Saturday,
April 10, 2010
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Update - Nora
Nora has improved to the point that she can now function well, but has to restrict her driving and still has days when the pain is too severe to go out. She has had one Cortisone treatment and is scheduled for another tomorrow, April 11. We're hoping for a full and speedy recovery. ---
Cable and Wireless, Again, Again
Our two house phones stopped accepting calls in late January. If you dial either number, you get a recording saying they are out of service. According to Cable and Wireless there are 200 customers with 266/220 prefixes who have the same problem. I really can't understand why it takes over two months to correct this problem, but my guess is that the 266 exchange has some antiquated equipment for which there are no spares available. In the meantime, we are being charged full rates for half telephone service. Menace of the Yellow Hordes No, this is not about the Chinese, but rather the swarms of yellow taxis in Panama City. Before, when a taxi might be any color the owner desired, I never noticed how many of them there are on the roads. Now that they are highly visible, at times the traffic is almost pure yellow. They swerve, dart, cut you off, drive on the shoulders, jump the lines waiting to make a turn and in general make annoying pests of themselves. Continued next column.... |
Menace,
continued... Recently, cops posing as passengers issued citations to over 100 of them in one day for refusing to take a passenger to the desired destination. There have been many complaints by citizens that there is difficulty in finding a taxi to take them to certain areas of the city. While this is understandable; no taxi driver wants to deadhead back to an area where they can pick up fares, the law says that taxis must go wherever the passenger wants to go. Taxi drivers are caught between the law and economic reality. With fares set by law, it is not unusual for a driver to lose money on a trip to a part of town where he will most likely be unable to find a fare for the return trip. Most of the drivers I speak with are able to clear in the neighborhood of $35.00 / day, so it wouldn't take many such deadhead runs to make it not worth their while to drive a taxi. Taxi drivers are caught between ever increasing costs of fuel, tires, repairs, taxes and fares set by government. In such an environment, it's no wonder that many drivers become aggressive and inconsiderate. Understanding, however, does not make their annoying antics any less objectionable. ---
Bee Adventure in Rio San Cocho
Not far outside the village limits is a hill from which there is a clear view of Panama City and the Bay. I like to take some cold beer and walk there to enjoy the view and nature. Sometimes I take a book and folding chair and relax for hours, sitting on top of an old WW2 bunker built by the US Army. If one digs around a bit, there are thousands of rounds of US .30-06 cartridges and empty brass just under the grass. Continued next column.... |
Bee Adventure, continued....
I was relaxing on a wonderful sunny day with a cool breeze blowing, and the air filled with the sound of birds. It was mating season and the songs were loud and musical. Not far away a very small drab colored bird was perched on top of a stalk of grass, and from time to time would spring straight up into the air for about three feet, turn a flip and land back on the grass stalk. The Mango tree which provided shade for me was home to a large Iguana and it was sunning itself on a limb. I was thoroughly enjoying the peaceful solitude which is nearly impossible to find in the city. Below me, on the slopes of the hill, I noticed what appeared to be a puff of dark smoke. As I watched it seemed to grow larger, and I heard a buzzing sound, which grew in intensity with the size of the "smoke puff". Of an instant, I realized it was moving toward me, and while debating whether to worry about it, I realized that it was a swarm of bees. Too late, I found myself surrounded by thousands and thousands of fast moving honeybees. Fortunately, they all flew around me and not one so much as brushed against me. Somewhat shaken, I gathered my things and went home, happy to have come away unscathed. Note: All incidents described in the Rio San Cocho News are true, though of course, they happened somewhere else. ---
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