Hoo boy…. by Dean

Hooo Boy

Political rant sort of thing at the end. Fair warning.

Property update: We have signed the final papers and are just waiting for the funds to transfer from our bank to the Seller’s bank. Once she has all the money, her signature will finalize things and we will own it outright. We went out to the property yesterday to check out the dock and water depth to see about where to put the sailboat. We met Victor, the groundskeeper, and our new dog Luna. She comes with the property.  We met her on the real estate tours, but this was a nice one-on-one. She’s super sweet and should mesh with Shady nicely.

Finca Coconut main house

Inside looking towards the water

This is how we got to the property… We bought a panga. A good sized, 18ft narrow boat with a 30hp motor. It’s the style that all the locals use. We made the trip in about a half hour and used about 3 gal of gas back and forth. Gas is $5/gal here, so about $15 for the round trip. We bought wood to make a nice floor and will get that made in the next day or so. I’m getting better at driving it. It’s a different mode of steering and motion, so it takes some practice. Jodi is up next so that I’m not the chauffer and she can come and go as she pleases.

November is a big deal in Panama, and not just because it’s my birthday month.

Nov 2 - el Dia de los Muertos – not the party type of day but a somber memorial day

Nov 3 - Independence Day, or Separation Day, from Columbia

Nov 4 – Flag Day

Nov 10 – beginning of independence from Spain

Nov 28  - Independence from Spain

Basically, don’t mess with Panamanians in November, lol. There have been dry days, local bands from the community and schools marching the streets, parades, and lots of flags and parties.

Parade practice

Jodi arranged a gathering here at the marina for my Birthday. It was super fun and I shared it with another guy here. We split our cakes with everyone. I was also gifted a bottle of my favorite rum. <big smiles> Good times were had. In the pic below, there is a wee bit of the brownie cake left on my plate. It wasn’t there for long.

Fun tidbits:

There are very large toads here. I’m not sure the name of them but here is one of the smaller ones. The larger one we saw was twice as big, but I didn’t have a phone with me. I’ve been told that there are toads that spit and some that are toxic to dogs. We don’t mess with the toad.

Shady loves to tease the other dogs and then gets the zoomies. Cutest things ever.

Shady with her friends

She also is a biter. LOL

Bite bite bite

I may be a dog whisperer. I don’t know how this happened.

Luna

Liza

Ugh … Politics. I’ve been rather depressed and grumpy since Wednesday morning. There was utter disbelief at first. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that so many people could support a man that is just so vile in so many ways.

How easy it must be to live in a world where you can conveniently separate the person from the deeds he has done or from his “personal life” and just vote for policies. Not that his policies are very different from his basic hate speech or fear mongering.

I’ve seen a lot of posts about how Trump voters will get what they deserve or will come to realize that what they have done is wrong. But the crux of it all is that it doesn’t matter if those things happen or if they are even true. The damage has been done.

There have been many parallels drawn between Hitler and the Nazi movement to what is happening in the US now. The truth is that with this election, we have allowed the ultra-conservative minority to grab power and the effects will be long reaching for years, even if they are ousted next election cycle. The general Republican base and the gullible are to blame for the shift. They would rather see this person in power or believe that they will get some short-term gains, than see a progressive (not even that progressive) Democratic woman as President.

“But you got out and you’re in Panama.” Yes, this was a part of our decision to move away. But we still have loved ones there. We still hurt and worry and fear for many people we know and many we don’t know.

What it boils down to is that They will do whatever they need to do to protect their own and their way of life. And while on the surface that doesn’t seem bad, consider that what We do is what is needed to make sure that Everyone has the same rights as we do to be able to pursue a good life.

Don’t take my laid-back nature for granted and assume weakness. I will stand as needed. And when I do, you will see my mettle.

This guy has a great explanation on why we feel so broken by this: https://www.facebook.com/reel/591678193280424