Wingman’s performance abilities. A very long
afternoon waiting for this golden time, but, in the end, more than worth it.
 |
| Very Proud Parents with the Star |
 |
| Equally Proud Grandparents |
We stayed in New Jersey to test another one
of my Connecticut amelioration tactics. I’ve found leaving after 7pm will
usually mean Connecticut has pretty well cleared up by the time we pass
through. Everything went according to plan until about 20 miles short of Hartford
where the interstate went from three lanes to one. Connecticut pulled this
trick when it realized I was making near record time. The hold up was only for about
twenty minutes but still more than unwelcome. We were home by 11pm and I was still
smiling, thinking about how well the FBR had done.
 |
| Wife's Vast Garden Complex Starting to Bloom |
Three movies fell in the A-Z watch, two
keepers and one ejection: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief – silly story
but saved by great cast and interesting connection to Greek mythology;
Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters – less likable sequel
but still has Daddarro; The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of Yik Yak – couldn’t
remember why I have this, probably to see Tawney Kitaen naked, been there done
that, supremely stupid French movie, eject.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 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; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course
