Penny

La Villa will be a high end coffee house which will have a soft opening coinciding with the Boquete Fair. It will be located in the hex (party) room of the BCP and will be open all days except Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday morning. The famous BCP market will use the space on Tuesday morning. Elizabeth Farrell de Rios is busy painting and transforming the space. Stop in and see what she's doing. She and husband Abel will have a coffee roaster, books to borrow, free wi-fi, specialty coffee drinks, and some snack items. The success of this venture is pretty vital to the long term success of BCP and it's ability to pay the rent on the facility. We're hoping every one will support Elizabeth in this wonderful new venture.

Just heard yesterday that Il Barolo is moving downtown close to the Machu Pichu restaurant. That should help their business and the parking is better.

Lily, the mother of our friend Betty Gray, died this morning, January 6. Lily's two daughters Betty and Joyce were at her bedside. Lily had turned 100 on December 11

Tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan 5) my favorite lawyer in all of Chiriqui will be speaking at the BCP Tuesday meeting. I have been a client of Juan Contreras since the day he graduated from law school. I have found Juan to be straightforward, competent, honest, and reasonable in all of his dealings with me. He also seems to know how to think outside the box which they definitely don't seem to teach in law school here. The average Panamanian lawyer knows how to fill in a form and which line in which government office to stand in and not much more. Because Juan is such a good lawyer he has prospered in the 6 or so years he has been in practice. He has a nice office, several competent legal assistants, a wonderful partner in Lourdes Miranda, and a competent office staff. Compare that to the many lawyers who still work out of their homes or back seats of their cars. Even if you're not interested in estate planning, I urge you to come and meet Juan Contreras on Tuesday at 10:30 in the BCP theater.

Recently Chuck Bolotin who runs "Best Places" ran an article about crime in Chiriqui written by local tour guide Jackie Lange. Jackie made a totally unfounded and hurtful statement in her article when she stated that Betsy Waddington's husband Joe had been killed because he was a drug dealer. Nobody who knows this family believes there is any truth in this assertion. Chuck had no reason to doubt the article when submitted and actually no way to verify it since Jackie didn't name the victim. Since he runs a responsible website he has pulled the article.

#19. When you park downtown you expect to be on a 45 degree angle and need to struggle to climb out of the car. When you park in Alto Boquete you have to struggle to open the car door against the wind.

#16. You know the words "bajareque, meto, and bochinche" and their general meaning and you know how to use them in a Spanglish sentence.

One of my favorite small grocery stores is the Canasta Basica in San Francisco Plaza. They have the cheapest and freshest chickens and eggs in town because they're owned by Avicola in Potrerillos. Usually their hams are special order only in large quantities. However, right now I saw about 7 or 8 in their meat case for sale. These hams cost a little more than $3/lb and are boneless and delicious. Much better quality and price than the picnics being sold at Price Smart.

I agree with Twin Wolf. $100 is a small price to pay for a back-up plan. I have already signed up for Rodny Direct but I plan on giving my $20 to David Van Harn at next Tuesday's BCP market. I guess the question I want to pose to Bob Gregory and Fran is this: "If I don't make a donation to AAC, will Franc still handle my emergency call?" Bob, can you give us an answer to this question, please?

I agree. I don't mind paying $10 or more for a dinner but I want my lunch choices to be under $7 or $8. After all, I have to save for the drinking money.

Keith There's a special section of C.L. to report deaths, marriages, births, etc. When you find out more information, including info on any memorial service, would you post it there? Thanks.

Congratulations to Franc. He runs the BCP parking lot extremely well and will do well with AAC. We hope he continues to run our lot.

We are hoping he will continue. He can wear his Bluetooth in his ear while he directs traffic.

Betty will be selling her famous sweet potatoes plus many other plants at the Chiriqui Storage flea market on Sunday, January 3. Gates open for customers at 10 AM Still some space for vendors -- email chiriquistorage@gmail.com

I don't think Franc needs a work permit if he has a contract with AAC as an independent contractor. I also think Franc is a good choice. He's got relationships with lots of the government and police workers in Boquete. And he runs a tight parking lot for the Tuesday Market at BCP

The Chinese steak house has become harder to find since they built the overpass. It's basically on the road that dead-ends under the overpass. Coming towards Boquete from Price Smart, take the right that's just before the overpass and you will see it. Like someone said, large yellow building that says "Mariscos" on it.

My favorite restaurant in David, even after all these years, is the Chinese Steak House. Never had steak there but their rollos primavera are to die for. Also the won ton soup is a complete and filling meal. Excellent service from waiters who have been there for years and years.

There are reasons for the disparity in news coverage: 1. Sanders has almost zero chance of capturing the nomination while Trump seems to have a reasonable shot at getting his party's nomination 2. Trump is entertaining and ol' Bernie not so much. I don't know what the moderator's policies are on U.S. politics but I would hate to see this forum devolve into a squabble over U.S. politics.

Just heard yesterday that Chef Chris Young and Sabor have parted company. This worries me as Chris had promised a special menu on Christmas day to about 20 of the Boquete Chica's gang.

Seeing the show made we wonder what's happened to Don Winner. He seems to have disappeared just like some of Wild Bill's victims. The last entry in his Panama Guide Blog was back in June. He has a wife in Panama City but he also has a bad ticker. Does anybody know?

Eight of us had dinner at this Tex Mex place on Saturday night following the night school graduation at the High School Gym. While the food and the service had improved considerably since eating there the first week they were open, it still left something to be desired. There was still no salsa de gallo or sour cream to go with the fajitas and the nachos had something like cheese whiz on them. Maybe it's just me but I long for Chili's.

I frequently doze in front of the TV at night. One of my favorite channels for this activity is the Investigation Discover channel (67 on CableOnda) with all it's true crime programs. Last night I stumbled across an hour long story about Wild Bill in Bocas and how Don Winner, owner of the apparently now defunct Panama Guide, brought him to justice. The general theme was that Wild Bill killed lots of people in Bocas who were rootless and wouldn't be missed by either family or friends. He would kill them and then tell people they had sold him their property before leaving town. He got away with this for a long time but made a mistake when he killed a woman who owned a small private island. She was a party animal and her ex-husband still kept in contact with her. She was immediately missed and an investigation was begun. Her ex brought in investigative journalist Don Winter and Wild Bill now resides in the David Correctional Facility. It was a good show.

# 12 You know what a Panamanian hang up call is and also recognize the Panamanian finger wag and mouth point.

The outgoing mail service is available at the BCP table in front of the theater on Tuesday morning. We are always looking for somebody traveling to the U.S. during the week to deposit the mail in the nearest mailbox (sometimes at the airport). If you know your travel schedule to the U.S. and are willing to help with the mail, will you email me at pjbarrett@aol.com. This service is for properly stamped letters only; we have stamps for sale.

For $200 Buenos Vecinos de Boquete can supply food to a family for 6 months.