Panama

 I 'bumped' into someone 'chatting' today.....who spent time in Panama, which back a lot of odd memories.

I spent three years there....1986 to 1989.  It was the Noreiga period, and I left about 6 months before the 'invasion' occurred.

My top ten memories:

1.  If anything went out on your car.....it could take you 90 days for the BX garage to get the part.

2.  You always kept a $10 bill in visor of the car, to bribe a cop if necessary.

3.  There were always snake issues.

4.  Christmas trees arrived in three or four steel containers from North Carolina....being about 80-percent dead.  

5.  I walked in the car registration office in the second year (being a Panama gov't operation) and here were 20-odd Panamanian women (18 years old) dressed in the most slutty outfits possible, with one 60-year old gal supervising them.  Each one performed ONE single function.  I stood there for about 45 minutes....waiting.....and observing the flirting eyes and function of each gal.

6.  Virtually every single car failed the yearly inspection, and was fixed with a $10 bribe.

7.  The chicken 'shack' at the club (CTMS) had the best fried chicken in the world, at $4 for a five-piece tray and a ice tea.  It was super-ultra crispy.  On calorie count?  It was probably near 1,000 calories.  

8.  At the entrance way of the NCO Club on a Friday night, there must have been forty Panamanian women waiting to get a invite inside.  Guys could easily get attached and married in six weeks.

9.  A legendary story was that one of the Tony Noriega's mistress gals was scheduled to arrive back at the airport in town, and Tony's wife found out the time.....meeting her and having a knife on her for several minutes until security took her down.

10.  The most excitement ever on Albrook (my housing area) was the arrest and detention of Tony's oldest daughter for racing through the housing unit.  The next day, Tony had around 100 Army and Air Force people arrested to pay them back.