This and That

There is nothing pressing on my mind to write about, but of course that doesn’t mean I won’t rattle on about something. Right now, it’s just daily life, mostly music and coughing. A cold has made its way though the band until it finally got to me, and the cough hangs on and on and makes it hard to sleep.

The music, however, is going really well. The more I play the more comfortable I am. The audience and employers alike have been very positive and enthusiastic. There is a Panamanian bass (and guitar and piano) player who is beyond amazing. The other night he went out of his way to compliment me. That meant a whole lot, coming from him especially. I see a trend which I really like. The musicians, both gringo and Panamanian are coming together, supporting and helping each other, and becoming friends. It’s a nice feeling of community.

We have outgrown our car though. The Hyundai Atos that we like so much will be on the market soon. With both of us taking equipment it’s packed like a 3-D jigsaw! If any of you are interested in a well behaved, inexpensive around town car ask me for details.

Otherwise.. my daughter and her city of Santa Rosa are starting to recover from the fires. She is part of the effort of finding housing for displaced people and says it is very frustrating. There are something like 6000 homes destroyed, but no place to house all these people. It’s going to be a long hard road to recovery and the city hopes it doesn’t lose many of its young working families, people vital to the culture and functioning of the city.

Here in Panama we are in the height of rainy season. Some days are hot and sunny, but by afternoon there are usually clouds moving in followed by rain. Do your laundry and errands in the morning! There are some days with no or very little rain and others, like yesterday, where it felt like the sky had opened up. Those big downpours don’t last long though, and then settle in to a steady rain through the evening.

So, just life, chores and errands, hanging out, playing music while it rains, going to the gate to find a pot of flowers from the neighbor, petting the dog who thinks she must be no more than six feet away from me at all times, and waiting for the latest bananas to ripen. Mi vida difícil en Panamá.