Putting Around in Panama

I was taking things easy Tuesday. It's my chemo pill day so I stuck close to the condo and didn't play golf with my brother-in-law Jean-Marc and his friend Christiane. It gave me time to read up a little on Manuel Noriega. You know, the former military governor of Panama who was trained by and worked for the CIA, ran drugs, killed people and now wastes away in jail after finally being extradited to his homeland after trials and jail terms in both the United States and France? Yeah, that's him.

Noriega not a happy camper when captured.

Did you know that when the Americans invaded Panama in 1989 and surrounded the Vatican Embassy where he was holed up in an operation called "Nifty Package" U.S. Navy Seals blasted rock music at deafening levels in an attempt to get him to surrender? Do you know what song they played over and over again? I Fought the Law and the Law Won by the Clash. It must have worked. He surrendered.

On Wednesday, I fought the golf course...and I won. With Tuesday being a wash out and in outings previous to then I never finished all 9 holes, yesterday I managed to complete the course. The temperature here is in the mid 90s, so unless you start early the heat'll really get to you by about the 6th or 7th hole. Well it got to me. But yesterday we started at 8am...my brother-in-law, his friend and my nephew Pierce.

For a 9 hole course, this is pretty challenging. Here's a few shots.

Look at that friggin' water hazard I had to hit over!

Nephew Pierce seems to like the beach.

Christiane seems to like the water.

More water on the challenging par-3 7th hole.

Jean-Marc and Christiane on the final hole.

You know I'm awfully spoiled. It's just not gonna be the same when I get home and have to go the indoor Golf-O-Max and hit balls up against a video canvas.

Oh, well.

Spring is almost here.

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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