Penny

About the mass and buriel of Jackie Gonzalez . . . a message from Loesje Sherwood: There has been another change in the funeral plans for Jacqui: The bus will leave at 9:00 am or 9:15 am at the latest from the FPI building, together with a number of cars carrying members with special needs. We will drive directly to the turn-off for Palma Real. There will be no visit at the home of Carlos and Jacqui. Those who are able, are invited to join the procession behind the casket, on foot, from the turn-off on the Ruta Sur to Palma Real village and the Palma Real church. The Mass at the church will start at 10.30 am. The burial at the Potrerillos cemetery will take place in the afternoon. I am not sure at what time.

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Here is the latest news from Susan Peterson: I spoke with Migdalia for quite a long while. Carlos will go to the morgue tomorrow morning to see if he can get Jacqui’s body removed early (not having an autopsy) to transport to the Foundation. He plans on getting a casket from a local funeral home and use his pick up to transport the body. He is now planning to only remain at the Foundation for a few hours before moving the body to his home in Palma Real for the “velorio” (all night wake). Although he asked if members of FPI would accompany him, I, for one, will not drive that road at night and think that only those who would take a taxi and spend the night would attend. As you may recall, it is a one lane dirt road and very small house. What we still do not know is when the mass and funeral are planned. I suspect that the family is waiting until they have confirmation of release of the body, hoping for a Wednesday mass and funeral. Carlos has promised to advise Migdalia when he has authorization to remove Jacqui’s body and drive to the Foundation at which time Migdalia will begin to advise members of FPI. Jonathan has been released from the hospital and has confirmed that both he and Jacqui had fallen asleep on the way home which was the cause of the accident. When Jonathan awakened with the serving of the car, immediately calling his Mom, she was unable to control the car. There were no other cars involved. Carlos’ mother has resigned from her job to take responsibility for the care of Jean Carlos. Carlos plans on continuing to bring Jean Carlos to the Foundation in the future. He is in need of 3 more pints of blood. Any additional news that I receive I will pass on to you as soon as possible.

Designed for personal use in the home, the Fellowes W11C offers reliable performance and still fits your budget. This moderate duty shredder shreds up to 11 sheets per pass into 5/32" x 2" cross-cut particles as fast as 110 sheets per minute. Equipped with a 9" paper entry that easily accepts letter or legal size documents, the W11C also features durable steel cutters that accept credit cards and staples. Safety interlock switch instantly stops shredder when unit is lifted off of 5-gallon wastebasket. Auto start/stop feature ensures quick, easy shredder operation. Reverse function easily removes overfed paper. Offered by the Handicap Foundation and all proceeds go to them. Email pjbarrett@aol.com for more information.

This is a like-new high end toilet. It was donated to the Handicap Foundation by a builder who told us it originally cost $600. It is a 1.6 gallon (7.6 liters) per flush toilet. The color is bone or off-white. All proceeds go to the Handicap Foundation. The first $150 takes it. You can see it at the Handicap Foundation during office hours or you can email pjbarrett@aol.com for more information.

This may or may not be an antique. It was donated to the Handicap Foundation for their sale and all proceeds will go to the Foundation. Nobody offered the ridiculously low price of $75 at the sale so we're offering it to the public. The first $75 takes it. It measures 70" high, 27" wide at the mouldings, 24" wide at the body, and 14" deep. You can stop in at the Handicap Foundation during their office hours to see it and purchase it. For more information you can email Penny at pjbarrett@aol.com

A message from Susan Peterson: I have been in contact with Migdalia who has already organized a gathering tomorrow (Monday) for anyone who can come and help to pack the unsold items from the patio sale, store, remove unnecessary items and clean in preparation for the casket to arrive, probably Tuesday. They will be arriving about 8AM and stay until the building is ready. I also just spoke with Carlos (husband of Jacqui) who hopes to have Jonathan released from the hospital tomorrow, but Jean Carlos has been sedated for three days with the hope of healing his injuries without his being agitated, so he will still be in intensive care. Jean Carlos had internal bleeding and blood in the lungs. Carlos sent me a picture of Jacqui on WhatsApp that he would like us to print and get framed to be put on the casket. I have asked Howard if he can help. This is not my forte. Flowers have been ordered and we will get sandwich makings to provide to the family and friends who are at the wake. There is already coffee, milk and sugar. Bev Tyler called and also volunteered help with food if needed. Tomorrow we can deal with whatever Migdalia and I have forgotten. We are totally heartbroken and devastated and cannot imagine the effect that losing Jacqui will have on the rest of the members, especially her physical therapy group. Susan

With the heaviest of heart I am passing on the tragic news I learned last night. Right after the gigantic sale at the Handicap foundation, Jackie and her two young sons, Juan Carlos (handicapped) and Jonathon (not handicapped) were involved in a horrible car accident and Jackie was killed. Juan Carlos is in the hospital and I don't have any news on Jonathon. Jackie was a wonderful person who knew how to make lemonade from lemons. Instead of bemoaning her fate as a mother of a special needs child, both she and her mother Maria volunteered every week at the Handicap Foundation. Maria was the main cook and Jackie was the all around helper. And then Jackie got inspired and managed to go the physical therapy school and she became the sole paid therapist for the handicapped folks who needed her. She was at the center at least three days a week and the physical therapy group became like a second family with each other. In some cases, the group was the only family. Her death not only leaves a huge hole in our hearts, but is devastating to the therapy program. It will put a major burden on our volunteer therapist Chuck High. For those of you who knew Jackie, I will post funeral details as they become available.

Don't forget. Today's the day to unite at the Chiriqui Storage flea market. Gates open at 10. Free admission; free parking; $1 hot dogs. What could be better??!! The flea market is 1.5 km north of the Terpel gas station in Dolega on the east side of the highway.

Bonnie The service will be at noon tomorrow (not Friday). People of the Jewish faith have to be buried immediately.

I didn't know Dr. Carrizo but I helped Hil with some contact info for the owner of the new crematorium in David which, apparently, is not yet operational. I heard via the rumor mill that the neighbors were delaying the opening of this facility by making complaints about air pollution, etc. We will know more later in May as I have booked Jose Aria, the owner of this facility, to speak to us at the Tuesday meeting on May 24.

Super play !! Very funny. Lots of physical humor. Barbara, cast and crew are to be complimented.

Colibri Restaurant The law is very clear and you are very wrong. The discount applies on all food and drink items except alcohol and sodas. It applies on the soup, the salad, the dessert, the coffee, the tea, etc, etc. This is not difficult to figure out. Bud and Marcelyn both qualify for the discount. That they chose to share a meal is not relevant. The tax thing isn't complicated. If you charge $10 for a meal you report $10 gross income on your income tax. If you discount the meal by 20% to $8 you report $8 gross income on your income taxes. Now, was that so complicated????

Posting on behalf of Rena's daughter: Rena Mae Dodd, long time resident of Boquete, was called Home to be with the Lord, on Thursday April 21st, 2016. Friends are invited to attend a remembrance service at Boquete Bible Fellowship (the former Amigos Restaurant / 2 blocks from Sugar & Spice), on Monday April 25th at 2pm.

SKB Double ATA Golf 2-Bag Hard Case The SKB ATA Golf Travel Cases are made to ATA 300 Category I specifications which is the highest shipping container specification of the ATA. These cases are molded from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, the material specified by the U.S. military for cases and containers. Capable of accepting drivers up to 50" in length the SKB ATA Golf Travel Case series features unique Perfect Match Valance Bending System for a perfect seal and come standard with a lift handle, tow handle and wheels. The Perfect-Match aluminum valance on all SKB cases provides a reliable "tongue and groove" closure and a neoprene "o-ring" gasket keeps out harmful moisture. All SKB ATA Deluxe Golf Travel Cases feature SKB's patented military trigger release latches with TSA recognized and accepted locks that are engineered for a lifetime of easy, smooth service. Listed on Ebay for $320 plus shipping. Moving; must sell for $280 Call Bev Mitchell at 6449-6215 or email beverleym@aol.com

I don't think it takes a college degree in marketing and/or restaurant management to know that you need customers to keep your business going. To that end you have to make it easy for customers to find you and, once they find you, you have to make them want to come back. Duhhhhh !!!! Here's another thing I don't understand about Panamanian businesses. Take, for example, The Fish House (one of my most favorite restaurants). The owner gets there about 12:15 and then parks his large pickup diagonal across three of the parking spaces in front of the restaurant. I think Mike's has gained a lot of lunch customers from folks tired of waiting for the Fish House to open. And Sugar and Spice has probably gained a lot of non-customer cars parked in front of their place because the Fish House owner took up all the parking spaces in front of his restaurant. And then there are the places that put up those orange cones in front of their establishment to prevent customers from parking there. I too, wrote the owner of La Casa Vieja a long email offering to help her advertise her business on the free English language sites. No answer. By The Way, the English name of "El Socio" is "The Prophet" (obviously a pun)

I'm worried about the survivability of one of my new favorite restaurants, Casa Vieja. This restaurant has good food, reasonable prices, a large parking lot, a main road location, a good attitude towards the pensionado discount . . . . and yet they have very few customers. What is it about Latinos that think all they need to do is open their doors and customers will flock to them in droves??? Is it a cultural thing? The owner of this restaurant is a Panamanian who attended college in the U.S. and speaks flawless English. Yet, she has not attempted to take advantage of any advertising to the gringo community. There are at least 4 or 5 free ways to advertise to the gringo community here. This forum is one of them. She and her co-owner also apparently don't realize that their sign on the main street has only one side to it and that side is basically un-readable. I'd be willing to bet that 90% of the people who drive along the main street in Boquete don't know there is a restaurant there. This is what happened to Moon Valley donut shop. Lots of people told them how to take advantage of news.boquete and chiriqui.life but they never got around to doing it. As a consequence, not many folks knew that they not only served donuts but breakfast and lunch as well. They sunk their life savings into opening this restaurant and the result was devastating to them. Again, both husband and wife had college degrees from the U.S. so language was not a barrier. There's probably more restaurants per capita in Boquete than anywhere in Latin America. Getting your name out there by advertising and promotion are essential.

This restaurant used to be on Dr. Rivera's property in Alto Lino. The location was difficult to find and the parking was minimal. Last month they moved downtown next to the Delta gas station in that little strip mall. The motif is Italian, the food is good, and the prices are reasonable. They also have some Mexican dishes like tacos and burritos. The drinks are especially inexpensive. For example $1.25 for a national beer and $2 for a rum and coke. This couple works very hard and they deserve to succeed. There's plenty of parking in front of the restaurant. You guys ought to give them a try.

I also want to shout out to George and his wonderful staff at Zum Emslander (aka "The German Restaurant"). They have the best omelet in Boquete. It's a little difficult to decipher the menu description but it's basically a huge farmers omelet stuffed with potatoes, ham, onions, etc. All of their lunch and dinner menu items are also excellent. Their home fries are to die for. Prices are great and service is top notch. There's a small gang of us who breakfast there every Saturday morning.

Extra storage and organizing unit. . Moving, must sell for $50 Call Bev Mitchell at 6449-6215 or email Beverleym@aol.com

Canis Pet Transportation system. Measures 36" long x 30" high x 24" wide. Excellent Condition. Moving; must sell for $50. Call Bev Mitchell at 6449-6215 or email beverleym@aol.com

This trampoline has handles and a fitness monitor. Moving; must sell for $50 Call Bev Mitchell at 6449-6215 or email beverleym@aol.com

Android box. Almost new. Hardly used. Moving and must sell for $100. Call Bev Mitchell at 6449-6215 or email beverleym@aol.com

This is a quality Sub zero brand refrigerator. It measures 84" high x 36" wide x 28" deep. Purchased new for more than $3000. Moving, must sell for $750 Call Bev Mitchell at 6449-6215 or email Beverleym@aol.com

I heard that Edward Vargas (be still my heart) showed up late and entertained the crowd until 1 AM.