I have been meaning to post this for some time and I guess this is the time. When Lilliam and I started getting ready to move, I started looking for a way to ship items back to the US.

I should say that if you are moving to Panama, I recommend you leave furniture, cars and all large items wherever you are moving from. I moved a 40-foot container to Panama and 99% of the items are still in Panama.

Moving items from Panama is more difficult and much more costly. I checked with DHL, a shipper in Boquete and a shipper in Bocas. The shippers only sent pallets and the price was out of reason. Continue reading Sending Stuff To The US And the Move →

I keep saying I need to touch base with the blog readers to see if anyone still checks in.

That thought seems to enter my mind and then dissipates almost as fast as it entered.

Sometimes I think that maybe I won’t get back to writing and I should take the blog down. Then I receive an email because the blog is still up and it renews my energy.

Here was the email today.

Hi Don,

Biill Warren here.

I knew Bo Kjaer Olsen way back in 1994 or so and he told me so many treasure stories and I shared mine with him. I cannot believe he was murdered aboard his lovely ship in Panama. This is a sad night for me. I have tried to find him for years. His printed flyer/brochure was super nice. Did he ever go back to the ” de Gouden Buys” and bring up those 24 chests of gold coins? He told me when he approached the diamond areas along Namibia and so africa he was shot at by deBeers diamond company security guards. Is his son alive and if so, is there a way for home to contact him? Or a wife or daugh-in-law? And, did the cops ever find the guys who killed Bo and shot his son? Zach and his wife must have had a good look at the bums.

Where is Bo’s ship which i believe Baron Hiltons son bought him. Did you know the Hilton family financed Bo for salvage?

I am a published author. Books about my adventures researching, searching and salvages treasures around the globe. I write you now at 2 am in Odessa, Ukraine on the black sea where i am singing my concerts and diving and writing.

thanks,

Bill Warren

This was obviously related to the posts related to a shooting and Embassy case I had written about. Zech and I have remained friends since we met. I encouraged him to move back to the US and he has done that.

He still has medical problems because of the bullet that remains in his back. We communicate on a monthly basis.

At any rate, this was today’s reminder of why I have kept the blog up. I will post again but now isn’t the time.

I received a WhatsApp message stating that Dr. Bullen will be in his David office on Saturday, June 2, 2018.

As you may remember, he is the doctor that helped Lilliam with her skin cancer need.

My original post, on Dr. Bullen’s office, can be found HERE.

Information on his dermatology practice can be found HERE.

Numbers to call for reservations are 223 9697, 215 2106, 213 1907.

David – 777 8076 direct, 774-0128 ext 2185
Mobil 6982 2188 (English)

Lilliam and I visited the US several times before we decided to apply for Lilliam’s Green Card. We started the Process in July of 2016. The process is described in the following US Government website.

In our case, I had to file form I-30, which is the petition for an alien relative. The filing fee was $535.

There were many more fees as well as the expenses of preparing the documentation. All in all, I think I spent in excess of $1,500+ to get through the entire process.

I am not going to go into any of the filing specifics, but will merely describe the process and anxiety we went through in satisfying all of the requirements.

Some people hire lawyers to do this, but I am convinced that it can be done by the individual if you are patient and willing to read the instructions and double check your work. I had to do the filing as I was the petitioner. There are requirements for both the petitioner as well as the relative. Continue reading Green Card Experience →

Thanks to all that replied to my “Hello World” post. I had chosen that title as it is the default title for the first post on WordPress and it almost seemed like a first post since it had been so long.

I doubt if I will be able to be as active posting as I was before. It will take a few days for me to organize the Green Card post. I will have to go back and look at my notes related to all the submissions.

I am trying to give myself motivation for the book project. I used the book as motivation to buy a Google Pixelbook, which is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. It is Google’s Chromebook and is not cheap, so seeing something lying around not being used, usually motivates me to get active. At least if it is technology related. I need to be careful how I phrase that or Lilliam will start leaving hammers, drills etc lying around the house.

Speaking of getting active, yesterday, I took the Texas written driving exam. I had foolishly allowed my Texas license to expire and therefore put myself in the position of needing to take both the written and driving exams.

Getting a license requires a quite a bit of documentation. I needed a Social Security card, so that required a trip to the SSA office. I got the SS card last Friday, which cleared the way to take the written exam.

Besides the SS card, I needed my passport and two forms of identification to prove I was a resident of Texas. I had my new Medicare card (with current address) and new voter’s registration (with current address), but they still wanted one more. I was able to use my phone to send the attendant my car insurance card, which showed residents address.

The written exam was 30 questions and I needed 70% correct (21 out of 30). I got 77% correct (23 out of 30). The reason for the low score was that there were a lot of questions such as “What is the maximum fine for a first offense DUI”? I am glad I passed because I really did not want to study the manual

My passing took a huge load off of Lilliam who is really stressing out over having to take the test. I have the driving and parallel parking test scheduled for the 26th. That was the first open date to take the test. You would not believe how many people were at the DPS office.

I have finished my taxes and one of the things I need to do the E-filing is to enter my Texas Driver’s license number. I could have printed the forms and mailed it but used it as another motivation to get the license. I needed all motivation to go take the test I could muster.

When you move to Texas, you are required to have a drivers license within 90 days of entry, assuming you plan on driving. My end date was February 12.

Hopefully, next week, I will get out another post. With a little luck, it will be done on the new Pixelbook.

I hope that Chiriqui Chatter can remain a resource for understanding retirement in Panama. I am open to ideas for posts following the ones I mentioned in my “Hello World” post.