The New Team

When I was a kid, and really up until recently there were only two pro teams that I hated – the LA Lakers and the New York Yankees. While my dislike of the Lakers runs true today (maybe even more so now), I have changed my stance on the Yankees. Yikes.

What happened? Well, about a week or so ago I was talking to my dad, when he asked me if I had seen how the Dodgers were doing this year. I told him, I did, but the team I was now following was the Yankees. After a few seconds of awkward pausing, he belted out “the Damned Yankees”. For a second I felt like I had betrayed my father. Meanwhile, I’m sure he was worried about a lot of things that could go bad for his boy while down here, but I’m sure he never foresaw this doomsday scenario.

So I had/have to explain myself. Or at least try. Prior to coming down to Panama, a friend’s dad had been down here some for business and he told me that everybody is a Yankee’s fan, because Mariano Rivera is from here. I have found this to be pretty true, but there is a mixture more so now than there was ten years ago when the Yankees won their World Series’.

The first family I lived with down here, the dad was a Yankee’s fan. While I impressed him by rattling off last year’s roster for him, I wasn’t sucked in. There wasn’t enough time.

Fast forward to me living in my community, and my good friend who lives across the street who is an older gentleman that is Yankee fan. He and his family own the little store that sells various things to our part of the community. Each morning and afternoon, he’s in front of the store with his Yankee’s cap on while watching the day’s proceedings. I always make it a point to stop by and chat with him each day.

And inevitably we started to talk about baseball. I told him about my one trip to Yankee stadium, and from there it bloomed. Now with baseball season going on, each day I ask if the Yankees won or lost. He fancies himself a big fan of the team even if he can only name Rivera, Jeter and depending on the day ARod, but he’s in the game. These conversations have brought me to where I’m at today, always wondering if they won or lost the night before while secretly hoping they won.

I’m not proud of it, really. But to make amends for my wayward ways I’ve converted my friend into a fan of…


…so you know it’s not all bad.

The Frisbee

With the rainy season now here, baseball in the afternoon has started to dwindle. While it is a shame that the games have gone away, it is even a bigger shame that playing soccer started to fill the vacuum that was left behind. And in my book that is a big no-no. I just don’t get soccer. I wanted to try to get more into it while I was down here, but it’s just not happened.

So I started to think of other ways to try to stay active and in touch with the kids in my community without having to play soccer. When I was home in the states, my friend Holly bought me a nice Frisbee to take back down here. A couple times, I would bring it to the field and try to pass it with the kids. At first, a couple of them took to it, but their inability to throw it really frustrated them. But they were semi-interested and since I was not interested in soccer, I continued to bring it along.

This past Saturday it was time to make the leap to trying to play a game of ultimate Frisbee. I tried to explain the rules as best I could and had two kids pick teams. With that, I threw the Frisbee to the other team and we were underway. There was some confusion in the beginning in trying to get them to understand when possession changes and you can’t run with the Frisbee in your hand, but after a couple false starts, the game started to take shape.

My favorite moment happened when one of the kids picked up the Frisbee and threw it when it was suppose to be the other team’s Frisbee. I told him that it wasn’t his throw and he immediately picked up what he did wrong. The ‘ah ha’ moment if you will. That was pretty cool to see.

One of the neat things I get to experience is exposing the kids to new things. It is cool to see when kids pick up something new, because they get so excited. The same thing happened last week when I was teaching a typing game to one class. I was working with one girl and when she got the hang of the game, she practically hopped out of her seat in excitement.

I hope to see a lot more of these ‘ah ha’ moments and a lot less soccer.

The Pista

Over the past couple weeks I have been really enjoying my new bike. No more what seemed to be forever walks down to the port in humid weather while sweating through my shirt. It’s now a nice jaunt at approximately 10 mph.

I’ve even been able to stretch my legs out on a couple longer rides. The exercise has been great. But enough about that. This entry doesn’t need to be approved by Richard Simmons. I think each one of you (what, there is like 10 people left reading?) knows the benefits of exercise. Well, except for my sister Johnna.

Anyhow, what I want to write about today involves my bike and a recently discovered hidden treasure in my community. A couple days after I bought my bike, I was on my way to the port to check out the scene when I was approached by a couple kids also on bikes. They wanted me to follow them, so I obliged and on I went. We took a path off the main drag and came upon one of the few wooded areas in my community.

Confused, I asked what where were doing. I was told to follow. Nervously, I agreed and quickly realized this was some kind of BMX/Mountain bike trail called a ‘pista’ in Spanish.


As we shot through the bumpy first turn, I knew my road bike, with skinny tires, wasn’t up for these conditions. But the kids pleaded I continued, so I continued. From there, the course became more treacherous, so I got left behind trying to nurse my bike back to safety.


Eventually, I came full circle. The kids had a big laugh at my slow ways. I tried to explain how my bike wasn’t made for these conditions. But something got lost in translation. Imagine that.

But the big laugh came the next day when I went to the baseball field in the afternoon. A couple kids approached me and asked if I went on the pista. I told them yes. Immediately, they started laughing and asked if I fell off my bike while riding. I knew at that point I was doomed. They had been told false information, but it didn’t matter. I would have had an easier time telling them Santa Claus wasn’t real then trying to get them to change their mind about my supposed fall. So I said just laughed and said no.

I guess taking a fall is better than thinking you’re married.

Guest Host

This week, I am turning over my blog to my good friends Jay and Juila of Panablog. No, I am not shuting down and retooling. It's just they have done a feature on me that you can click on this link, and it much better than anything I can write. So enjoy.

Oh, as for my prediction for the NBA Finals. Well, I haven't got to watch a whole lot of the playoffs, but what I have seen, I've been impressed with the Magic. So give me them in six games.