FBR Eve

Helping Dad Shovel

I will once again shamelessly depend on one of my granddaughters to quell any weekend loneliness. I leave early tomorrow for a trip to New Jersey and some quality time with the FBR and apparently Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. As you can see from the attached pictures the FBR fully enjoyed the generous amount March snow they experienced down there this week. Her mother and father had a date night in the big city last night so there was no nightly FaceTime call. I’ll be delivering the pile of Easter related gifts my Favorite Panamanian purchased prior to flying south for the winter’s end for the FBR.

Lunch With Dad and Then Throwing Snowballs at Him

Repping the Pats in Jets Territory

I was able to connect with my Favorite Son and the BRS last night. The BRS seems more alert every time we talk. She was sitting in the ABFA’s lap and I’d like to think she managed the ghost of a smile when she heard my voice. It was more probably gas but this is how grandfathers think. She had her first round of shots yesterday which she was fairly indignant about but quickly settled down afterwards. The ABFA’s mom was on station to assist in the grandparenting department.

The Annual Rattlesnake Roundup

I ran across this picture in my wanderings about the internet this week. It shows one of the “benefits” of being selected as Miss Texas. As I laughed I couldn’t help but think how my wife will react she when she sees it. She is deathly afraid of snakes (a healthy attitude for where she grew up) and won’t even look at the TV screen if a snake appears. We were leaving the officer club in Kansas one evening in the 1990s when I spied a five foot long snake crawling across the parking lot. As any good infantryman would do I immediately picked it up to show her. This resulted in about three weeks on the couch. If she reads this and sees this picture I can almost imagine the gasp.

Dodge a Storm

The Joy of Drinking Milk Straight from the Cereal Bowl

We’ve got the Nor’easter reaction pretty much down to a drill around Worcester after three major snow storms in as many weeks. We were told to expect 8-12 inches of snow which seemed like a minor inconvenience compared to some of the earlier efforts. The weather prognosticators struggled all day to explain why we weren’t getting any snow but promised overnight we would get smoked. I awoke this morning to find barely two inches on the ground which doesn’t even qualify as an inconvenience. I'm not upset, we've more than earned our winter merit badge over the past month.

My daughter, Wingman, and the FBR were not so lucky down in New Jersey where the snow we were scheduled to receive did arrive. You’ll see from the video that the FBR is a big fan of the white stuff which means the gringo blood may be finally taking hold after the thin tropical blood of my Favorite Panamanian kept both herself and my daughter assiduously out of the cold. We’ll just have to cure the FBR of making her grandfather an immediate snowball target as soon as we’re out together. My snowball dodging days are rapidly coming to a close. We had a fun talk last night where we did some intense planning for my weekend visit. I believe I committed to a watching of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer with her.

BRS Ready for Action

I had less success with my Favorite Son. He was kept a little late at work and promised to call me when he got home. That call never happened. It’s almost as if having a one month old baby in the house can be distracting. As you can see from these pictures the BRS is well armed to serve as some serious attention competition. I can completely understand how more important tasks intervened. She seems to grow more each day. I had Keene Friend bunking at the house last night in anticipation of our missing storm and we had some quality Man Cave time with silly horror shows and superhero movies.

Sorry Grandpa

Mom and Dad were Busy

My wife celebrated her sister in law’s birthday last night and had a very good time. If I know the sister in law at all I’m can state with certitude that some of the conversation was fairly ribald and involved my wife’s geographic distance from me. My wife apologized for “having” to travel to our condo today. Facebook daily sends me the weather report for Las Lajas. The forecast today shows a high of 95° and a low of 75°. There is a chance of cloudy skies later today so she’ll have that to contend with.

Panamanian Birthday Cake

Dinner Out

Birthday Girl

Meeting Engagement

FBR Hangs with Wingman

Yesterday was one of those days you cringe when it appears on the calendar and not just mentally. I was scheduled for the monthly meeting with my customer where we compare how the company did with actual revenues and expenses compared with the budget over the past month. This is a monthly torture session where I have to be able to explain any deviation, good or bad. Because this wasn’t enough fun my CFO is out of the office with a serious illness which meant her assistant, just a couple years out of college, had to put it together, high adventure indeed. While that went well I still had two additional meetings to “look forward” to.

Public Meeting

We had another public hearing on potential service cuts due to lack of state funding where I anticipated the Voice of Inappropriate Worth would be in high fettle as well as a union organized public rally at city hall protesting the governor’s budget. The public hearing was held in Worcester’s main library and I felt better as soon as I walked in the door. As a dedicated bibliophile I’ve enjoyed walking into any library for as long as I can remember. I still recall as a very young lad the marble stairs of the Keene Public Library that I would rush up upon arrival to reach the children’s section with my mother trailing far behind. The denizens of Worcester Main Library bear no resemblance to that well remembered refuge of my youth with onsite police to keep the idiots well behaved. The hearing went as planned and there were some actual cogent comments that I believe cowed the VIW from their usual diatribes so I considered that a win.

City Hall Rally

I wandered across the street to City Hall and was greeted by a very large crowd for the rally for public transit. I was impressed at the drive and passion of a group of the younger drivers who formed a committee to garner support for better funding for public transit outside of the Boston Metro area. They even coaxed a number of local reps and senators to show up and speak. I was particularly impressed with a candidate for governor, Seti Warren, someone to keep an eye on in the future. I was actually fairly proud of the group and despite being besieged by the far left radicals these type events seem to attract in untenable amounts (actually had a bona fide communist come up and try to recruit me - unsuccessfully) I enjoyed my time there. That is until I could no longer feel my feet as the first day of Spring was anything but spring like.

FBR and Friend at Day Care

This week’s Nor’easter is blowing through today as we’re only supposed to get between 4-8” of snow which is cake walk compared to the past three weeks. I laughed this morning when the morning news reported that the nation’s capital was paralyzed by the threat of 2-6” of snow. I less than fondly remembered my winters in Virginia where it snows every year and seems to surprise them, every year. I’m so glad to be back in place that can handle it.

Caption Says it All

My daughter took my less than subtle hint yesterday about the lack of FBR photos and provided the attached evidence of her continued pulchritude. As depicted in one of the photos the FBR is being brought into the fold on the mysteries of Girl Scout cookies. I really miss the shortbread ones and have to dodge the hucksters outside the grocery store weekly if I have any hope of not sinking to the bottom of the pool each morning. I caught up with the New Jerseyites last night at dinner time where the FBR rather emotionally insisted on being the one to open the ingredients for dinner. Two year olds can be very effective negotiators. I should say emotional negotiators. My wife was feeling a little better down in Panama. I’m more than sure shopping was involved in that recovery.

Craft Time

Croft Time

I was back at the movies last night to see Tomb Raider. I was pleasantly surprised at this reboot as the filmmakers decided to go away from the focus on mammary endowment and short shorts to cast a really good actress as Lara Croft. Alicia Vikander is superb and kicks some serious ass in a more realistic hero than the over the top Angela Jolie versions. While I’m sure the adolescent male target audience of the original video game will be disappointed at the lack of shirt movement Vikander dominates both physically and emotionally as a daughter seeking a long lost father in the wilds of an ancient island temple. She’s ably supported by Daniel Wu who got out of the Badlands long enough to serve as an able partner to Croft’s wanderings. Goggins, who’s usually so good as a bad guy, sleep walks through his performance as the villain. The action as exciting even with the usual abundance of CGI and that’s a tribute to the great shape Vikander obviously got into to play Lara. A nice re-boot of the character with a more able and believable actress in the title role.

Mystery Spring

Granddaughter Fix

I was under strict orders from my Favorite Panamanian to hang her spring wreath on the front door today to mark the arrival of that season. She issued these orders shortly before departing for the tropics and following a weird February that saw temperatures in the 70s. Of course that was three (and counting) Nor’easters ago and I don’t think she anticipated having to peer over snow banks to see this announcement of spring. Apparently Mother Nature didn’t get the memo because we’ve got another 10-12 inches of snow scheduled to arrive tomorrow with this week’s Nor’easter.

So It's Spring, Sort Of

The tropically displaced spouse checked in last night to recount her latest adventures with our condo. Yesterday’s issues involved mirrors. My wife is of the stated opinion that no wall is complete without at least one mirror. She was aghast when we moved in to learn that not even the bathrooms were equipped with them. I can understand it in her case since she doesn’t face the same challenges I do when gazing into a mirror but that’s another subject. I was treated to a five minute dissertation on her machinations to fully furnish the condo with an appropriate level of reflective glassware. Unfortunately she awoke this morning with symptoms very similar to a malady I came down with a couple years ago in Panama involving a fever and some technicolor yawns.  I’m hoping she feels better today since I’m sure there’s more decorating afoot.

In Laws at the Fair

Along with my Favorite Panamanian

View from our Condo Yesterday - Still Pulling me South

I also spoke with the FBR last night who was in high fettle as she supervised her parents at dinner time. She refused to be instructed in the proper way to eat a burrito deciding her chosen technique of nibbling around the edges until the contents all spilled out was more effective. She also promised to send me some pictures but apparently the camera must have been buried under a pile of falling burrito debris. Luckily my Favorite Son came to the rescue with photos of the BRS so my granddaughter fix was achieved.

Looks Good, Even when Sleeping

The FBR didn’t want to end our conversation when she learned I had to leave to go to the movies. It’s hard to turn her down when she proclaims I can’t depart since she still wants to talk although this desire seem to only arise when I do have somewhere to go. I should have listened to her because 7 Days in Entebbe was terrible. Most people don’t remember the days when hijacking of airliners was fairly routine and in this film we are asked to forgive the hijackers. This is a millennial trying to in some way justify terrorism and failing spectacularly. The Israeli raid on Entebbe is one of the most iconic wins in the war against terrorism and will go do in the annals of military history as one of the most daring, highly successful operations ever. In something I’m still trying to understand there is a weird dance sequence spliced throughout the movie, including during the raid itself. This was a great story of civilization finally standing up to the barbarians at the gate and this film wants to minimize it. I’m sorry but seizing over 200 people at gunpoint and threatening their lives isn’t worthy of sympathy, much less even a modicum of respect. Thankfully, although masked by that weird dance, the terrorists did earn their doom in the abbreviated climactic raid. Stay away from this, this epic story is much better told through the late 1970s made for TV movies. This was trash.

Thunder Run to BRS Time

Thunder Run Gang

These times I’m abandoned by my Favorite Panamanian I usually look around for something to keep me occupied. I may have just about overdone it this past weekend. Since it was way too cold and the yard is still buried under a couple feet of snow I decided one of my patented thunder runs back to my home town was called for. Keene Friend graciously agreed to host despite being assigned caretaker duties for two rat sized “dogs” of another friend. We figured we’d be up against some serious crowds with St Patty’s Day celebrants along with March Madness in full swing but we walked into our favorite sports bar and had the place virtually to ourselves.

Pub Crawlers Behind us

Last of the Green Beer

We later learned that the local college was on spring break which explained the dearth of novice population. Over the course of the afternoon a couple parties of St Patty Pub Crawlers traveled through lending color and enthusiasm. The very best part of the day was the assembly of friends who made time to hang with us. We were joined in short order by the Cantankerous Friend, my best friend from kindergarten, Keene Friend 2 and his wife as well as several others. The green beer was consumed in suitably mass quantities as we convened to solve the world’s problems and occasionally check in on the basketball games liberally televised around the room. We singled Keene Friend 2 out for being seriously married as he showed up in matching sweaters with his new bride.

Keene Friend 2 and the Mrs. With their Matching Sweaters

I believe when you’re still young (something I obviously cannot be accused of) you take the assembly of friends and times like these for granted. Now that I’ve reached the august number of years I’ve accumulated I really treasure and truly appreciate these times with lifelong friends back in my hometown. There’s a bonding that growing up together indelibly marks you with. It’s the same type of feeling you have with cousins. I need no further evidence of why it is important to get together in that part of our conversation that afternoon involved two high school classmates who seriously dated for most of high school and who both passed away in the past couple weeks. Time can be such a bitch.

Being Measured by the BRS

3 Generations

I arose Sunday morning only mildly worse for the wear. I’ve got to stop eating spicy chicken wings late into these thunder runs. After a stately breakfast at Timoleon’s, a downtown Keene landmark, I trekked across the state to see my newest granddaughter, the BRS. I was greeted by a very enthusiastic Riggins who didn’t appear ready to relinquish his role as the biggest attraction at the house. My Favorite Son was on BRS duty following a feeding and the BRS was in what has become her signature grumpy mood. She was looking at her father with a certain amount of disdain as he tried to coax a burp out of her.

I was struck by how much bigger she seemed, forgetting that happens at this age. She can now focus a lot better and I was administered one of her piercing judgmental looks as I held her for the first time since she was only a few days old. The ABFA reported the BRS seems a lot crankier than some of the peer babies which I interpreted to mean that she’ll have a lot of personality, something of a trend with my granddaughters. I showed up with some whoopee pies and a fruit plate, knowing my audience and hitting both ends of the food spectrum, health wise. I only spent a few hours there since the parents were as decisively engaged as most new parents are and I had the usual full gamut of responsibilities back home to get ready for the work week.

New Buddies

They Both like to Nap

I did get a full report from my Favorite Panamanian who called from our beachfront condo extolling how warm the water was. I wasn’t ready to hear that but I was glad at least one of us was down there enjoying paradise. I also received some very good news from New Jersey where both of the sick ladies were fully back on their feet and in the case of the FBR, dancing. It was so good to see both her and her mother clear eyed and having totally vanquished the nasty colds that were dealing with last week. Wingman also looked entirely relieved to have finished up his resident nurse duties.

Alrighty Then

FBR Back on her Feet with Her New toys

I’m excited to reach the end of another work week because as dedicated readers of Frail Deeds know – it marks the First Friday of the Week with attendant ceremonies. It’s been a busy week as I divested myself of my wife who fled for tropical temperatures one day ahead of a massive snow storm. I felt good about the way Worcester and my workers handled the storm but it can be draining. Yesterday I attended the monthly board meeting where the Voices of Inappropriate Worth made their usual nonsensical ramblings. It could almost lead a man to drink. That is, if needed to be led.

My wife reported in from Panama where she’s been running around catching up with friends and ferrying her mother to the series of medical appointments she always has. My wife feels a little guilty that she lives so far away that her siblings have to do this for most of the year. Since the snow has been melting for three days now I told her she could now complain about how hot it was down there without recrimination. I’m journeying north this weekend for St Patty’s day in my hometown and then a Sunday visit with granddaughter #2. The BRS seems to be growing incredibly fast and I don’t want to miss seeing this up close. As you can see from the pictures she’s already got guys hitting on her.

Dealing with Future Prom Date

The FBR continues to bounce back from her cold and associated lethargy while my daughter fights her own cold. She worked from home yesterday and had a couple of very important conference calls which were a challenge with a re-energized two year old in the background. The FBR contributed a heartfelt scream to one of the conference calls which did nothing whatsoever to endear her to her mother. The FBR received the get well gifts I sent in the form of a Dora the Explorer doll along with whatever that monkey that hangs around Dora is called. You’d think after all the Dora we’ve watched together I’d remember.

I finished the first book in a new series I embarked upon with Marching with Caesar: Birth of the 10^th Legion by RW Peake. I’ve always been fascinated with ancient Rome and especially Gaius Julius Caesar. This series follows two young men living in the Roman province of Hispania who volunteer to join the legions and take part in Caesar’s campaign to conquer Lusitania (modern day Portugal). The hero is Titus Pullo who is a very large young man who seems destined for greatness (and he better be if the series revolves around him). It’s a fascinating look at the organization of the Roman legion, the training, and importance of the non-commissioned officers - the centurions. I really enjoyed the read and am already on to the second book heading north with Caesar into Gaul.

As my daughter and Wingman no doubt predicted the MoviePass card is burning a hole in my pocket and I was back at the theater last night to see The Hurricane Heist. One of the most interesting aspects of this was seeing if the British and Australian actors could pull off deep Alabama accents. Toby Kemmel, who can do anything, was the winner of that contest while Ben Cross should stick to South London. Kemmel along with Jason Stackhouse play two brothers helping treasury agent Maggie Grace thwart a massive theft taking place under the cover of a huge hurricane. This is pure popcorn and you should have suspended any disbelief when you heard it was made by the Fast and Furious crew. It’s a fun ride as the good guys use a category 5 hurricane as a weapon against the thieves. There are plot holes you could ride a super storm through but Grace and Kemmel make an interesting pair and you could do a lot worse if you want some senseless action flick with great special effects.

Table Topping

Re-Energized FBR

I spent most of yesterday involved in a table top exercise put on for my company by the TSA. I was dreading this because the other ones I’ve been involved with ended up being a bunch of government bureaucrats sitting around contemplating their navels for no discernible benefit other than their travel expenses. I was therefore very surprised and almost elated when it turned out be a highly effective and well run exercise. They involved everyone from the bus drivers and mechanics all the way up to the political leadership. They ran a very credible scenario which was spookily brought to life with some very real seeming news reports about a terrorist attack on one of our buses. I was impressed and it brought home the reality of today’s security environment to everyone attending as we walked through what our responses would be to these seemingly real events.

The FBR saw the doctor yesterday who provided some anti-biotics to treat her persistent cold and by the end of the day it was starting to pay benefits. I had a nice long talk with her mother last night where she said the FBR started exhibiting some of her trademark energy late in the day, conveniently just before bedtime. Since my granddaughter had already bequeathed the same cold to my daughter this return to form wasn’t greeted with the expected enthusiasm. My daughter is working at home today as she fights her cold and is trying to figure out how to do a couple of important conference calls with the re-energized FBR flying around. They caught me going out the door this morning with a surprise FaceTime call the FBR demanded. Possibly the nicest surprise imaginable – even when she then refused to talk with me.

Newest in a Long Line of Family Chuggers

My Favorite Son has run into a problem with the BRS in her bottle training effort. She’s too good at it and this after only a few days. The problem apparently stems from an inborn ability to excel at chugging. She put away 2 ounces of momma’s milk in less than two minutes last night. I make no claims whatsoever as to where she inherited this ability to chug from but any of my compatriots on the annual pub crawl can draw their own conclusions. Her dad wasn’t as justifiably proud as I thought he would be since the chugging leads to increased gas and spitting up. As with most things I guess a different perspective is needed and this falls into being a grandparent is so much more fun than a new parent.

My new MoviePass was re-energized last night as I went to see Gringo and not just because that’s a role I’ve been fulfilling for the past 36 years of marriage. I’m mystified as to what the filmmakers were attempting here with a vastly over qualified cast. I think they were aiming for a very dark comedy a la Kiss Kiss Bang Bang territory but they failed miserably. David Oyelowo is fantastic and very likable in the main role of a Chicago pharmaceutical executive with his life imploding around him during a business trip to Mexico. Despite their lofty credentials the only other cast member that stood out was Charlize who was doing her usual mass consumption of scenery. She is just so good and worth watching the movie just to see her play one of the bosses from hell. There was fertile ground for comedy but none of the other characters were allowed the space to develop and Sharlto Copley was completely wasted in a role he was born to excel in. A trite conclusion did nothing to rescue this mediocre mess.