boxing class

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One of the things I have been doing since return is extending my workout with my boxing class.  To say the least it is I am not your basic prototype class member, I am older than most of these guys fathers, and not as heavy as nearly as all of them, ---  and probably will not fight professionally (you can go ahead and make that a certainly will not).  Several of these guys have boxed professionally and plan to again.  

Mornings are my workout time now.  Used to be lunch hour.(well actually a long lunch hour- I stayed late at work to compensate )   Now that is not a problem and the workout a little more intense and the class not your basic lunch hour crowd- obviously.  

for your reference I am second from left, Manuel is the short guy in the front and Keith is the big bald headed guy back right.  He fights MMA.  My coach is fourth from left and between us is Shelly, a guy from my church.  yes it is a small world.  We did not realize our common interest nor our shared church until I met him at a church dinner.  (we had been going to different classes until one day one of us attended a different boxing class and lo and behold- small world.)

for your information, I am working hard at not losing my balance when I attempt combinations and really pay attention during defensive drills.

back and doing summer things --

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Visiting family is a big summer thing and shortly after I got back to the US of A was to do just that.

Janet hosted a family get together as my cousin Dave, her brother,  was  here with some of his family. They had come "down South" to visit.  A highlight for me was getting to hold a baby girl, Dave's granddaughter.  See below.  We got along very very well, and it should be noted that I like to have small children to play with.

Dave, with grandson,  was here with two of his children and his two grandchildren.  We had a wonderful evening at Janet's and enjoyed breakfast the next morning too.   

 Another thing since back in the US of A is a couple of trips to the farm.  The cows continue to lounge the early evenings just off the back deck,

 and here mother cow and daughter calf, show strikingly similar poses.

 a strange guy with camera no matter how careful, can rouse a skeptical cow from rest.

 of course the barns and equipment do not look so good.

 cleanup is well underway and reconstruction should start fairly soon.

and I have more summer things to be doing too.

few last things

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The gym is in a transitional neighborhood.  There are some very poor people and very wealthy who are fixing up the old houses and moving into the area.  One of the things that the gym is doing is teaching some of the neighborhood youth to box.  these three are three of the younger and most fun to watch.  You know who is one of their favorite teachers.  He is a little loud - they like that- a little energetic- they like that - very large - they like that- seems to genuinely like them - they like that- and when he boxes himself, works hard and hits the punching bag very hard -- and they like that too. 

The effort is there, just the concept of following instructions I think a little new- as is right and left hand- notice below- , and so it is a hoot to watch them try oh so  hard.- and the little boys do want to get it right.--

the guy who has been coaching me also coaches these boys and I have worked with these kids some too.  One afternoon,  I saw one of them (the small one top left) on the street as he was coming home from school, we fist bumped, as boxers do, upon passing, and you should have seen him smile.-- me too.

And now for a quick random subject change -- see this four flat tire abandoned van.  it is parked on our street just down from the apartment building.  Patt and I noticed it looking kind of forlorn and wondered how long it would stay.

Well actually it is a food preparation station.  This woman serves meals from it all day long.  Another van comes by with refills for food during the day.-- things are not necessarily what they seem.  Construction workers from all around come in droves.

Continuing the not what they seem theme, -- Take for instance this group of women with me below.  They look a little wild, and crazy.  They are not.   It is actually a book club.  Serious book club.  Yes indeedy this very day was their first meeting and Stephen and I happened by towards the end of the meeting, well they insisted and so I was in a picture with them.

As the book club meeting was to continue, Stephen, another husband and I went down the street to the " Cuban Bar"  - right behind me - - inviting looking place, huh, -- and so who did I get to take the picture.

This guy did.  One of the Presidents honor guards for the presidential palace which is just a couple of blocks away.  (This is absolutely the shortest soldier I saw while here.)  But a serious one.  One more for the I'll talk to just about anyone category.  Spanish is not my second language yet, but we are working on it.

And the inside of the place, -- real interesting too.  not your every day kind of place you would find in a mall or outparcel or some uptown place, but it would do really really well in any of those places.

Family photo of my hosts much of the time I was here

And my goodness but this has been so nice.

I look forward to a quick return

a fire

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Yesterday the barns burned

Yesterday the barns at the farm where my wife grew up burned.  Down.  An electrical junction box apparently started the fire and barn, equipment and hay are all gone.  But a lot more than that is gone.

The barns were special to me and I know they were to Patt and her family.  Her Dad built and worked in those farms, her brothers and their families continued to work in those barns, Patt and I worked in those barns with our children.  We did the hay rides out of those barns and her sister and brother-in law worked in those barns.  They were symbolic of so very much and hold so many many memories.

Picture above taken from drive looking toward the left side barn from the house.  Photo below looking at same silo from pasture outside of where other barn used to stand.  The shed was in the middle.  They were adjoining structures.

Picture below is of 1961 John Deere tractor.  A wonderful powerful tractor that had worked many many years and was forgiving enough to allow me to learn to drive a tractor and farm equipment on it.

(Fire photos received via email from family back home)

same left side barn and silo in photo below.  Hay was usually stored in this barn.

The barn to the right of the configuration and from which the hay rides originated.  

and of course the shed in the middle, housing calfs at the moment of this photo

Taken Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010, view from behind

also Christmas

Above mentioned tractor on a happier day last Thanksgiving in the middle shed.

other equipment was in the shed

and hay was in the barn

I so enjoyed riding that tractor and doing farm work, that on professional presentations I made when I was with the State, the photo below (taken by Patt one summer day) was used -with contact information- as my sign off screen.   (If you look closely you can see me driving that '61 John Deere cutting grass. )

As I have worked on this post to my blog, and I reckon worked is a good term to use here, tears have come to my eyes many times.  Finding these old photos was not as easy as one would wish, (one I even went to the internt for).  and working on the words is even more difficult.

I think the photo above is one of my favorites.  Crossing into the farm lot from the house and garage area, (note cattle gate in foreground, with fresh cut hay and tall hay yet to be cut incorporates such promise and wonder that was held here.

-- as do the cows- 

boxing - a big part of my time here

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of the many things I have enjoyed here is my time at the gym that Stephen is a partner in ownership.  I think there are four or five guys that are together -- anyway it relocated here about the time of my arrival in Panama.  

It is at the end of a narrow -- they all are -- street in Casco Viejo that dead ends at the waterfront -- right behind the car parked at the end of the street here.  the gym parking lot is in a courtyard to the left just in front of the car.

I actually started boxing over a year ago back home.  I was  recruited by the boxing coach there after my weight training coach left the gym where I have had a membership for several years.  Immediately, I really started liking it - a lot.  This is Edwin, from the Darien Province of Panama, my coach here.  We have enjoyed one another's company beyond just coach student as we have talked a lot about Panama, the USA and his home province.  He has helped me a lot with Spanish as I have read out loud to him and such.  He is very patient.  He has to be to talk to me in Spanish.  

and I really can sorta make this bag hum.  Not quite like Ali, but I do not fall down trying either.   Which I might add is a start.

Often if I stay late enough, this couple shows up.  Normally, since I ride a bike I like to get home before dark -- and since they both still work -- I sometimes have left before they get there.

Here Jen is hopefully getting here right hand up a little higher before Edwin whoops her upside the head.  It is an effective teaching method.  I wear a mouth piece as sometimes I bob when I should have weaved.

Jen skips rope like one of those kids at a Wake basketball game with the exception of the flips.  and seemingly goes on for hours.

and below is view from the porch of the gym.  The photo above does not capture it.  I took the photo below immediately after the one above.  The historic fort is in the distance.  Well actually the whole place is historic.  The gym is in an historic school.

Stephen not only does boxing and kick boxing and jujitsu - a kind of wrestling --

and here is me trying to hit the mitt of Edwin and keep the other glove up.  It is harder than you think.   The reminders are a whoop upside the head-- it took me a while.

One afternoon at low tide I walked out into the bay.  Here is the gym, part of the town and fort.  The gym is to the left.

and a closer view of the gym --the five windows in the middle on the bottom floor are on the gym porch.  High tide comes under the gym and I think the water is about three or four feet deep where I am standing.

and below is a look back towards where I was standing.  Actually I was a little to the left of this photo at the end of the sand bar.  (the rest of the bay is hard volcanic looking rock and cinder looking rock - no mud).    I was trying to get in the picture the person that is walking back towards the next neighborhood.  If you look to the right top of  the tidal pool you can see the reflection of the person walking.

 In the background is the Causeway.  It is impressive to see the big ships coming in and out of the Canal there.  Straight out from the gym of course is the ocean with the ships waiting to enter the canal.  Also interesting.  It has been really nice to work out here.

Casco Antiqua part of the commute

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One of the several -- and there a several very enjoyable parts of my "routine" days here is the part of my bicycle commute to the gym that is through Casco Vieajo or Casco Antiqua.  I enter Casco directly from the Cinta Costera after passing a president's office checkpoint.  (sometimes the guard signals me not to enter and so I go another route.  Assuming I have entered.  This is looking backward -- or forward on my way out of Casco.

I then turn up a small alley -- see bicycle -- I used photo edit to brighten the picture so you could see the bike-- unless the sun is directly overhead it is not to bright in this alley.

Cross this street below into the next alley.  

Again using the "brighten" edit feature on my photo manager program I adjusted the photo below.  The dog is sniffing around a cleaned up pile of garbage that is normally there.  Bike handles in foreground. This alley is a garbage alley between restaurants.  I did not find these alleys coming into Casco, but did while looking for short cuts on the way out to avoid traffic jam, road construction, and various choke points that occur from time to time.

Pop right out of the alley into the main square.  Pretty isn't it ?

Alley entrance is right behind, Armbruiester Bravo.  I gave him his photo the other day and we exchanged names.  Not sure I got the first name right, feel pretty good about the second.  He was obviously delighted.  A waiter, in white jacket, watched and participated in our discussion as to whether or not he was good looking, it was two to one that he is not.  We had a good laugh and he went to show others in the square his photo.  I also figured out his job.  He saves parking spaces for people.

This is the entry to the garbage ally which discovery really simplified and shortened my ride.  Looking closely at the photo you can see tall buildings that are on the other side of the bay.  Hence even I could figure out here is a way out of this maze of streets that all look alike -- and they do.

Below is a better view of the main church in the square.  Really quite impressive.  This is not by any means the oldest square or church in Casco.

Another street on the commute and getting close to the gym.  And actually I realized I do not have a photo of the street that the gym entrance is on.  Subject for a future blog and a little about the gym perhaps too.  I have really enjoyed going there.  And of course riding through Casco.  When there is no traffic it is really nice to just ride through the streets as I have done  numerous occasions.  Including out to the old fort where we all went when we were together prior to Stephen and Jen's wedding.  Actually it is just a few blocks from the gym, so no big deal there