Today is my birthday. I was born in La Concepción, Chiriquí 63 years ago on December 16, 1946. It was only one year after the end of the big war. The country was still young, it was only 43 years old, and desperately trying to find its national identity.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge during all these years. Looking back, I think the most relevant event in my biological history, was evidencing the signing of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and the toppling of the Noriega regime in December 1989. These two events changed the future of our country to levels never imagined by many of us. We are on the verge of becoming a First World country. It’s only a matter of time and adequate leadership. Our current President, Mr. Ricardo Martinelli is doing fine. I hope he keeps the momentum going without distractions.
My wife sang the Happy Birthday song early this morning. It was 2:30 a.m. and the only ones awake where I live, were us and a few crowing roosters in the distance. In a nearby table, sit three presents nicely wrapped in red paper. These are presents given “to me from me”. I bought them about a month ago, before the shopping madness started.
Yesterday the private sector paid the XIII Month bonus. That poured over 100 million U.S. dollars into the country. More than one will go loco with all that money. The nets of the malls and department stores are wide open to rake in this heap of money. The red-and-white HO-HO man is everywhere selling toys like crazy, and kids are following him like the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Oh…I forgot to say what the presents are. Sorry. The first one is a jazzy Chinese cellphone with an FM radio, MP3 and MP4 player, TV tuner and a 5.6 digital camera. That will give me plenty of time to play with and learn the ropes. Most Chinese products have lousy manuals. As you know, cell phones nowadays are more than just phones; they are really miniature computers. The second present is a USB 4GB flash drive, and the third one is web cam. The purpose of the web camera is to communicate with a dear friend who recently moved to Chelsea in the scenic state of Maine. Seeing each other while we speak will be kinda cool. These are the good things I like about technology.
My wife and I prayed to enjoy good health in the years ahead. My pension check should cover our physical needs, but health is something else. As we age, our body becomes stubborn and refuses to obey our will. During 2009 I had several body insurgencies such as: a minor right eye operation, bursitis, stomach reflux, and both ears affected by an excess accumulation of ear wax. I’ll be on the alert of my bodily needs during the upcoming year. That will be one of my New Year’s Resolutions.
Blogging has been great. Lingua Franca is just about to break the 250,000 hits landmark. Whoopee! Photography is chugging along and my Birthday camera has performed flawlessly during the year. It was one year ago exactly, when I got my Canon PowerShot A720 IS. The pleasure it has given me during the last 365 days are difficult to describe.
It has been a wonderful year despite the minor health ailments I described earlier. I wish to thank the Good Lord for all what He has given us and to all of you my dear readers who provide me with the purpose of tickling the computer keyboard day in and day out. I’m now 63. It’s an exciting time to be alive. Good Day.
