The Lost Paradise of Panamá

In my previous post from a few days ago, there’s a picture of friends and family. Sitting front and center and holding one of his great-grandchildren is my wife’s uncle Tomasito. We recently learned that he passed away yesterday, July 15, of an apparent stroke. Tomasito was a really, really great guy, and he had such a gentle spirit. I always enjoyed visiting him at his home in the suburbs of Panama City. When my wife first moved from the interior to the city many years ago, it was Tomasito who looked after her. He will be greatly missed.

Here is a picture of friends and family during a recent gathering near Panama City

A few weeks ago, my wife and I sat up on a Saturday night reminiscing about our years together. The following day was our anniversary. As we talked, we eventually brought up memories of my parents, and my wife’s mother. Before long we were talking about Bilo, my wife’s father. She had just spoken to him the weekend before, and planned on calling him again. In previous months he had not been doing well, but so far, everything seemed fine. It was early Sunday morning when I heard a scream of pain and anguish from the living room. I jumped up and found my wife with the phone in her hand. I knew instantly what that meant. Bilo had passed away. They had tried an emergency operation to unclog an artery in his leg. The pain was too much for him. The next several hours were a blur, and very painful, as we notified our immediate family. What eventually emerged from this was a plan to go to the funeral. With the help of family, we made hasty arrangements, and within twenty-four hours of being notified of Bilo’s death, we were on our way to the airport.

This last Fall when Bilo was in the hospital in Colon, news was very dire. My daughter Andrea went to visit him then and reported on the poor conditions in the hospital. I would send a note when I could, if someone was going to see Bilo, and I took the occasion to do so this time. I wrote to Bilo how it had been my honor and joy to be his son-in-law these many years, and that I thought about him and family everyday. I also wrote about how his grandkids were raised with stories about him, and life in the interior. I was happy to hear that Bilo kept this note on a table by his bed. Andrea was working in another state and was unable to make the funeral in Panama. Now it was her time to send a note. I printed off two copies on the morning we left to the airport, with Andrea’s desire to have the note buried with her dear Abuelo.

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My father-in-law, Brigido Cano, recently passed away in Panama at age eighty-eight. I had spoken about him in an earlier post in August. I will write more as soon as I can. I used to call him, “The Man.” He meant a lot to many, many people.

Also, it´s been a year since I started this blog. I´ve enjoyed it, and thanks to all who have visited the site and have left comments.

My wife’s niece Iris recently gave birth to her first child, a boy, and they named him Evan Jacob.

Here’s a picture of Iris washing baby clothes just prior to giving birth…