Stuff We Miss . . . the "best of" the Message Center

From: Terri Redfern
Date: 1/22/2001
Time: 7:09:40 PM
Decided to check out the web site and boy did it bring on the memories of happy hours at the yacht club, hanging out on the causeway and eating french fries with gravy at the Balboa Clubhouse.

From: Joel Baglien
Date: 1/22/2001
Time: 1:10:47 AM
Does anyone remember going to Santana's concert in Panama in 1970 (I think)? My dad went with me (very cool of him) - the first and best concert I ever heard. On the other end of the deal, I had tickets to hear Stevie Ray Vaughan play at the Minnesota State Fair. He was killed en route to the concert. One of the single greatest disappointments of my life - a terminal bummer for Stevie Ray. Bonnie Rait did the concert without Stevie - it was wonderful - it was heartbreaking - I wouldn't have missed it for anything!

From: Paul Dolan
Date: 1/24/2001
Time: 1:32:51 AM
Anybody find a pair of RayBan teardrop sunglasses on the causeway the morning after graduation?  Well, they're mine you slob and I want them back!  All of you who borrowed money from me at the Pub may pay me back at the bar in Orlando. A cop! Where? Put it out!

From: Mouse (Paul Fiori)
Date: 1/29/2001
Time: 4:26:02 PM
We had our horses at Albrook also for awhile.  Our stables were to the right when you pulled in.  We moved ours from Curundu to Albrook to Howard then to Vera Cruz when we bought a house there.  We had and raised Paso Finos from Colombia. They always were a hit at the parades thru Balboa, especially when the Bomberos were playing the drums.

From: Cookie (Janice Newlon)
Date: 2/1/2001
Time: 8:02:50 PM
hi, I went to that Santana concert too. it was my first concert ever. fantastic. George McFadden and Renee Milgram were there too. I saw Stevie Ray Vaugh in a small club in Austin FANTASTIC and then again in Miami where he opened for Jeff Beck (should have been the other way around).

From: Mouse (Paul Fiori)
Date: 2/2/2001
Time: 1:46:04 PM
AAAH I remember those from Amador road too! Can you believe I can get yellow star apples in Alaska for $1.00 a piece, mangoes 1.49 a pound ugh! My dream would be owning a beach resort in Puntamala with cabanas, pool/bar, bohios, fishing boats and a bus to go shopping in. Any investors out there???

From: Joel Baglien
Date: 2/2/2001
Time: 4:33:33 PM
Okay, okay, I can't limit myself to one thing! My wish list: A Diablo Clubhouse empanada, a sunburn from Rio Mar and a cold Panama beer (while on the beach). Damn, now I have to wipe the drool off my keyboard.

From: Matt Parks
Date: 2/3/2001
Time: 7:40:16 PM
I lived in Hawaii for 3 years. When I arrived I couldn't believe the similarity to Panama. One of the things I enjoyed most was the availability of many of the fruits we loved in Panama. I had mangos galore (one tree just outside my office) and of course bananas, papaya and the best... roseapples! We found a whole grove of them in the mountains near the north shore. Anyone who has ever been to Oahu and visited Sacred Falls on the north shore has been there. I was reading a book on popular hiking trails on the island when it mentioned the trail to the falls passed through a "mountain apple" grove. I checked with some Hawaiian locals, and after comparing descriptions I headed for the hills. I walked out with at least 15 pounds in plastic bags that first day. I also found them on Maui. I have pictures of me climbing the tree to get them. I'll never forget the looks I got from all the tourists passing by.

From: Matt Parks
Date: 2/3/2001
Time: 7:43:02 PM
The Canal Zone reinstated and under US control and living in my old house on Amador road.

From: Carol Hammers Southerland
Date: 2/5/2001
Time: 4:19:28 PM
I would almost die for a Napoli's pizza and some of those handmade Leather sandals!

From: "Special Ed" Stewart
Date: 2/5/2001
Time: 12:09:56 PM
Hello friends! 25 years is a looooonnnng time, verdad? This would be a tough choice - one item I would want is illegal, we can't get a lobster dinner from the BYC any more, and although it shames me to admit it, I never did develop a taste for ginnups! Maybe a bottle of Cortez Anejo, or perhaps a raspado?

From: Mouse (Paul Fiori)
Date: 2/6/2001
Time: 1:51:56 PM
If it is dry season! Why did it always rain as we were heading to the bus after school?  Does any one remember the sweet pungent smell of mango trees in full bloom?

From: Donna Seeley Haisten
Date: 2/7/2001
Time: 5:08:19 PM
I MISS BEING DOWN IN MY HOMELAND. I WANT IT BACK!! I also miss ginnups, Napoli pizza, mecha bread, fried yucca, roseapples, seeing all the fruits, nuts and avocados in the trees. Boy were we lucky to have been there. I miss the beaches, going to Volcan. I miss my and fun outdoor life. Boo Hoo

From: Steve Sowder
Date: 2/7/2001
Time: 10:53:21 PM
ahhhhh Ginnups..... haven't seen that fruit since I left Panama and could get them at the fruit stand that was in between the Main and back gate of Howard AFB. Anyone ever see them here in the States??

From: Steve Sowder
Date: 2/7/2001
Time: 11:17:30 PM
The jungle.. I miss getting off school on Friday, packing a backpack, machete' and water, and disappearing for the weekend. My Dad had fits, me being the only son and all, he was sure a bushmaster or something would get me.. I found lots of old bunkers and such on Howard AFB and the old Marine Barracks area across from Rodman Naval Station.

From: Steve Sowder
Date: 2/7/2001
Time: 11:49:42 PM
Just spent some time catching up on all the messages. Being a military brat when I was there, only 6 years, compared to what seems like a lifetime to some of you. Wish I had some of the memories I see being shared, especially from the bunch on the Causeway side of the canal. I lived at Howard for most of those 6 years. Started at the Tivoli Hotel when we first arrived in 70. Then, the Air Force put us "downtown" for a while till they could move us into Ft Kobbe on the backside of Howard. After a short stay there, on to the "new housing" at the other end of the base by the main gate. Folks didn't let our family run much on base, Dad was paranoid we'd get picked up by CZP or La Guardia.... but all in all, I wouldn't have traded the time spent in Panama for anything, and would love to go back. I can only imagine how it would have been to live there most of your younger life.... Anyone remember the French Cut, rappeling the cliffs there, the "Slide".... Cayuco races... I still have the paddle I made for my trip...

From: Mouse (Paul Fiori)
Date: 2/8/2001
Time: 3:46:34 PM
Oh yeah. I still have some cups, fingerbowls and plates from the Tivoli.  My dad got shot but survived ,while taking pictures from the Tivoli of the Panam building burning during the 64 riots. The bowls have green border with Tivoli and a crest on them. Steve remember finding c-rations around the bunkers little knowing you'd be eating them again at basic training? Geez I'm showing my age! I'd rather have them instead of MREs

From: Ed Stewart
Date: 2/8/2001
Time: 1:12:31 AM
The Slide was great! Never did get out to Goofy Falls though... Rappelling off the cliffs at the French cut and then diving into the water about 35 feet below - sure tightened up a few things! The Cayuco race was one looong boat ride. I had my patch from '76 for years, but can't seem to find it now. Anyone remember boating in Gatun Lake, and seeing all the bohios that people had there? Or the max (legal) speed limit on the road up near Summit? I think it was a fast 45 mph!!!

From: Steve Sowder
Date: 2/8/2001
Time: 6:56:28 PM
My Dad had a bohio at Gatun. We launched our boat in Gamboa. I miss the fishing, those Peacock Bass were great fighters and great tasting. Did you ever ride the hills at Miraflores locks on a dirt bike?

From: Yeah man
Date: 2/8/2001
Time: 7:46:14 PM
I used to make beer money selling minnows at Gamboa.  Diving for U-rail and lignum vitae.  Digging for old bottles at Gamboa dump. Ya'll had a hard time chasing me, Mark fiori, Mark Lawrence. mike mallard and the rest of the Yamaha Enduro gang at Miraflores track. Lil brother mark still rides but my bones take too long to heal now.  hahaha!

From: Mouse (Paul Fiori)
Date: 2/8/2001
Time: 12:18:35 PM
Ah yeah- Jumping at the french cut was fun but couldn't beat jumping of the Cocoli bridge at two in the morning after the Achorage club closed.  My biggest scare was spinning out my red station wagon on the way to Summit Gardens and sliding between the trees at the golf course after the lakes.  Or the night I slammed in to a CZP car coming around the admin corner on my skate board!

From: Ed Stewart
Date: 2/8/2001
Time: 1:05:49 AM
Ahh, yeah, Napoli pizza. I remember our family there about once a month (or so it seemed). You could get a pepperoni pizza and 2 Orange Crush sodas for $2!! Living near Dc lets me go to the local Tiendas Latinos, where they have michas (not the same as in the Zone), and our local Salvadorean restaurants have yuca frita -yummy! I miss those days - even if it's been 25 years since I left, and so much has changed, I want to go back!!!

From: Mouse (Paul Fiori)
Date: 2/26/2001
Time: 1:50:51 PM
Remember the Tropic Test Center and the little zoo they had there. I remember poking the electric eel with a dry stick and then giving my lil brother a green one. He wasn't happy after getting shocked and I got a whipping later. Me and John Thornton, Carl Sykes used to dig for bullets out back for our sling shots. I miss the stink bomb wars and kite flying in the field. Catching fish and crawdads in the ditches also Any one know what happened to the Wills family?

From: Dave Jones
Date: 2/26/2001
Time: 11:02:42 PM
Paul, that was a great place. And there was a big old sloth that lived behind the zoo and he would climb out on the the tree that hung over curundu road. On the back road to Clayton you would always see him hanging there. Damn, it seemed like he was there for years!! What a slacker! He probably moved to Austin after that. :) Just inside the school were some spider monkeys and we would get shiny stones and put them on the top of our pockets and train the monkeys to grab stuff out of our pockets. :) I remember going to the zoo and some kid was crying at the first cage because the monkey had picked his pockets and stolen about $0.50. Maybe that is when I realized that I was destined to be an educator. :)

From: mouse (Paul Fiori)
Date: 3/2/2001
Time: 11:35:02 AM
Do rub it in Diana,Sometimes when it snows I wish I could be there to mooch a Panama from you and go beach combing with you but oh well it snowed last night so I'm off to go plowing & make some quick bucks.It comes out to about 100.00 an hour so I'll grin and bear it. The local grocery switched owners and no longer carry guando so now must go on a mission to find someone else. I am in planting mood and always plant things from panama. Hmmm tamarindo beans are $1.29 for three beans sure gets expensive to make a glass of chicha de tamarindo! The store did start carrying guanabana though. may buy one for some Ice cold chicha after plowing.

From: red (Bill Winford)
Date: 3/5/2001
Time: 6:13:28 AM
rained last nite for the first time in 3 months.I have a wood roof on my studio, and the sound is almost what it was like in the house we lived in on Gavilan Rd. I hadn't thought about that for a long time till I read about snow (what the heck is that?) and realized I had never been in a snow situation of any sort. Somebody bring some to the reunion. I'll bring my shades and Panama hat.

From: Paul Dolan
Date: 3/18/2001
Time: 10:18:39 AM
I'm sick with a cold, held up here at home, bored out of my skull, so I guess I'll sit here and rant a bit. Don't mean to brag, but I was in Panama last week for a few days. Duncan doughnut's right...it IS dry season there now. I went to Central Ave. where I bought a pair of those sandals you girls use to wear there. They're brown leather and have a strap over the big toe. I got them for Denise Curtis. She was an army brat who attended Curundu during our 7th and 8th grades. I don't remember her from then. We bumped into each other on the net. I also got her some bags of plantain chips she asked for. I stocked up on 15 bottles of chombo hot sauce made by a bartender at the Balboa Elks Club. I hope to be getting my own keys there soon. I also picked up a half gallon of Seco for the reunion. I don't drink the stuff, but those of you who do are welcome to it. When there in PTY I stay at the Hotel Montreal on Via Espana, about two blocks up from the Cathedral. Only $18 per day. The rooms are nothing to write home about, but they're clean, air-conditioned and secure. There's also an outdoor pool on the roof. I like going up there for a dip and to watch that insane Panamanian traffic down below. It's also got a nice view of Panama City with the bay, the Causeway and the anchorage in view. I noticed the letters "Balboa High School" are missing from the top front of the building. Wonder who made off with them? That 07270 message was from me. That's my old Canal Zone Schools Division ID number. Remember yours? Anybody know the best way to blast a cold? This winter stuff is getting old. Valarie Bodnar, where art thou? Amen.

From: Mike Little
Date: 04.10.01
Time: 10:19 PM
Palmar, RIO MAR, CHORRERRA FALLS, THE PUB AND THEN LEAVING TO THE BEACH.....ARRAIJAN...MEECHA BREAD.... QUESO CHELA... CHINESE PLUMS IN THE FIFTH GRADE.. YOUR FIRST KISS AND TOUCH.....IN THE 7TH.....DRY AND HOT MONTHS...... BUT IT'S...DRY SEASON AND THEN RAIN, RAIN, RAIN. SKIMBOARDS..... HOT AND MUGGY....SKINNY GIRLS AND GUYS WITH NOTHING BUT LAUGHTER AND WARM...WARM...CONNECTIONS. SURF GETTING BIGGER AND BETTER BUT MOSTLY SOOOOOO SPECIAL ON THOSE DAYS WHEN YOU'RE JUST OUT WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND AND THE SURF IS PANAMA,, ON A LIGHT RAINY DAY....SLIGHTLY OFFSHORE WINDS.... STILL AND WET AND OH SO GLASSY..

From: Box 1059.  GF(right), AB (left), FE (right).
Date: 4/25/2001
Time: 11:56:05 AM
... You came to memorize the combination to your Balboa Post Office mail box because that's where your "Failing Slips" would show up.