Passing Time in Panama

Well my late arrival, and the even later arrival of my golf clubs and clothes are well behind me and I've been enjoying a relaxing time on the beach at Bijao, Panama, near Santa Clara.

The days have fallen into a simple routine of golf in the morning, before it gets too hot, a bit of a nap, lunch, another nap, a dip in the pool, a walk on the beach and a cocktail or two before dinner.

The temperature here is in the low to mid 90s for you American types and around 32-36C for my Canadian compatriots. So it's good to get the golf out of the way early in the day. When I first arrived I was after my brother-in-law to find an 18 hole course. The one at his place is 9 holes. Well, I tell ya it's all I can do just to finish 9 holes. So that's just as well.

Things move slowly in Panama. Case in point: the air conditioner in the living room blew and my brother-in-law made arrangements to get it fixed last Saturday. Last Saturday the repairman called and said he'd be by this morning. He hasn't arrived yet. We all have air conditioning in our bedrooms so sleeping's no problem but boy it's hot in that room during the day! You might just as well spend your time on the balcony.

Speaking of which "Mom", my 82 year-old mother-in-law, and I like to spend a little quality time in the late afternoon out on the balcony, she with her gin and tonic and me and my cerveza. This is an interesting time of the day. You see she speaks French and I speak English and I think the more we have to drink the better we understand each other.

The view from the balcony

This morning I took a stroll down the beach and watched the sun come up. Here are a few pics. I may not want to go home, guys.

My Back Pages - October

Well, folks, I read seven (count 'em) seven books in October. One I didn't finish but even at that I hit the magic number 50 I estimated for myself by the end of the year. The six books I successfully waded through were, firstly, What Happened, Hillary Clinton's book on her bid for the Presidency. I''m a bit of a political junkie so I get off on this stuff but still it kinda struck me as one long whine over losing. Next up was the excellent Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon. Laurel Canyon was the fabled area outside of Los Angeles where many musicians and artists lived. Known as a 60s enclave, the book takes a look at just who lived there over the last 80 years. A fascinating read. Next up was Lightfoot, a biography of Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. He may have been responsible for some iconic folk songs but he was also quite the womanizer and boozer. Enough said. Then I read Dan Brown's new tome Origin, the fifth ...

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

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