http://www.worldometers.info/

I had all my paperwork in order. My driving school diploma, photo copy of my passport (though I had to show the very attractive young lady who was processing me the real thing) and the letter I’d gotten from my HMO doctor as required by law for those of us 70 years old and up saying that I was in decent enough physical condition to be let loose upon the thoroughfares of the Republic with a motor vehicle.

With my paperwork logged into the system I was passed down the line to a cubicle where my mug shot was taken and I had to use one of those foolish electronic pens to sign my name. I was later called back to have my photo retaken. I assume that’s because the first one made me actually look like a human being and was far too good to be placed on an official document.

Next I went to another cubicle where I was given an eye exam which I apparently passed with flying colors. Then I went to an actual room that had three computer screens. First I took the hearing test which consisted of identifying which ear you heard a tone of varying intensities broadcast. Then, at the same computer, came one of the two biggies of the day…the “written” test. Another attractive young lady (I think that’s one of the requirements for them to be hired) patiently explained, in Spanish, that the test was composed of 10 questions. That’s right, only TEN QUESTIONS. And they’re in SPANISH, too. You are allowed one minute in which to read the question and mark the correct multiple-guess answer. I assume you’re automatically marked as incorrect if you don’t do it fast enough. It took me about four minutes to go through the test. I don’t know how many I actually got correct but I know it was enough to pass me on to the inspector who was going to do the “practical” part, or the “road test.”

The driving school had one of their employees bring the motor scooter to the site for my test. There was also another student taking his test this morning, too. I had to wait in line for four people testing for driving a car. They are required to park between a set of cones face in, back in and then parallel park. Three of them had a horrible time with the parallel parking test, but they all passed. Then it was my turn. You can see, in the “Wait That’s It!” link below the route I had to take. The only difference between that guy’s test and mine was that I was told to weave through three cones. As I approached the cones the inspector had his back to me talking to the next applicant in a car. He turned toward me just as I was finishing the weave, gave me a “thumbs up” and I was done.

I went back inside the office where I received another surprise when I went to pay. Because I’m over 70 I got a 50% discount on the fee and only had to pay $20! A few minutes after making my payment I was called up to a small window where I received this:

Down there, next to my picture is the code for vehicles I’m permitted to drive. “A” is for bicycle (don’t ask, I don’t know and didn’t ask myself why that’s there.) “C” is for automobiles and was on my original license. The “B” means I can now drive a motorcycle.

Another thing the States could take a lesson from the Panamanians is how to run a driver’s license office. From start to finish this morning it took me just under two hours to complete everything. One time at the DMV in Plantation, Florida, it took me TWO DAYS to get my license renewed!!!

So, it’s over and done with. I took the Panama challenge of having to do the whole thing in Spanish and I PASSED!

Below are links to the stories I’ve posted leading up to today’s adventure for anyone interested in the timeline.

http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/03/04/accepting-a-huge-challenge/

http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/03/12/wait-thats-it/

http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/03/19/back-to-school/

http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/03/25/escuela-de-manejar-day-1/

http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/03/26/driving-school-day-2/

http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/03/27/driving-school-day-3/

http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/05/07/still-waiting/

http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/05/14/another-step-closer/

http://www.flickspire.com/_videos/flash/LILC/LILC.swf 

When I was in grade school we used to spend the entire summer at the edge of Flax Pond:

Here, in Brewster, Mass, on Cape Cod at:

One of my big delights was spending most days with my friends tooling around the pond in the eight-foot pram my dad had built. Most of the time we rowed. But we did have an outboard motor, too. It was just like this one:

I think it was about 1.5 h.p. and it was very heavy for a skinny kid of eight or nine years old to put on and off the boat which was one of the reasons I didn’t use it very often. Another reason was that you had to wrap a starter line around the spool at the top and pull as hard as you could to start the thing. It took three or four pulls on a good day for anyone to get it running.

While the other ponds in the park, Higgins and Cliff in particular, had been stocked with trout, Flax had a collection of pan fish, mostly yellow perch and a catfish everyone referred to as “horn pout.” There were also the occasional small-mouth bass to be had, but they were rare.

My mom loved to fish. It was one of her great passions, and she and I would often venture off in the night to go across the pond to where there was an excellent fishing hole about a mile away from our camp site. It was an excellent hole for horn pout which we loved to have for breakfast along with a stack of pancakes filled with blueberries picked from bushes just steps away from the tent my younger brothers and I shared.

One night my mom and I went out on a trip to our “secret” hole. Naturally we used the outboard to get there. We’d been doing quite well and had about gotten our limit when my mom got a hard strike on her line. “Oooo,” she said, “I think I’ve got a bass.” In the moon light I could see her rod had a big arc in it and the tip nearly touched the water. My mom patiently played her line back onto the reel and finally got the fish up to the surface. And then its head broke water and kept coming and coming and coming. It was a large eel and way too much like a snake for my mom. There was absolutely no way she was going to bring it into the boat with her. Instead, she wrapped the starter cord around the engine spool and with one single, never to be repeated pull of the cord, brought that stubborn engine to life and dragged that poor eel across Flax Pond, drowning it in the process.

My dad cleaned it in the morning, along with the horn pout, but except for him, nobody else would try it. Of course he also liked tripe which he would cook just for himself a couple of times a year, too.

Jeff at the marker of the southern most point of the Appalachian Trail.

Pointing out the view from Blood Mountain, the highest point on the Trail in Georgia.

I look forward to the picture of him atop Mt. Kathadin in a month or so.

(Check out the comment my brother made about this post in the comments section. His journey, if he is able to complete it, will take a lot longer than I thought.)

I go to the licensing agency Thursday morning to take the written (in Spanish) and practical tests. I don’t think it’s going to be too hard taking the written test. Just need to remember the speed limits for things like school zones, etc. The rest of it is just common sense and not really any different than the rest of the world. I’ll let you know what happens.

Bridge of the Americas (Panama City, Panama)

Shrimp Plant (Panama)

Chagres River (Gamboa Rain Forest, Panama)

]]> http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/05/12/a-word-a-week-photo-challenge-patterns/feed/ 4 oldsalt1942 Bridge of the Americas Bridge of the Americas Detail edited Shrimp plant IMG_0456 http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/05/12/up-for-the-challenge/ http://onemoregoodadventure.com/2013/05/12/up-for-the-challenge/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 13:13:56 +0000 oldsalt1942 http://onemoregoodadventure.com/?p=3359 Continue reading →]]> This is the first time I’ve run a post like this, but it’s so unusual and so beautiful I have to let my readers know about it.

A new person has chosen to follow my blog. Why? I haven’t a clue, but their blog is so unique, so worth looking at I have to pass it on. It’s called A Word In Your Ear. If you like photography from all over the world you need to take a look at this.

“Skinny Wench says, “Once a week I dip into the dictionary and pick a word that the page falls open at, the challenge is to post a picture or use whatever genre you prefer to share what your take on the word is

“If you are taking part don’t forget to :-

“Create a post and add a link/pingback to this one so others can follow the trail and join in or check out entries of other bloggers.

“Add a tag ‘A Word A Week Challenge’ in your ‘tags’ box so I can find your post easily if you would like a chance to reblogged -  I like to share your posts with the rest of my readers and highlight new bloggers on the grid.

“Hit the follow button if you would like an automatic alert for this challenge each week.

“You have a week to post if you would like to take part – I normally post a new word each Sunday.”

You may want to take the challenge.

I wonder what happens to the ones that are thrown far away from their scent trails whenever I sweep the front porch. Do they ever find their way home again? Do they get adopted by another colony of nearby ants or are they killed for being an enemy intruder? Or do they simply starve to death far away from home?