07 May 2023

The President of Panama and me...macheteless

How does this stuff happen to me?  It's Panama, 1994 I believe.  I'm living on the Pacific side of the Isthmus and having a great time.  Weather is beautiful year round except for the rainy season which in the end you welcome since the rest of the year is "no rainy" season.  Panama is an interesting place to live.
The first place we lived was just off post in a high rise apartment.  Lots of crime down there and our doorman was armed with a short rifle that my guess was a .22.  Didn’t make us feel that secure.  
Lawn mower guy killed Gila monster with screwdriver.
Toro Perez body guard.  I was asked to do a prayer for the closing of Fort Davis and the Army jungle School on the Atlantic side of the canal.  It was attended by General Barry McCaffrey, the CG of Southern Command and later President Bill Clinton’s drug czar.  He dealt with a lot of drug activity in SouthCom.  McCaffrey was also in chapel every Sunday he was there attending Mass nd always in the front row!  Also on attendance at the closing was Ernesto Peres Balladares, the president of Panama and former treasury secretary for Manual Noriega.  The bad guy and reason for our invasion in the 1980s.  
Panning for gold
The 55 mile drive
Christmas in shorts
.22 at gate looked like a mini machine gun.

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