Dinner at Tracy's

I went to the city a few days ago, picked Tracy up at the Hotel Las Vegas, did some shopping and brought him back to stay the night here in El Valle. He had never been to the house before and was very impressed. In the process I retrieved my camera, so now I have photos from last week's dinner at his house in La Chorrera.


Above (and below, for that matter) is Tracy in front of his house in La Chorrera. He bought an unfinished, Panamanian-style home and spent a good chunk of money renovating it. He has a fairly large property to go with it.


A slightly closer view. The taxi belongs to Nelson, who you will see in a moment.


Tracy with Brooke and Nelson, a married couple. Brooke is from Toronto, Canada, and Nelson is Panamanian. Tracy met Brooke at the airport on his first visit to Panama, I believe. She is five months pregnant and is planning to return to Canada to have the baby.


Notice the mosquito bites on Brooke's arms. My arms were just as bad. This was right at the beginning of the dry season, when the insect population seems to explode almost overnight.


Tracy's water tank. He has city water, and it is stored in the tank to create pressure.

Bill Brunner, All in Fun

Sunday afternoon I went to Bill Brunner's place for another Christmas dinner. Bill and his son Adam own a bed & breakfast called Los Nances, perched on a hill above El Valle. It has a hunting lodge feel to it, lots of timber and glass, and a well-stocked bar where, naturally, I get myself a Diet Coke on the rocks.

The lodge was populated with an odd assortment of characters. Joe and Lori from Oklahoma, now living here in El Valle. Susan, a writer who moved to Panama in order to live cheaply while she self-publishes and markets her books. Norm, an old Zonian who loves to talk. Dorothy and Olga, two very elderly sisters (85 and 92, I believe) who used to own Los Nances. Olga lives there, while Dorothy lives and continues to work in the city. Dorothy is very light on her feet and has an excellent memory, whether you're talking about some incident last week, or a department store in Colon in the 1930's. Apparently Dorothy's father was a Cherokee Indian who came to Panama and married a native. She grew up in Panama and speaks English and Spanish fluently, as do Norm, Bill, and Bill's two children Adam and Holly, all of whom were born and raised in Panama.

Bill has a booming voice and likes to make provocative and borderline insulting comments. I think he knows he's being a bit of a jerk, but to him it's all in fun. If anyone were to get angry I think he'd be surprised, or maybe laugh it off, I don't know. He was telling us Dorothy's history, how her father had immgrated to Panama and gotten into real estate, and then he called Dorothy over and said, "Dorothy, wasn't your father a big slumlord in Colon?"

Dorothy frowned and said in a very even tone, "He was a property owner. I don't know that I'd call him a slumlord."

On another occasion Bill complemented Adam on the black shirt he was wearing, saying, "You look very slim in that shirt."

I said, "Adam is slim."

And Bill says to me, "I should stand next to you so I'll look slim too."

So that's Bill. On the other hand he is thoughtful, efficient, and was kind enough to invite me to dinner, knowing that my family was away.

All of which has nothing to do with this joke he told, which is not offensive to anyone, and which I will tell in the next post, so tune in tomorrow.

Lights, Action... Well, Lights Anyway

Wow! Though I may be alone, I am not in the dark! Adam's team has finished the majority of the electrical work. All the lights are functioning, our new refrigerator is plugged in and busy refrigerating, and I am back online, obviously. I am able to run several different appliances at once with no trouble. So far so good. I don't cross my fingers or knock wood, but I say, Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah in every case.

There is still work to be done. In particular the lines running to the air conditioners are substandard and will need to be replaced, which will necessitate tearing the walls open in all the bedrooms. In addition the water heater must at minimum be cleaned out, and possibly replaced. Next week, or sometime, or later.

I have been invited to Christmas dinner at Tracy's house in La Chorrera on Sunday. An atheist inviting a Muslim to Christmas dinner, isn't that a riot? Ridiculous, but kind. And the Brunner's have invited me on Monday, perhaps because I am employing their services, but maybe also just because they are nice people and they know I am alone right now.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Laura and Salma again. Only nine more days, Insha'Allah.