Miracle in Boquete

I bought a 1970 Fender Telecaster guitar in Fort Madison, Iowa in 1974, while we were on the road playing music. Or better stated, trying to play music and doing a marginal job of it...except Yella, of course, who was always great.

Ever since I bought it, it was missing a knob for the switch used to change between the different string pickups. This was an inconvenience because the post for the knob was sharp and would cut or nick the hand while playing.

A few months ago, I found the missing knob on line and ordered it. But it didn't fit, so I pounded it onto the post...breaking the switch.

Yes, I know, I am not the brightest bulb in the box.

So I sent away for a new switch and got it. Hurray!

But how to get it installed. I could risk it and take it to one of the Chinese electronic shops in David but that seems a little risky. This is a VINTAGE guitar! Not something to be trifled with.

I asked around to various friends who have the skills to do this. But I got no nibbles on anyone willing to help me. Damn!

So I was walking through the Do It Center in David today and found a $5 soldering iron and decided to do it myself.

This is always risky because I am all thumbs.

I went slow...prepped a work area...got all the stuff out...made sure the dog was out of the way...drew a diagram of the wiring and started.

With a few missteps, I got it done.

And plugged the guitar in and NOTHING.

I opened it back up and re-traced all the wiring, wiggled the soldered connections and tried it again and it WORKED.

I have no idea why it worked on the second try. I didn't change anything.

So I have my electric guitar back. Yippee!!!

Next topic...

I notice that this month has the smallest number of blog entries of any month since I started Adventures in Panama over a year and a half ago. Hmmm????

Granted, last month was active with the last play and all.

But, have I run out of shit to talk about?

I don't know. We will see. I am not taking any action, like quitting the blog because I simply don't know if it is over or not.

Except for one thing, I feel settled into life in Panama.

The only thing missing is a sense of purpose in life. I have always had something that I was responsible for like owning and running a business.

I miss having a purpose to wake up to every morning. And I am looking for one. Nothing yet.

We will see...

This has more to do with adjusting to retirement than living in Panama. I would have had to deal with it in Colorado too. And this is probably a better place to start retirement with all the other folks in the same boat.

Great Music

I was once again struck by the fantastic music available in a village in a far corner of a 3rd World Nation. And the music was good last night!

I met a friend at breakfast, as usual, and we talked about going out to Ruinas for dinner and music last night. That lead to inviting another couple to go, too.

So off to Ruinas at 5 pm to where Yella and the Fantasy Jazz Band were playing.

This is a restaurant that has taken the area by storm. The chef knows what gringos like. And he produces it at a great price, with consistent quality (this is unheard of in Panama) and good service.

I love the tuna, when he has it. He buys sushi grade tuna, freshly caught early that morning, from the fish monger. The fish is cleaned and prepared in the parking lot.

The tuna is seared...hot on the outside and cool in the middle. It is so good it melts in your mouth. It comes with rice and salad, all for $10.

No tuna last night, though. I had the corvina (sea bass) sauteed with onions, served with rice and salad. For the unbelievable price of $7.50. It was good.

This restaurant has a thatch roof with open sides. It is round, about 80 feet in diameter, and can hold maybe 100 people.

The band started and the sound was really good. Most buildings in Panama are concrete and tile which makes for terrible sound. The thatch roof and open sides made for a crisp, clear sound.

The band was as good as I have ever heard them. With the great sound.

And spectacular food.

Then the torrential rains started. This is normally an issue because the roofs are metal and the rain is LOUD! Not here with the thatched roof. We did have to put up with a few leaks though. I guess thatch roofs aren't perfect.

The rain was a whisper. Visually, there was water everywhere. With the music and food...

What a night!

A cool, torrential night with friends, food and music...wow!

Nightmare with Broadway Review

Who would take a part in a Broadway Review, singing a duet, if you can't sing?

I am stumped because I sure as hell wouldn't do it.

But that is what happened.

3 weeks ago, I met with the piano player, director and my partner for a broadway duet song to figure out the key for the song. In lay terms, that means how high or low we will sing the song.

The piano player plays the intro and my partner starts to sing...no I can't call it singing and I don't know what to call it because it was so bad...and misses the opening note by at least half an octave, never gets close to the melody in the first verse and makes it impossible for anyone else to sing their part. Granted, I'm not a proficient singer myself, but I can at least hit the notes.

Not this time.

When someone is singing, no, making a-tonal noise, in your ear, it is difficult to hear the piano and find the note, so I miss my lead in notes too. Grrrrrr!!!!!!

We rehearse the next week and it is even worse. For God's sake, why would anyone try to sing a song when they can't sing?

We rehearsed again last night, with all the dancers and such, and get to the song part and, you guessed it, no go...my partner missed the notes by a half octave and I couldn't find mine.

The director now is refusing to even discuss this with me because I am so pissed about it. As I open my mouth to say, "this is rediculous..." she starts to talk over me to shut me up.

F#@$%!

Now even more nonsense starts.

One of the "dancers" and I use this term loosely because he must be 80 years old and 150 pounds over weight, is deaf and can't hear any of the directions. So the director is now screaming the dance steps out so he can hear.

Another couple, literally 90 years old, starts to collapse during the rehearsal from exhaustion...we were standing for a few minutes.

Now, I have a lot of room for the older people to learn slowly and participate, even though it is, well, too strange to imagine. But at some point you have to say, "enough!"

I sooooo regret the day I agreed to this part. It is only 5 minutes long and may require more rehearsal than the entire play I was in earlier this year.

And, who knows, we will may NEVER sing the damn song. We may have to resort to talking the "song"! Of course, it will not be a song anymore because THERE IS NO SINGING. You see a song is sung. Am I getting too simple here!!!!

Oh, how I hate to make a fool of myself on stage!

First Guests in Casita

The poor economy has slowed the flow of guests from the US to Boquete. Consequently our casita has been empty. Originally, we expected 4 or 5 sets of friends by now, but most have postponed their trips because of no money.

Our first friends arrived last week. (Since we have been in the new house.)

We have known for months that they would be arriving. But, as life goes, we didn't do our final check of the casita until last week, only to discover a roof leak resulting in mucho mold.

Yella cleaned up the mold and I mounted the roof, armed with Fastil, a heavy, plastic paint designed to seal the screws heads that are used to secure the metal roof to the beams. I didn't think I would find and seal the leak but, much to my surprise, it worked.

Our friends arrived and the party was on!

It was interesting to watch their perspective of Boquete and our lifestyle.

The first few days were socked in with low clouds, rain and fog. As we drove through town, they were not very impressed...the unfinished buildings, the litter, the lack of architectural design.

And there were no comments about "maybe we could do this and move here."

On there last day, after 2 sunny mornings and less rain and clouds, they noticed that they liked it better and thought the town was prettier. And there was a little talk about "we can work from anywhere over the Internet so maybe we could do something like this...can we come down here for a month and rent something?"

These folks are travel savvy, having lived in Europe for 6 years with plenty of side trips into the less developed areas. And they are familiar with "adventure" travel vs. "resort" travel.

All is necessary to appreciate Panama, or any 3rd World Nation.

We had a blast hanging out with them and showing them around. Much to their credit, they were easy to entertain and hang out with. And they had an appreciation for what we have done so far.

All in all, a great visit!

I'm Not a Home Body

Two days waiting around the house for this #$@#$%!!! fence to be completed.

It is not wise to leave the house while workers are present. So many things can happen...or get done in ways that are unfathomable to us...

So here I sit...and sit...and sit....and sit...

I have done some Honey Do things while waiting.

I attempted to patch our leaky casita roof. While on the roof, I couldn't see any visible reason for the leak, so I sealed everything. They have a material called Fastil which is a plastic, thick paint. Apparently it works in the intense sunlight near the equator.

Then I moved on to replacing 4 light bulbs. Not much work you say. Well, we have high ceilings, requiring an eight foot step ladder. The first step is to clean it off since I have been using it outside in the mud. Then, thousands of bug carcasses must be removed from the light. covers. There are an unimaginable amount of bugs, all drawn to the light. No difference in bugs or people.

Then, of course, the wrong size bulb is inserted in the fixture. Just to keep things interesting!

It is now noon and I am still waiting.

Next topic...

We have friends visiting from the US. They are bringing a teenager to attend a Spanish school and live with a local Panamanian family for 3 weeks.

Should be a blast showing them around and visiting.

Yella will have to miss the first 2 days of their visit. Her jazz band is playing 2 nights in Coronado, a Pacific beach resort close to Panama City. Doesn't it always go that way? They have not played an out of town gig in over a year, and now, when we have visitors, they get one.

No way to miss it though...Yella is too instrumental to the band to miss the gig. If she doesn't go, the band doesn't go.

It is looking like the dog will not get trained in the new electric fence before Yella leaves. Too Bad. It would be good for the dog to roam freely around our finca. With in the fence of course.

Well, I'm off for some more sitting.

Big Unsolvable Problem

We have a chicken eating dog.

That is a problem for our farmer neighbors who have chickens running loose. The dog plays with them to death, then leaves the dead chickens around to rot.

In addition, our dog is fiercely aggressive with Panamanians and Indians who walk our farm road a couple of times a day. One little girl in particular is terrified of the dog. (This is a rescue dog that was severely abused by Indians and Panamanians when she was a small puppy)

Now, for theft deterrent, this is ideal and THIS WAS THE REASON we got her. However, our neighbors have reached the end of their rope and they demanded that we do something about her.

I agree with them. She is causing too many problems and we are not good neighbors with her running loose.

So, the solution...an electric fence to contain her.

Oh, this sounds so simple. Well, let me tell you, it has become such a huge problem that I have been loosing sleep over it.

And I am not happy.

The fence installation has dragged on over 3 months and two continents. We were told the parts for the fence were not available here so Yella had to wait until her return to the states last month to buy the energizer.

When she returned, I hooked it up. No work.

We troubleshooted it...had some friends who know this kind of thing troubleshoot it. Called people who have installed them.

Nothing.

We then went to David and discovered another store...and found the parts that "couldn't be found in Panama." This really pissed me off. We lost 2 months waiting for Yella to return to the states to buy the part.

I installed the new energized and...no work.

I spent the best part of 2 days trying to fix it. I now have over a week of troubleshooting and fixing with no results. And the money is mounting up.

No work.

We have to keep the dog on a chain or inside. This is a large, hyper active, outside dog. I feel bad when the dog is restricted on the chain and I don't like being inside with a demanding, active young dog. Plus my dog allergies are slowly getting worse.

I am so frustrated I could scream!

And I am loosing sleep over it. I am not happy.

And, there is no solution in sight.

Shit, do you need a PhD to install one of these fences?

I think so.

The Pizza Nazi

We have world class Italian food.

Problem...I think everyone in town, except for a couple of recluses, has been thrown out of Papa Rico's restaurant.

A couple of years ago, Yella and I went into his first place. It was small and hot. I asked the waitress for a chicken dish. She said, "we don't have it." I said ok and order a salad. At that point, Rico comes out of the kitchen and says, "Get the F$#@! out of my place...no salad!"

Well...he is Italian, and from the Bronx, and I guess that's the way they do things there.

He is famous for throwing people out if he doesn't have what they want...or any other reason. Got figure?

Well, as it turns out, he has a little drinking problem which generates his infamous attitude.

Problem...his food is so good that everyone braves a trip back to eat. This, of course, exposes you to the possibility of being thrown out. It is worth it.

He is on his 3rd location. The first two places were a little pricey but so good no one really minded.

His pizza is world class. The sauce is magical. The crust perfect. And more garlic than you ever want to eat.

But his best stuff, from my perspective, is his Italian sausage which is absolutely the best I've eaten. It is made fresh daily from an entire pork shoulder roast...lean and spicy.

But possibly even better is the lasagna. It is actually LIGHT. I don't know how he does it! Delicious!

Rico is now on his 3rd location and I think he has got it right.

It is a small, maybe 12 x 15 foot place with 2 tiny tables, so most of his business is take out. He lowered his prices, so much so that much of his business is Panamanian. They don't spend much money on restaurants so it has to be cheap.

And it is.

$1 a slice for pizza. Most people eat one slice, I eat 2. They are large slices. Two slices of pizza and a soda is $2.75. The best food for under $3...hard to beat.

By the way, he only has Coca Cola...that's it...don't ask for something else...you know what happens.

A whole pizza starts at $8, 2 toppings at $10. These at 17 inch pizzas.

Saturday is lasagna day. Wednesday is spaghetti day.

The best part is that Rico has quit drinking. No more getting thrown out.

Amazing how that works...such a simple solution.

Another Review for El Grande de Coca Cola

The monthly bi-ligual newspaper ran another review of my last play. I thought you might enjoy reading it.

Billed as a “comedic musical revue” to be performed in Spanishlish, I had no idea what “El Grande de Coco Cola” was going to be like. It turned out to be a whacky, silly, slapstick performance that was VERY funny. Produced The Chiriqui Players, with Jim Hatch as director, “El Grande de Coca Cola” showed six nights in June at Tammy's Restaurant.

The restaurant was decorated as a down-at-the-heels nightclub with all things Coca Cola, very festive in a very tacky way. Dinner was included in the ticket price with a choice of a falafel or wood-smoked chicken. (I had the falafel, one of my favorite items on Tammy's menu).

Pepe Hernandez, a third rate empresario played by an exuberant Henry Spierer, decides to put on a musical extravaganza, sponsored by Coca Cola and starring members of his family. A group of very talented local actors, Henry Spierer, Marni Craig, Pam Pankratz, Tom Werder, Julian Bonfiglio, Conner Craig and Paul Day—many who are known for their theatric and musical talents—play very bad “estrellas,” who have no musical or acting abilities. Pepe's family can't sing, they can't dance, and they can't act. They sing loudly and badly, bump into each other, fall over each other, and compete with each other for the spotlight. The audience had great fun, hooting, hollering and in some ill-mannered instances, throwing paper wads at the actors on stage.

Although the show was in Spanish, Spanglish, German and some French, the English speaking audience didn't need to be able to speak Spanish because so much of the show was physical comedy—and the bad Spanish amused the Panamanians in the audience. My favorite acts were the Jugglers, the first part of a very silly story about Toulouse Lautrec, a German version of the “Twist,’ Blind Joe Jackson, and the wedding ceremony. The actors were all high energy, very animated, and gave their all.

Pepe will be taking his show and his “parada de estrellas” on the road, when “El Grande de Coca Cola” opens in Bocas del Toro and at OTEIMA University in David.

Chiriqui Productions has now been a part of the Boquete community for over a year. During that time, it has brought us high quality performances using actors who often have had no previous acting experience. No mean feat indeed.

Look for another production of the Chiriqui Players in August or September entitled “Lettice & Lovage.” If past performances are any indication, “Lettice & Lovage” is going to be a show that you won't want to miss.

Monkeys!

I was reading a book on my bed yesterday afternoon with the rain beating on the roof, when the dog started to go nuts trying to get out the back door off the bedroom.

She wasn't barking, just dancing in place franticly. I looked outside. It was raining hard. No dogs or indians.

So I let her out...into the driving rain.

She went straight for the creek and was looking up. I didn't pay much attention at that point.

Then I heard a different type of chirping. There have been thousands of parrots in the area and they are NOISY. But it was a little different.

Then I saw something drop about 10 feet through the branches, high up in the trees. That got me out...barefoot and in the rain.

And sure enough, I was looking up at a white faced monkey!

I called Yella and we both started looking and saw a dozen or so monkeys playing in the rain.

What a thrill!

Monkeys used to be everywhere, then they were killed for food and left the region. They are starting to re-populate here. Our neighbor saw them last rainy season but we never did.

The monkeys are back!

There is something magical about a monkey. And to have them in our own back yard is simply amazing.