Let’s celebrate poetry because it’s National Poetry Month. I’ve written poetry since 1986–forty years! Lin just told me he’s been avoiding poetry for over eighty years. Which camp do you fall into?
Disclaimer for Lin
Even though he doesn’t care for poetry, Lin has read all of my poetry books. In fact, he inspired my five-book poetry series.
If You Don’t Like Poetry
In school, so many English teachers assaulted curious minds with bad experiences with poetry.
I remember not reading much in school but when we did, the teacher’s interpretation was the only correct one—no room for me or anyone else to interpret the many nuances any poem offers.
Later, at the university when I got my English degree, professors opened up possibilities after they offered prescribed interpretations. But I had the opportunity to see myself in the poem. That’s when the magic happens, but so many students/readers never had that. They got shamed or totally discouraged and become anti-poetry.
Maybe rhyme seemed silly. Maybe you couldn’t figure out iambic pentameter. If that’s all you saw, you missed a whole different world of possibilities: free verse.
If You Do Like Poetry
Bless You! Someone in your life opened a door to all the possibilities out there. The good news is “According to data from the American Booksellers Association, poetry book sales saw a 7% increase in 2023 compared to 2022.”
When I read poetry, I have to suspend my logical mind and let the images, the tone, the nuances speak to my heart. Then I feel wrapped up in the words and know something I have never known before—because of that poem.
And writing poetry has become my go-to genre for many years. Here’s a haiku I wrote about the wonderful mixture I am:
Who am I really? Manure and paper clips. Earth and words mingle!
So, no rhyme but fitting a form: 3 lines: 1st line – 5 syllables, 2nd line – 7 syllables, 3rd line – 5 syllables.
When I taught my poetry unit to my students, they wrote haikus and blew me away with their images and thoughts. Yes, a three-line haiku is poetry. Having to be selective about word choice forces the poet to work through words and language to arrive at the correct count per line and for it to make sense. What a challenge!
Is a Horse Poetry?
Today I shocked Lin, my husband, that I wasn’t writing my whole blog about the amazing Horse Parade we attended —100s of horse—to celebrate the 115th Anniversary of Boquete, Panama. Another observer told me, “No, at least a thousand horses.” Can I write a poem about a horse, horses? Can a horse be poetry?
Here’s a haiku I just wrote about that experience:
Horses everywhere! Bridles, saddles, quirts and bits! A black horse prancing so!
So does it work? Does this haiku give you images about horses or a horse?
Lastly,
Poetry has always been meant to be read out loud. Because this National Poetry Month, I have and will be sharing videos of me reading some of my poetry. Hearing the poet read her own work has its own magical power too!
Here’s some samples:
From my newest book which is book #2 in a five-book poetry series, Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, listen to “Spirit Coyote” about an experience I had:
From the first book in the five-book poetry series, Was It A Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, I play with thoughts about words in “Playing With Words.” Listen here:
From my multi-awarding winning book, A Time To Grow: A Daughter’s Grief Memoir, listen to “What Words Capture My Loss?:
This week I’ve mused over the similarities and differences in my life today in Boquete, Panama, 5083 kilometers away from Tijeras, New Mexico. That’s what they use here. It’s 3158.43 miles. So, let’s take a look!
Similarities
My cell phone and computer and the internet seem to be the link in my life that makes living here similar to the USA.
Talking to my brother—Because AT&T has an agreement with twenty Latin American countries, I can use my phone like I did in the states. So, I have kept up the schedule of calling him every couple days and that has eased my transition here.
Church—At this point, I continue to attend Hope in the Desert Episcopal Church on Facebook Livestream, like I had because of the pandemic, first of all, and then because of my year-long recovery from the dog attack and no driving.
Recovery meetings–So far, it’s all been online. I haven’t gone to a face-to-face meeting since we’ve been here, because of not having a car. I will venture out this week though. There’s a thriving recovery community here I got acquainted with in May, so I look forward to making new friends there. Recovery around the world feels the same!
Lin and my TV watching—After figuring out the TV services here and NordVPN, we have access to our favorite streaming services like Prime, YouTube TV, and Britbox. Also, today we didn’t have to struggle with getting our favorite NFL games because I subscribed to an international service, Dazn.com, and it has worked perfectly.
Friends to share life with—We have so many wonderful friends in the USA due to our square dancing, my teaching life and my recovery. But we have made a wonderful circle of friends here who have made the transition seamless in so many ways. Yes, we miss our friends in the USA, but because of AT&T, I talk to people easily from here. Also, I will connect with many when I return on my trips for ranch business.
Working on my next book–I continue to layout book #2 in my poetry series, Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry. I am so glad I brought my iMac desktop with me in one of my three suitcases because I have to have two programs opened at the same time to do the layout. The large display makes it so easy!
Differences & How We Adapt
No Episcopal Church—There is not an Episcopal church in Boquete, but there is one in David, 30 minutes away. In our town, there are Catholic churches and the Boquete Bible Fellowship. I plan on trying all of them out and deciding where I will land on a Sunday morning. For most of my adult life, I’ve attended the Episcopal church, so I look at this as a time of stretching me and my faith.
No dishwasherin our rental—So, we wash the dishes by hand. Lin and I have shared this new chore, but in so many ways, it’s not a chore. Here’s the view out our window over the sink:
No disherwasher continued—Fr. Tom Weston, one of my recovery mentors, introduced me to the Buddhist mindset of being present in daily tasks—chop wood and carry water. As I wash the dishes, I concentrate on being there, present, standing in front of this window, enjoying the view, the birds, the warm water, my homemade dishcloth in my hands. That’s always been a hard task for me. I’ve either wandered around the past or anticipated the future. But this so-called chore has slowed me down to appreciate this task I have taken for granted for years—because the dishwasher did it!
Spanish is the language—I was a Spanish teacher for fourteen years at the middle school level, but that was years ago. So, I’ve worked on renewing my knowledge of the language, using Duolingo daily for 216 days today! I also have the Babbel app and plan to use that too. When I have the opportunity, I speak as much Spanish as possible. Interestingly, the greeting here is “Buenos,” a shortening of “Buenos días!” That has been a major adjustment.
No dancing yet—We knew there would not be any square or round dancing here, but Latin people love to dance, so we hope to get into salsa and whatever is the dance of Panama.
My next book launch—It will be harder to get a paperback here. Amazon delivers but I haven’t ordered anything yet. I’m apprehensive.
Getting my medicine from OptumRx—Again, it’s a shipping issue! I messed up on the first orders and hope two orders arrive this week. Now I know how to order it, so the next one will sail through easily, I hope!
The weather—We’re in the rainy season, so it rains every afternoon. It usually stops for the evening, but yesterday we had a downpour that lasted into the evening. Also, we don’t have the heat we did in New Mexico because we are in the mountains with our temperature averaging 75 year around.
Getting around—We rented a car this week and have enjoyed the freedom of going when we want without bothering our neighbors; however, they were always so ready to help. The streets of Boquete are narrow, so we drive more slowly.
No Starbucks—But Boquete is known for its coffee production. So we have coffee readily available. I drink decaf though, but Lin found some the other day at one of our favorite coffee shops, Kotowa.
Variety of Restaurants—We live 5-10 minutes away from about 125 restaurants, so variety is readily available.
Economy—We have found it to be less expensive here. A doctor’s visit without insurance cost us about $20 for both of us. I don’t dread a trip to the grocery store because the bill is much less. Our rental includes all the utilities, so we feel it’s a bargain.
Fresh Food—We love fresh papaya, mangoes, bananas and passion fruit and have them regularly. At the Thursday market last week, we bought fresh tuna caught that morning. Lin grilled a couple pieces and we added the largest avocado I’ve ever seen for our meal! We both love fish, so we look forward to many more fish meals with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Fresh Tuna & AvocadoPapaya & Mangoes
Finally,
Yes, there are similarities that I have kept alive in my life in our move to Panama, but I wanted to share the differences because I hadn’t talked about them yet. Life here seems less stressful, less frantic and much more relaxed!
Life in Panama overflows! Finally, we were able to go to the Tuesday Market which we have heard so much about. It didn’t let me down—another full week, and a major birthday celebration!
Monday, September 15
Lin didn’t feel well all week. He had a deep cough and a hoarse voice! So he laid low a lot of the week, but we had errands we needed to do. John, our neighbor took us to Boquete and we walked to Servitechnics and learned how to use their service to receive packages from the USA.
Then we walked to Value Motors and talked to Victor, the owner, about our driver’s license status. We offered to help us get it situated. Then Lin sought out a fellow-Jersey boy, George. We had a delightful time meeting George and he offered lots of information about just about everything a newcomer to the area needs to do! We continued our walking which is a great way to get acquainted with our new town of Boquete. Lin reminisced about doing that when he moved to Costa Rica twenty-seven years ago! You just don’t see the same world from a car driving by!
Then we met John at a ice cream shop. Afterwards, we visited two pharmacies searching for a specific cough medicine and found it.
When we got home, a massive storm covered the area. Our electricity went off a couple times for a limited time, then it went out for a longer time. During this time, we wisely used our time off any devices—we measured windows in the living room. Then we measured possible spaces to add end tables in the living room in a variety of ways. We also measured the area in the kitchen where we want to add some shelves to store groceries and our dishes. The we moved to our office to measure a space for a possible book shelf!
So, I canceled my Zoom Writing Group from New Mexico because of the electricity. Our neighbors invited us out to dinner because the restaurants have generators they use when there’s an electrical outage. We had a delightful dinner at Blanctierra Restaurant. We moved out writing group meeting to this Monday—hopefully, we’ll have electricity!
Tuesday, September 16
The long-awaited Tuesday Market was fantastic! This weekly event spans Tap Out Bar. It includes all kinds of wares: vegetables, prepared ethnic food, jewelry, local artistry and more. Here’s a kaleidoscope of pictures I took.
The vendors are locals, expats and there was one woman from Venezuela traveling through Central America with her jewelry.
After looking at every table, I bought some items, but next week, I will buy more fresh vegetables and who knows what? Yes, it’s an every week event that people support!
Wednesday, September 17
Ruth invited me join her in a trip to David that was a “Girls day Out!” There were five of us: a mother and her two daughters joined us. The main focus of the trip: Ruth wanted to buy the oldest girl a pair of shoes for her birthday that had just passed.
On the drive there, the oldest daughter asked me lots of questions in English—her English is beautiful. Her younger sister doesn’t speak much English. Her mother is learning! What I truly loved about her mother is when I spoke Spanish to her, she gently corrected my verb tense for example. Then when we were in the mall, she pointed at something and asked me what it was in Spanish—she’d be a great Spanish teacher! But she wants to learn English, too!
So, we completed our task then celebrated with ice cream. What a wonderful day it was! When we left them at the house, they gave me a piece of birthday cake for Lin and me—what a kind gesture.
Ruth and I then picked up Lin who had walked to Boquete—quite a feat, so I guess he was feeling better, but the daily afternoon raining would be beginning soon, so he didn’t want to walk home in the rain.
My brother and his elk
I got a text from my brother that he had shot an elk—we love elk meat! As we talked about it, he said we’re going to have to figure a way to get some of this meat to you in Panama!” Lin said the same thing, so I’ve researching—yes, it’s expensive, but I’m sure it will be worth it!
Thursday, September 18
I got up early and went to a garage sale Ruth told us about because they had a bed frame for sell. We bought a teakwood frame for our bed.
Afterwards, we went to the Thursday Market and shopped around. It’s much smaller the Tuesday Market but a fun place to meet new people and try out different foods.
Then later in the day, our landlords picked up our new bed frame for us and helped set it up in our bedroom. They took out the two twin bed frames we had been using, and suddenly our room exploded—we had much more room! The frame came with a mattress, so we just put our mattress on top of it because otherwise we’d be almost sleeping on the floor.
Our bed with the new frame
Friday, September 19
Ruth and John gave us their day—such great neighbors—so off to David we went for three major tasks: open a bank account, buy another dehumidifier, check out drapes for the living room and go to PriceMart (like CostCo).
At the bank, we found out we needed more paperwork to verify that we are trustworthy people, so we have work to do before that happens.
During the week, I bought some supplements for arthritis and a printer at Amazon, but I didn’t understand where to send it. I sent it to our PMB—personal mail box in South Dakota. No, I was supposed to send it to Doral, Florida where a shipping company here in Boquete has connections. First, I felt stupid and Lin didn’t help. Then I checked the progress of it on my Amazon account, and it hadn’t shipped yet, SO I CANCELED IT.
When we went to Panafoto in David to get another dehumidifier for our office, we bought a printer! Yeah! I haven’t had a printer since early in August—the longest I have gone without a printer in my life!
More on Friday, September 19—Lin’s 85th Birthday Celebration
My husband, Lin, had looked forward to celebrating his 85th birthday in Panama, and his wish came true. Our friend, Ruth, suggested we eat at The Rock because they celebrate special events. I spent the week inviting our new circle of friends.
So we gathered at The Rock at 6:00 PM. There were seven of us: Ruth and John, Lorrie and Kenny and Jason, our tour guide turned landlord. Four friends weren’t able to come: Jason’s wife and daughter and Neville and Lawanda. The setting was wonderful—the way it’s designed, it feels like you’re sitting outside even when you’re inside.The food was delicious. The conversation warm and hilarious about moving to Panama and life here.
After dinner, the waiter presented Lin with a plate decorated with “Feliz Cumpleanos” — Happy Birthday in Spanish—and a chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream. The waiter lit a sparkler on top while we sang the Happy Birthday song to Lin. It was a memorable evening. As we were leaving, they gave each of us a long stick with a huge marshmallow on it. In an outside area, they had fire pits to roast the marshmallows!
When we got to the car, John had a flat tire, so Jason took us home. John and Ruth brought there dog, Noche, because of the thunderstorms. He didn’t like riding the back of Jason’s SUV, but we made it home safely.
Saturday, September 20
I have continued to stay connected to my life in the states in a variety of way. I joined my CoDA meeting on Zoom and enjoyed the recovery talk and my friends.
Then I spent a lot of the afternoon setting up our new HP printer. It seemed connected; the app on my desktop said it was ready but my desktop computer and laptop didn’t recognize the printer. I researched and researched, trying all the suggestions.
Finally, Lin came in and asked me if I needed our NordVPN (Virtual Private Network), so he tried to print off his laptop that the VPN turned on. Guess what? It worked. So I loaded NordVPN on my desktop and laptop and it worked! OMG! That simple!
Sunday, September 21
I attended my church, Hope in the Desert Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico via Facebook Livestream. Then it was a wrestling match to get Lin’s football team, the Philadelphia Eagles’ game on Dazn.com, but we did and it worked wonderfully on our TV. So, I thought I was all set to watch my Denver Broncos’ game right after the Eagles’ game. Last week, I bought one week on Dazn.com, but that subscription was still viable for Lin’s Eagles game, but not my Broncos’ game. So, I purchased a monthly subscription to Dazn.com so I could watch it, and I did. Sad ending again this week!
Lin watching the Eagles’ game
Finally,
So, VPN has to be “On” to use our FireStick on the TV to get the American programs we enjoy. Our computers have to have the VPN “On” to print, but to get our NFL games on Dazn.com, it has to be turned “Off!” OMG! What a mishmash!
In the midst of this week, I have been laying out my second book in the five-book poetry series, Time Measured Out! If you would be interested in joining my ARC team for this book, email me at larada@laradasbooks.com and you will receive a FREE .pdf to read ahead of publishing. In exchange for this FREE book, I ask that you write a blurb that I will add to the front of the book and also a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.
What an amazing adventure we are having as we transition from our traditional life in the states to our life here in Panama!
Six suitcases—OMG! For our move to Panama, we took three suitcases and two carry-ons each for a total of ten bags! This week has been life-changing and exhausting!
Monday, September 1
Moving our suitcases into the hotel!A line of some of our suitcases and carry-ons
We moved the six suitcases and carry-ons to a hotel near the airport to accommodate our early departure the next day. During the evening, we stopped at Menchie’s for a yogurt treat then drove to our realtor who’s going to sell our Tahoe. Then she drove us back to the hotel.
Tuesday, September 2
We flew to Panama City via Houston. We had a long layover in Houston which provided us with a leisurely lunch and time to relax instead of rush around like we did on our first trip to Panama.
When we arrived in Panama City, our trusty Uber driver, Joel, was there with his friend, Robert, to drive us to a hotel near Joel’s home. We had told them we had six suitcases but said nothing about the four carry-on bags, so Robert’s SVU could barely hold the bags and Lin and me. I was squashed into Lin with no leg room for my bad leg.
So we had to regroup. The options were drive two cars or Robert driving Lin and me, leaving our favorite Uber driver home. So, we decided to do two cars, even though it was more expensive than the original quote. We couldn’t leave Joel behind—he organized this!
Our hotel was a family owned establishment by Joel’s family. It was spartan but okay for the night!
Wednesday, September 3
The alarm went off early, and Joel drove us to the Immigration Office for our 7:00 AM appointment. That place fascinates me. At 7:00 AM everyone stands for the raising of the Panamanian flag, then the action begins. Our immigration lawyer, Tamara, met us and ushered us downstairs. She always gets early appointments because the electricity goes off regularly in the afternoon—a new norm! We easily got our permanent visa, so we are now residences of Panama.
Us with our immigration lawyer when our permanent visas!
When we finished, we called Joel and returned to the hotel and enjoyed a delicious breakfast next door to the hotel. We brought down a couple of bags we needed the night before, and the guys loaded the six suitcases and our carry-on bags into the two cars. That was worth it right there.
I rode with Robert; Lin rode with Joel. We both had delightful rides, us practicing our Spanish and them practicing their English. We stopped at a bus stop cafeteria in Santiago and experienced traditional Panamanian food. Yum!
The ride took about seven hours! But I experienced the Pan-American highway and coming out of Panama City, I saw the ships waiting to enter the Panama Canal, sugar cane fields and lots of wind turbines.
Ships waiting to go in the Panama CanalSugar Cane FieldsWind Turbines
When we arrived at our house in Boquete, once again the two young guys brought the six suitcases into our house—again worth the money. Our neighbor, John, welcomed us with open arms—I danced with him and his wife years ago! Lin danced with his wife! Our two chauffeurs were funny, because they didn’t want to leave. We took pictures and they promised to return! Robert identified us as their parents!
The four of us!Our two drivers!
Thursday, September 4
John became our chauffeur and we hit the ground running. First, we had a delicious breakfast at Sugar and Spice restaurant. Then we went to the Thursday Market and bought homemade goodies. After this stop, we shopped locally at a fruit and vegetable stand. Then we bought basic foods at the grocery store. We ended the afternoon with getting internet.
Lin buying goodies!The Fresh Fruit and Vegetables StandThe Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Stand
That evening, we went to two bars to see if they were showing the Eagles’ game. The first one—no. The second one, the Tap Out Bar had big TV’s, but the crowd was watching Panama’s soccer team. The waiter assured us we would be able to watch the Eagles’ game, and when the electricity went off, it cleared out the bar. So, we watched the Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys. Friends from New Mexico that moved here a couple months ahead of us came over to welcome us—what a warm welcome we received!
Lin and John watching the gameA welcome from our New Mexico friends
Friday, September 5
Because the saleswoman of the internet said we needed to have our TV, getting a TV topped our list. So, we drove the thirty miles to David, and it became a buying frenzy. We bought a 65” TV. Then we went to a furniture store and bought two rocker/recliners, a loveseat, a kitchen table and chairs and a mattress. Then we went to PriceMart (Like our CostCo) and bought two computer chairs, dishes and glasses and more! Whew! All this buying tied up two of my credit cards—one credit card company thought it was fraud and is issuing me a new card. The other one is checking mine out!
Gradually during the day, I felt sick and I went to bed when we got home from our shopping spree.
We got a message that the workman setting up the internet would be at our house on Saturday
Saturday, September 6
So, this was a waiting day! We waited for internet workman to come, no luck. I was in bed all day and evening—horrible cough and felt bad. I hated losing this day, but I was out for the count. Lin unpacked all our new possessions and continued unpacking bags.
Later in the day, I tried to purchase our furniture with a link the saleswoman texted me, but three times my credit cards was denied. Finally, Lin’s worked, but this tied up two of my credit cards.
Sunday, September 7
I had hoped we’d be watching the Broncos game on our new TV that’s on the floor. We haven’t bought an entertainment center yet. But the internet workman didn’t come today. So I found the radio station, 850am, on iHeart radio. I accidentally closed the app and we couldn’t get back to it. After about 45 minutes, I found a website where we listened to the game on a Titan radio station, and the Broncos won—yahoooo!
Six suitcases contained all we need to start our new life here—yes, we knew we had to buy lots of things we couldn’t bring with us. We had an estate sale, then we gave away a lot. It was quite a job going through all my things and deciding what to bring, but I did it. Also, I will be going to back to the states in November so I can bring more back with me, and I will return 3-4 times a year for ranch business, so gradually we will get all we want in Panama.
Finally,
The buying spree will continue this week because we have more to buy—and I’m afraid Lin caught what I have. Oh, no!
