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This'll is Amanda Knoll with the Samuel Proctor Oil History program from the University of Florida. It's July 3rd, 2010, and I'm here with Dennis Tully and Sharon Kelly. Well, thank you so much for you guys being here in agreeing to talk to us. I'd like to get started just by you telling about your family and how you guys got involved in the canal zone.

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To me, it goes back to actually my grandfather, Robert Randall. Barbara Lee Randall. He was in Panama, and I'm not sure if he was in on the construction or not. I'm checking on that. But they were down there and my mother I was down there. My father went there in 1940 one, and he was in the Army Air four and he got out of the Army Air Corps and became a canal zone.

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Policemen and I found out later on his deathbed that he was actually never out of the service. He was a commander in the Navy, and he was also a spy because the canal zone had all these cables and stuff running through the jungles that they had to keep track of.

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And that's what he did. Eso It was interesting, you know, that's how and I was born in Margarita Canal Zone and there's a church now where my hospital waas and, uh, Sharon. She was born in Callan and my other sister, Gail was born in Callan Way.

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Our zone Ian's and we do have the dual citizenship there, so But we loved it down there. I mean, we lived in several. It's a small knit community. If you ever want to know what a socialistic society was like, that was a success story because they provided your housing and and everything.

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And eso we just as kids we knew each other knew everybody. We're from the Atlantic side, the good side booth drinking side That wasn't our side. You will hear that refer. Thio e didn't say that last year, though. They shared a hospitality house. That's the first time in history that the to have gotten a long way shared a hospitality house last year with the other side.

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Let him bring way. But life down there was Yeah, it was just it was nice. I mean, you could walk around and not have to worry. You have your doors open. You never had to worry about anybody breaking in. Uh, you had Colon where we're at even back then.

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It was funny because you could go around. But if you went in the colon, the women could not wear shorts or they'd get arrested. She it was just That's just the way the place waas. And that was outside of the zone that was outside of the zone, right?

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If they went into Kalon outside of zone and short, they would be arrested and plus on the the army base, their Fort Gulick. They were not allowed to wear shorts either on the basis of MPs would stop him and make him go back to their house.

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And they had to. And so when I went to visit my friends for the weekend, I could not wear any shorts. I had Thio have a skirt on. Remember, we could wear slacks on the army base, but I knew that shorts were no no, and they really they would pick you up as a kid.

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Eso no one could work short time or any of the army basis. We got our first TV in 1953 I believe 56 way had Elvis just came out. Pat Boone and we were in Margarita. Just come back from the United States visiting Grandma. But it was metal case and all that was pretty, but we didn't watch much TV.

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We'll watch wrestling. We had a cat that like to watch wrestling with. It was the weirdest cat in the world because it wouldn't watch any TV you put wrestling on. He'd walk up, sit in front of the TV and watch. And when the ad come on, he'd walk off.

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And when the resting came back on, he walked back and sit on his head, would go back and forth like this. E have video most of the homes now. No, Cristobal and New Cristobal. Most of the homes, uh, there was no jungle there on there. Panama, Pretty much as thick jungles.

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But when we lived in Margarita and France field, it was jungle. You walk out your door and 50 ft, you're in the jungle. And his kids, we'd play games. We didn't watch TV, we didn't know. And the government is service had control over the TV until, like, six or seven o'clock.

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And then shows came on, but as kids, we were never We didn't care about TV. We played games. We played football, baseball. We were in the jungle ring. Olivia was a famous game. You hit and have had teams and catch each other. And I spent most of my time in the jungle.

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I mean, even weekdays, I'd be out in the jungle. It was supposed to be, but we did go that we weren't supposed to be in there. Oh, okay. It is always a cross breeze because you're only the isthmus is only 50 miles wide. So you always have a win win a breeze.

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The only place air conditioned in Panama. When we lived, there was the clubhouse, the commissary and the movie theater. That was it. And that was until later couple, sort of before margarita did they. So we didn't have and you didn't need air conditioning. It's just wasn't, you know, but we could get soaked, walk in and get something to eat and the cold and dry off and walk back out and get soaking in.

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And you never caught colds. But it was just a lot of fun down there. It was just the schools were great. When I came to this country. I was a year and a half ahead of where I waas here and they wouldn't let me go ahead.

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They made me stay back and I had to take everything all over again. It was the most boring thing in the world. Todo But what else? You, um What can you tell me a little bit about your mother? Did she work down there? No. My mom was She was involved in.

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What was that? She was Women's Club or something? Uh, yeah, I see the ring. The star? No, she was the other one. The female She was involved in that she was involved in women's Club. You have to do with the Elks Club Elks Club. My dad was the one that worked.

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Uh, she s o She didn't have to. Most of the women down there didn't have to work, but she was home. But she was gone a lot because of all the organizations you belong. Thio now in Panama, Eastern Star, Eastern Star star, but in Panama. And they had maids.

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Now the Panamanians love to be a made because they got a lot more money than what they get over And Louise was ours, and she was are made since we were born. You were She was family. She wasn't really We didn't consider made. She was there.

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Every day she was she helped raise us. And where she raised us and she learned how to cook with her. And But she was there every day working. And it was like I said, she was family. She was way tried toe bring her to the United States with us, but she didn't want to come kids, but that But my mom Yeah, she mostly did that.

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And I didn't see much of it during the day because I was never home. E was gone, e Like I said, we D v e couldn't tell you because I didn't watch it. It was just way didn't watch TV way didn't have the customs. They have appear like down there.

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It was just different. And the high school, the great schools and all we learn. The Panamanians school learned English from the time they started school. A czar second language. Our schools in American schools learn Spanish from the time you started school. That way you both had two languages and and that way you knew him.

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So it was really nice that way. And during the summer, the coach, several. But we had programs. Volleyball, basketball, archery. I used to teach archery injury, but we go across the isthmus and play basketball against Gambo, Balbo, Diablo Heights and all. During the summer, they had a summer program for us.

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Whereas appear, I mean, you have to invent your own or joined the Y or something down there. It was just there for the kids. So it was a lot of fun that way. And then we took vacations every other year because my father got a month, a year, one month or two.

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Almost three. Yeah. So he take vacation every other year. And then we'd almost have spent three months up here with my grandparent's Andrew Park in Tampa. Okay, which e got the note here? McDonald Hamburgers For what? 11 cents was E 11 cents and no 15 15 prize for 11 cents.

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Yeah, and back then, the walkers were a walker because they were this big, and you couldn't finish it because it was 49 cents for the fish and I couldn't even finish it, I said, They're not even. It's biggest what they are. They called. They want their trying out compared to back then.

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That was the first walker we had was in the in ST Petersburg on US 19. It's no longer there way, even though my you lived in a small community. But you moved, Uh, I don't know the reason behind it, but we live in Oh, Cristobal. Then we moved to New Cristobal.

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Then we moved from New Cristobal the margarita and then from Margarita, the France feel when my dad got hurt on A They have Chibas down there. They call them Chibas. It's homemade Busses. They could make a bus out of anything, anything. And my dad had a motorcycle with a sidecar on it because he used to take me a great school, used to love that, gave me great school in sidecar, but achieve around a stop sign and hit the sidecar and crushed his leg.

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Uh, and eventually it got so bad that they retired and medically, in 61. That's why we came to this country. Then he we had an option of moving to Panama into the Panamanian zone for coming to the States, and my father later on said he regretted not asking us what we wanted to do because all three of us would have said Move into the Panamanians off because we didn't want to come here right away.

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Our friends were there. We didn't wanna leave our friends because my best friend, her mom leader, grew up with my mom and they were best friends. And then we became When we moved to Margarita, we became best friends. But I know that one reason we moved from old Crist open and that's where he felt and the wagon and chipped his tooth.

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And I was cutting an apple and I didn't wanna wake my parents. So I walked over to my grandparent's before they left in in 50 my granddad retired. I walked over, they lived on Third Street and I walked over to their house because I knew I'd get in trouble for cutting my getting an apple, slicing my thumb almost off.

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But I still got in trouble because, of course they had tell my parents what I did. I got in trouble because I walked all that distance because I was about 49. So I was about five years old when I did that way moved over there because they had lived on that street.

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And I remember the house they lived in and all, and it was near the Union Church. Like he said, the Union church, I was baptized there. We went there, and there was a church next door to us. What we always went to the Union church and right where the Union church was right.

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The next street that was Panama, that was colony, that was and then we were right here. And then down the road was our high school crystal. The high school before it went to Coco Solo and I went to 7th and 8th grade there. And then when it moved, I went to the one in Coco Solo.

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We used to sneak in there on the weekends at night because I was skinnies and I fit right through the bars, way speaking or climbed the fence. Go over there and they would have jellyfish all over the beach. And I got stung by a jellyfish, limping home and please been picked me up and took me home.

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We had breakwater that went all the way out and had the blue water holes. So you have to be careful where you walk because all of a sudden trawl my mom When my grandad went down there. She was 12 years old and they lived on the Pacific side.

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She graduated from Bobbo High School on the way. One of places they diavolo e have the heights of things. That's where they lived. One of the places in one time. She was skating at Gorgeous Hospital down the hill and it's a big hill and she fell and broke her arm when she went back to the hospital, had to cast taken off what she dio skate same place and fell and broke her arm and had to go back to the hospital on Get her arm done again.

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She our cousins, our cousins lived on the same side. We did it first. Terror Randy. They lived in Gap to they moved to Marguerite up in Snob Hill, and then they moved over to the other side, so I'd go visit them and my dad he met my mom, threw his cousins Wally Wydell, who was down There is a police officer and he met my mom, threw him clients and got married in 42 had meat and had Dennis and had chaos.

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And, like he said, Louise, she spanked us, disciplined us. And when he got time for me, she taught me how to iron, which I was grateful for because that's when I joined the service. It's good thing I knew how to iron because he had iron your uniforms.

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The guy's got to take her out with all the peoples, had to do their own. She taught me the iron, do the dishes, and I would try to be snippy in time believing for her. I came home from school. Those dishes were in the sink and she goes, Sharon, you gotta do these dishes She taught me how to mop, how to sweet.

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There's a lot of people they came to state. They didn't have to do that. Like he said, all we had to do was just play playing Hafun. I watched my mom. I watched her how to cook. That's how I learned how to cook. I watched Louise folks and learn how to cook her food.

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In one year, she made fruit cake. If you don't like fruitcake. You would fell in love with her because she had a big jar. Keep adding rum to it, Let it ferment. By the time that cake was ready, we're eating the cake. And moms like, Why are the kids getting funny?

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And she tasted E. She said, You can't put that with from minute way were like that. Same with the eggnog. Need own eggnog. And my mom made her own eggnog and I drank it. I e like this stuff. My God, you weren't allowed to have too much of that.

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She caught me taking my godmother's one Mrs Apple. I couldn't call her Pat Pat Apple. You know, she was my godmother. I had to call her Mrs Apple because back then you didn't call anyone bother. First name. If they were an adult, it was Mrs or Miss or Mr No first name basis E.

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She gave me some eggnog. My mom told her off. Big giveaway right here, my little mustache. But Dad was grand, exalted ruler of the else. Well, first he was secretary than he was grand exalted ruler 15 else. Phone number 15. 42. And they had the best food there, and the K at Knights of Columbus had the best hamburgers way.

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Could get two hamburgers and R C for 25 cents. Way were when they gave us lunch Money usually had to walk home for lunch because they didn't have lunch programs in school back then, and we had to either walk home. But when they gave us money for lunch, mostly went to Nice to come because you've got a big better deal than going to the clubhouse.

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What we used Thio do dishes get a quarter a week, but a quarter of glass? Because you went to a matinee, you could go to the matinee and get a big bag of popcorn and a Coke for a quarter. The movie was a dime back then.

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It went up 15 cents. What used to be a dime 15 cents. So for a double feature you so I will be Saturdays for 15 cents. E was very mischievous is why I was known as Dennis the Menace. Most people knew Mia's Dennis the Menace, and if anybody you mentioned my name, most of them know me.

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Yes, I waas, and my best friend was Terry and unfortunately, he passed away a long time ago. But he was Terry the terror on Dennis the Menace E one time his mother asked us to take down the Christmas tree her miss take because we had a vacuum cleaner and we didn't know.

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So we just suck the bulbs off the vacuum cleaner way got in trouble over that on. And then his father bought him a chemistry set one year for Christmas on were in there trying to figure out what to do and all. And we had it on the stove, something boiling on.

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We had an ingredient, and it started really smoking bad. So way made it outside before it exploded. But way got in trouble over that chemistries that away from us. But e e happy, but you made your own way. Had roller skates back then and you roller skated everywhere fashion kind of time in the metal e falling off on.

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Then you made your own little, uh, slide to go down the hill slides some problems. Yeah, or a box wax the box on. Then you you took baby buggy wheels and made a flat part. You could go down and steer it on way Played death defying things because it was chicken on.

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The only way you could stop this thing was run off in the grass. When you run off the grass, it stopped. You didn't s e eso. How do you get a box? A box was stopping. I wouldn't be. Oh, Hill was steep. Get approved up. Crass everywhere.

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But I learned how to iron down there and everything also because I wanted a pair of pants and I was getting demanding toe Louise and my mom says, Hold on, she just come with me. She took me out. There's the irony more. There's the iron. Here's the pants.

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You iron them. You want e iron? E wanted him. I learned Iron E. She says she doesn't work. You know, if she says you, she'll iron them when she gets a chance. But if you want something, you iron it. My granddad, Granddad Randall. He worked at the dry docks.

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I don't know what he did when he was in Balboa, but I know when he came to the Atlantic side, he worked at the dry docks at Mount, hoping I went a couple times with him he go down into the steep area. Great, big, huge machines.

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And it was so loud you couldn't even hear yourself. It was just a roar of it. I'm not too sure what he did, but I remember the big machinery down there. I know you had to go down some steep things to get down there on. It was to drive back, so I just don't remember.

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And I wish I would have asked if I did. I don't remember because that was so far back, but not like he said. E was trying to find out information on that body. One of her cousins were. We have the same cousins even though we're not related.

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And she's doing She did a history of it so they would have information on my grandma and my granddad because they were also Randy and Terry. That was my mom and his mom were sisters. Yeah, I'll be able to get more information, so I'm gonna get it that way through her.

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One of the biggest things we had there was a lot of fun. It was Christmas tree burns after Christmas and we formed I don't wanna say gangs, but yeah, way to go asking people for their Christmas trees because whoever had the most Christmas trees, that's what we had.

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A contest that's just so way would do that. And then at first of the year, they have a big Christmas tree burn. Well, when I was in France Field, I went around asking for Christmas trees and this one girl that Beth Lewis, she says. And you know, she says, You can't have my triage level.

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I can always come and take it. She says, You can't get my tree And I said, Okay, spices. Where is this? So she told me it was in right by the door where you could see in they'd be eating in there. I said, Okay, I says, Come at it, seven o'clock tree, I'd be gone and I could be right here and you could be right there and you would never know.

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I'm standing right here in the jungle because we were that good. With that quiet, we got the new it real well. So I wore all black, and I went in the jungle up by Jeff's house and crawled and went down there, and I crawled out of the jungle.

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Jeff and I did, and we went up to that. We watched a meeting. We're watching a meeting suffered and we took the tree and she she she came to my mother the next day crying and give her back her tree. And I said, Why? It's ours now?

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No, you give her back her tree. E says they fair. So we went into the way, went into the E Guess that's a major room or whatever. We went and I gave her a tree. That's not our tree, and it's just tough. Your tree now says, I'm giving you back your tree, but that's how way Be real good people's play.

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They have to find out where they have their tree stash and they go again. They try to find out where everybody else had. There's be driving around. We're talking about that in the zone, like one time about everybody going trying to steal trees from each other.

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You have a big bonfire and roasted marshmallows and some Moore's so good and sit around telling store with scary stories and singing songs. My dad was umpire on. He would coach a Little League E. I was on my father's team. It's police athletically, and he wouldn't play me.

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So I went up the hill and slid down the hill having fun. While I figured what he told me, I had to sit on the bench. This is why, you know, and I wouldn't sit on the bench, so he fired me. You should have got in trouble for asking why, Danielle, You?

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But you did. You didn't question if he said do this. You didn't say why. Dad usually just did it. Mom, you could get away with it. But if Dad said into the trash, You didn't say later, Dad, because it wasn't in his vocabulary just wasn't in Both my parents hated lies.

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And one day we had gone to the jungle out there. We saw Farmer two dogs, Andy, and we saw the two dogs that he took for us. Teddy and Teddy and Teddy and great. Forgot the other dogs named Teddy. And well, there was to tease, right?

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Tap? No. Wasn't Tammy. Tammy was the other dog, but my dad got home from work. He asked me share what you do today, and I just knew something told me Hey, knows what I did. So I said I was in the jungle and he goes, Good thing you said that because I was in the jungle.

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Saw so and so and Andy. And he told me he saw Dennis. And you were his farm. E dang to myself. Jungles huge. How in the world my dad goes to this one little spot in this big jungle like catching a needle in a haystack and find e got in trouble.

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Got punished. I don't know if you got punished, but I'm gonna While I got I spent more time in my room and Margarita, I was counting tiles and everything. I spent the weekend with my girlfriend, Josephine, and got to weigh, Decided to go to about Boy.

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We had no money to get there, but not enough money to get back. We figured out we'll get money from somebody over there. So we get on the train and we did get some money from some soldier over there. But meanwhile, someone had seen me and called my dad and said George called the police station.

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They had to go up notifying my dad that his daughter was over in the other side where I wasn't supposed to be a supposed to be in Katou. So we're coming back on the train. Falls in the gateau who's standing there at the railroad station with my dad and full uniforms E I looked at my heart goes moving on.

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I'm saying to myself, I don't wanna get off the train. I who I was in trouble. E Well, I'm gonna go to color crystal ball, get off their e, go to Crystal. But he's gotta get his motorcycle and go, Oh, be in worse trouble because then I can't go anywhere.

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Once you're there, you can't go any further. So I got off the train e in this, his motorcycle. We went to Josephine Tiles, got my stuff, took me back home, and I was punished for a whole month. Josephine didn't even get in trouble, huh? Back in the room for in another time in Margarita.

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Mugged in the bedroom on the third floor. And I love slamming doors back then. I think there are that comes upstairs. You find that door will be two more months. They were going to the movie. No matter where you were. Everybody knew you. And if you weren't where you were supposed to be.

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Your parents knew about it. I mean, she's outside on the roof. I'm out there with and somebody saw us on the roof, three floors up on the roof. They had long Bruce medal were out and somebody called them and told them where we were. That was a police officer and I saw him eating his soup and it went like this and he looked up and he stopped me.

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And I said, Oh, no, he saw. So I went inside and waited for my dad to come home. Sure enough, there comes my dad another month. So But it was just a It was fun because you got to play, you got toe just we had to be home by the time the street like came on and Dad whistled and you could hear his whistle all over sixth Street once And you had to be home and you couldn't tell you didn't hear it because everybody heard it.

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So they say, Oh, yeah, they heard it. But we could camp out in the jungle. Us we could. She went allowed Thio. Jeff and I were out there one night We got hungry, so we came home. It's like three in the morning and we're in the kitchen and I turn around.

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There's my father standing with a gun. I'm scared. The tar hey says Next time he says, Let me know you're here. I said, Yeah. Hey, thought somebody broke in. The same thing happened to me that was in Tennis City that I was trying to surprise him on.

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I just got in from Lackland Air Force Base and I was gonna surprise and I'm filling with key trying to get in. And Tammy starts barking up a storm and he opens the door with a gun. I about dropped dead right there. So I was just trying to surprise you.

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Hey, thought someone was trying to break in. I didn't try to surprise him after that way, had places down there called the clubhouse, and that's where we you could go. And there was a pool table on bingo upstairs. My mom loved bingo. She played cards. I don't know how she played cards on that's back when they had a little tiddlywinks things to cover the cards with.

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So you had to be quick. It's not like blotting them. Now, you, uh You go in there and you have a soda fountain. You get the old soda fountain with syrup in it, and then the soda water. And then there was a part of it here where you could eat in a restaurant right there and then the movie theater, Barbershop, barbershop, I mean, and you get comic books when we go in and read comic year, right?

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Was a little section, like a little convenience store. And they had every little things in there that the conversation and, er yeah, e commissary for a nickel thing, the commissaries where you got all your food items and stuff. Kool Aid was a penny a pack. We go in the commissary, get a penny pack Kulikova clubhouse, opening up the sugar in it, and we go inside the movie theater and used and come out with a red tongue and green tongue.

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Whatever you would get, that would be. And we used to take the lemons and make our own lemonade. But once they got onto us, they put the lemonade back behind the counter so we couldn't do that anymore. Way had asked for the lemons but they had the best Before I forget it, they had the best, uh, sticky buns.

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Everybody called five cents. Oh, they were so good. Forget and the donuts and twisted doughnuts. They were the best twisted donuts. My mom would drop Drop that off it, working over per stole. I mean, for the police station, we'd go down, uh, in Panama and, I mean in Kalon.

00:30:19.680 - 00:30:33.750

And they had a bakery there, and they did everything in a brick oven and they'd have me cheese. It's like French bread, but little little breads. And they bring them out of the brick oven Fresh on. They just melt in your mouth. They were so good.

00:30:33.760 - 00:30:59.440

Did you guys travel outside of the zone line? Yeah, We went to L V a. Uh, Santa Clara. We go spend time up in Santa Clare for summertime. We go up there. Uh, my uncle had a play. Well, when we didn't go with him, uh, we had a cottage we stayed at, or we go up there with my uncle and my cousins and stay up there and the beach was beautiful.

00:30:59.450 - 00:31:19.550

And that and you could ride horses on. We went to Elva El Volcan, and they made their own ice cream. You could get ice cream there. And the orange is the navel oranges. They had their gorgeous delicious and they had mango ice cream, papaya ice cream before it became popular.

00:31:19.550 - 00:31:35.680

It was so, so good. And big, big, big cookies. I can't think of any of them now What? They were really thick and they were hard as a rock. Best thing he had to do was Duncan. Because if you if you did what they like to do all day long, we get one cooking and we'd have it all day long because we didn't have anything to dunk it in.

00:31:35.690 - 00:32:06.850

But it was. But yeah, we do. And then they had 44 San Lorenzo where Morgan used to be and stuff, and we'd go there and we'd go to shag Rece River. If you lived in Panama, you had to drink from the shag Rece River. That was a A Must I can say that I have drank from the Shackles river and but you travel all over the place and do different things.

00:32:08.140 - 00:32:24.490

But the biggest things we used to do is like a set up in L. Via Volcan, Santa Clara. And that's a long trip. It was a long treatment. Plus the beach. Remember the steep stairs going down the wooden stairs going down from the place? I wouldn't do that now because I'm afraid of heights.

00:32:24.490 - 00:32:37.330

But I did it back then, but I wouldn't go if I looked those steps. Now they don't know what you're gonna get me down from here. There way. We have to watch out for the Scorpions. Because when you go to the shower, they'd be scorpions in there.

00:32:37.330 - 00:32:51.680

And those little babies What? They get aggressive. Their tail come up. Coming! Attack! You gotta check your shoes all the time and and tap him. Otherwise, you would have a scorpion in there with you. So you always check your shoes. We had a wonderful train back then.

00:32:51.840 - 00:33:06.480

It's not like that now, But train where I was 50 cents across the isthmus. But they had strong, not strong. I thought it was 25 cents. At one time. It might have been but straw seats. If you lean back, even a guy, if you lean back head here you go forward.

00:33:06.490 - 00:33:24.430

It would catch your hair and pull your hair out. No, a C and that, of course. And you get the suit would all come in because, Cole, you keep the windows open because there's no a C. But it was fun riding trains. You go through the tunnels and you get to see all the data in lake and all the little villages.

00:33:24.430 - 00:33:51.020

And because one of the train station stopping Gap tune was village where they would get on with their animals, our pig, rooster or chicken people. Uh huh. How they traveled. So But my dad patrol Gap tune lake, and I'd write, I'd go out on patrol with them to the villages out there and all because to patrol gateau in lake, it took six months toe first, the whole lake.

00:33:51.030 - 00:34:13.180

Then you start all over. But yeah, he had two boats, one for regular patrol and one for dignitaries. A big boat. When dignitaries came down to show him the comfortable boat, his regular boat was just a patrol boat. Work coat. Yeah, he would ask him some questions.

00:34:13.180 - 00:34:29.860

He didn't always tell us, but we always ask him things. He wouldn't tell us everything. We bug bug him sometimes about Did you kill anybody? Never told us that he would never tell us them. But he did tell us that he would find the first thing he had take from the water was dead bodies because they would just fall from hands thinking Love him.

00:34:30.140 - 00:34:44.000

He said that was the worst part of his job. Now the animals down there, we love them. I used to have snakes all the time. I'd take him to school with me both constrictor or vine steak. The only interesting vine steak and a viper. Is the Vipers poisonous?

00:34:44.000 - 00:35:00.830

But you had to catch them to know that once you called him, you squeeze the neck. And if they had fangs, you just tossed him away. Another one. But we're I mean, I scared the tar out of teachers and stuff. I had that snake around me, or we go catch a lizard and go back to school.

00:35:00.830 - 00:35:24.540

The lizard on our shoulder on, uh, teachers would have my my best friend, Terry. This is how bad we were. And what I don't say bad toe to the point where you know you have a Juve. It's just kids. Mischievous things and in Panama. And when we grew up down there, yes, some of mischievous things we did would probably get arrested for steaks.

00:35:24.550 - 00:35:41.000

But down their kids will be kids is you know, But Terry and I were in the same class up to the fifth grade, fifth grade. They actually had to teachers sixth grade, two teachers. But we went in the fifth grade and we were in the same class.

00:35:41.010 - 00:35:54.870

We're sitting there and the teacher walks in and it's a lady teacher. Can't remember name. But I remember the first words out of her mouth. She saw both of us sitting there. She's Oh, hell, no. You two aren't being in my class, she says. Then as you go stand outside, Terri, you come with May.

00:35:55.240 - 00:36:19.940

So she took Terry the principal's office and she come back and I stayed in her class and Terry went to together. Our reputation had preceded that way. Wer e was in seventh grade. Yeah, our history teacher. I can't think of his name right now that he had a ruler and he would hang it if you were a bad or if you were talking, he'd sneak up on you and scare the daylights.

00:36:19.940 - 00:36:36.600

But I was his pet, even though he hollered at me and threatened to do this. And he do accept everybody else. The office he threatened to send me. He just moved me all over the classroom. I sit in so many seats towards the end of the year he goes, Sharon, he says, Do you have any any brothers or sisters coming next year?

00:36:36.600 - 00:36:50.570

And I got I got a brother and he says, I won't be here next year If you got a if relativism and said Somebody is coming way came back next year He wasn't there and everybody blamed me for the teacher going because one of his friends and Sharon was so fine.

00:36:50.570 - 00:37:08.500

Didn't you know, my sister? Because Mr Spitzer was our math teacher and he had her. And then I came in in the next year and, uh, he did not like that. I said, You know, don't judge me by my sister and he says, I don't have to He says, I know your reputation.

00:37:08.510 - 00:37:34.800

E S e e. Guess I had two sides to me that some people thought she was just a quiet thing. She doesn't leave my car. Just some trouble. So my friends that knew me really well, e don't know. She wasn't that quiet. Paul Beck was our principal, and I got to know him really well personally.

00:37:34.810 - 00:38:07.020

E walk in the office until the girl in there, you know? Hey, says I already know you're coming. Dennis. Have a seat, E. Uh huh. But is there anything else you'd like to know? Oh, sure. There's lots of things. Um, during some of your travels throughout Panama or in the zone or some of your dad's experiences, Was there ever any anti American sentiments that you guys felt?

00:38:07.030 - 00:38:35.270

No, not at the time Eisenhower started it, but it really wasn't bad. I mean, one time before we left, they wanted to come out and take the American flag down and put the Panamanian flag up. That was 60 60. Either 61 or 61 summer, 60 year before one of them, because they didn't have that right in ball boy.

00:38:35.280 - 00:38:58.330

But they found out. Yeah, they found out about it. And, uh, we told me that wasn't gonna happen, so they didn't do it. But that was the only time. I mean, I know stuff happened after we left. And I know the riots that happened. Now, I remember one time we were down there in Panama City, they had a problem.

00:38:58.340 - 00:39:24.950

And LaGuardia, the police, LaGuardia back then they're not there now. This policy of national down that but like Whitey was feared. I mean, feared by the Panamanians or in you just didn't mess with them. They were an elite police force, and they were stupid. But they set up machine gun this during the riots, and they actually kill.

00:39:26.020 - 00:39:41.140

I don't know how many Panamanians off course that really didn't make the newspaper or anything that was squashed by the then president and all. But they did kill, like, 2020 of them or something like that. Once they did that, then it was really well, what are you doing?

00:39:41.820 - 00:40:01.190

But then they had the riots after we left and Hotel Tivoli got all shot up and everything, and but LaGuardia arrested my mother. I was with her. A little kid ran out and hit our car. She was going five miles an hour. It was and so on.

00:40:01.200 - 00:40:27.440

And he bounced off and he was fine. He took off and the mother was there, you know? Said he's fine, because all he did was just bounce off and he didn't get hurt. But LaGuardia, Salt and rest of my mother and of course I'm with her and you know, So I remember being a police station and go on and my dad come walking in and they knew my dad real well.

00:40:27.450 - 00:40:48.750

He was very well known, and they remember the sergeant at the desk saying, Hello, George, he says. He said Hello, Mr Kelly says, What can I do for you? He says, You have my wife locked up. He says, We what? He says, yes, she's because they don't let you know they lock you up unless somebody yeah, and he says she's locked up.

00:40:49.440 - 00:41:08.690

He said yes. He says, Just a moment he went on God or And he found out who had arrested her and all and put him in jail because it just wasn't no, no to do that, you know? But that was the LaGuardia back then. They were hurry.

00:41:08.700 - 00:41:31.260

Now, now it's The economy is bad down there, and the policy of Nationale. You want to get on that you want to get on the police because you get paid and you're only allowed to work until you're 40. What he say 45 years old, they can't work a real long time, 20 years tops.

00:41:31.280 - 00:41:51.350

So if you get on when you're 18 38 you've got to retire. So but that's them. And then the president has his own police, which is somewhat like the what the majority is. They're afraid of them, but they're well trained. All Brooke. Three old already air fresh spaces where they trained those policemen.

00:41:51.960 - 00:42:13.290

And but we didn't have the malls like they do down there now. We went to the All Brooke Mall and you could probably be there two weeks and not do the whole mall. It's that biggest three stories. It is huge, but we just had the one time patty semen and I.

00:42:13.290 - 00:42:38.780

We ran away from home when we were four years old. Way ran away and we got in the elevator where the Eastern Star is in the that way. And we got in the elevator because it opened but were too small to hit buttons. So we're in the elevator and we're just standing there holding hands and we stood that they had everybody looking for us, and we're in there.

00:42:38.780 - 00:42:56.640

Probably a good two hours for a four hours. Okay? And finally, somebody hit the elevator to go upstairs, and we're standing right there, you know? No. Were crying up. We're just waiting. Waiting for somebody. Open the elevator on. That's how they found us. I didn't get in trouble.

00:42:56.640 - 00:43:13.030

Thank God for that. So worried E. I walked over to my grandmother. She taught She taught me how to do that, because when she went over to Grand Parents house, I went over there when I was, like, three years old, disappeared from our house and walked over to her house.

00:43:13.040 - 00:43:29.390

E I disappear from my grandma till she'd be talking Thio one of her friends and I was decided. Things is my time was in my underwear and I just took off and went through Holland, walked through all the see the area and get almost down to the police station.

00:43:29.390 - 00:43:49.040

They're hunting for me. Having been someone pulls over and gets me in the car. They were fries. I got that for me. My little underwear and just my little legs. E probably about three years old when I did this. And where you gonna have someone? Go see my daddy e.

00:43:49.050 - 00:44:11.950

Had everybody worried. Well, Sharon was famous, too, because she was probably the first child to fly to Tampa at the age of 58 months, eight months, e eight months to. But then I also went by myself. I'm saying by yourself, you're about five years old. She blew herself up to Tampa.

00:44:11.960 - 00:44:29.520

She was They put her on the plane and she made the papers. All in Miami got away, and I missed my flight. They were looking for me, and I disappeared. And I'm walking all over the airport in Miami having a ball. They finally found me, Remember the benches they had got me a big hamburger and another flight.

00:44:29.530 - 00:44:46.500

Meanwhile, my grandmother and granddaughter waiting for me in Tampa. And that's when the airport was a wooden building. It was Tampa National. It was just a wooden shack on they my They called Miami. They said, Well, she had disappeared, but we found her, and we're gonna put it on the next flight.

00:44:46.490 - 00:45:04.560

Yeah, drew part back then. This. That's there. The airport was Andrew Park and it was It didn't have all those shady things there. There wasn't none of that. XXX stuff back there at that time it was. But in Panama way went a lot of places in Panama.

00:45:04.570 - 00:45:22.190

Different places. Because e mean most of time we'd walk because if you were walking somebody stopping of your ride because they knew, you know, they just say you going? Where you going? We tell them. Say, okay, we'll give you a ride. The one time we got in trouble with Kenny, he was a Navy officers.

00:45:22.200 - 00:45:34.430

We did our cottage place in Sixth Street. And for some reason, three o'clock morning, we decided we're gonna go to Gap to So all three of us snuck out of the house and we're walking up on on the road to go to get to and got car.

00:45:34.430 - 00:45:52.920

Picked us up on Dr Software. All the army place where when he went right by the Chinese garden, there was a third cut. There was third cut. There was a army big going on there. They have their little hammocks that were screened in and weigh were in there talking to him, and they heard a police car drive when they hit us because they were looking for us.

00:45:52.920 - 00:46:06.500

We've been there a long time. It was daylight them with that. They showed up and they said no, they hadn't seen us were hiding. So police car left and we went walking. And then we went to the pound this big tower and we climbed up the tower.

00:46:06.500 - 00:46:19.970

Well, this MP was being a smart jerk and he told us come down. He took his gun out and aimed at So we shut the door so we wouldn't shoot us because he shoots the gun because he had it out pointed up at us, trying to scare us out of there, trying to scare us.

00:46:19.980 - 00:46:37.710

We didn't shut the door and said, You can't shoot through that. And we didn't come down. So they had. The regular police came and he got He got shipped back to the States. Hey, wasn't you? Don't point. Come to kids. And of course we got and I don't know if you got in trouble, but I got I got in trouble over that e.

00:46:37.680 - 00:46:56.780

Yeah, with the head of Chinese gardens there, that was really neat. You could get can you know, Chinese Qualms if you if you if you didn't know it was fun because it was. But you get a kid from the United States, come down there and we've taken the Chinese garden getups real sour.

00:46:56.790 - 00:47:14.970

You could see their faces or the Chinese plums were really And your face it really pucker. But Kenny, Kenny, when he first come down, I used to eat red peppers right off the bush. Now, to show you how bad they are. I told Kenny they're good to eat.

00:47:14.980 - 00:47:27.550

He wanted to eat when I said go ahead and have one. Well, he had blisters on his lips for about two weeks. You know, they were that hot. And of course, I got in trouble for that. I didn't tell him to eat it. I didn't foresee Oh, a Amman.

00:47:27.560 - 00:47:44.230

Basically. I mean, like, dairy. Um, you just touched that I would accidentally touch it on the way to school. My five time I would get to school. My I would be swollen shut and bursting with me. Had to hold my hand to leave me because I couldn't see when we almost got there, and I e had to call.

00:47:44.230 - 00:48:03.720

My mom had to go home because sometimes you you just go along touching things. And I forgot I had touched it with my I Well, that was it. My But you had a lot of places like Front Street in Panama when the ships came in. That's where they would go by souvenirs and stuff.

00:48:03.720 - 00:48:23.250

And as kids we dio and down there, we wanted extra money when the ship came in. And we tell the tourists that if they wanted something to let us know and we could get it for him for a good price, you know, if they were willing to give us, like $5 $5 back then it was like a fortune.

00:48:23.260 - 00:48:41.520

But they would go in and we get we go in and buy it for them and shop the shop. People finally told our called the police and all until would you please keep your Children out of here when the ships there? And so we could make more because we're killing our business.

00:48:41.530 - 00:48:59.600

Eso We were banned from coming and going down front street when there was tourist ships. Way go down there. We had a shoes called Squeakers a lot of ladder. They squeak, the better they were. And we paid, like, one or $2 for him. There, made out of, uh, was some sort of wood stuff.

00:48:59.600 - 00:49:20.530

Make they woven sandals with a back part to it, and you try them on and walk around the store to make sure because you wanted a period that really squeaked. Yeah. Wait the tourists and charge them like 20 bucks for him. But we could get it for one or two bucks and e had their one time up here, but they haven't had sense.

00:49:20.530 - 00:49:40.260

And I'd love to have some more Squeakers. You could get perfume their real cheap, and people pay $80. You get a five bucks now. The fishing down there was wonderful. There's a fish down there called corvina. It's all white meat. It za beachy. Yeah, it's delicious need and my wife could take She's had it.

00:49:40.270 - 00:49:59.460

It Z took it down there on and but it's good. I we used to fish a lot. We go. We'll be fishing it two in the morning, off the seawall or whatever, and you could fish off sh Agger's River, the Caribbean or Caribbean however, you want to pronounce it Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

00:49:59.460 - 00:50:33.240

You had all those, you know, places, places to fish. And, uh, it was all saltwater or bracket. But, I mean, it was good fishing. I mean, how many? How many people can say within two hours you could be fishing in the Pacific Ocean, you know, because that's all it took across the isthmus was two hours, but now to go up in interior, like where we went and stuff, and, uh, that took a long time way did that one time, went on a picnic.

00:50:33.250 - 00:50:50.700

We used to go a lot of picnics after Sunday church way. Opinion Beach. Somewhere around there had across the bridge they that was a Pete to go across the locks. And that little you look up to the huge locks and go across a small bridge and then go way up in the interior and we get all the way up there.

00:50:50.710 - 00:51:05.050

My mom had forgot the chicken. Amazing. We couldn't go back because it was too far to go back. So we ate what she had. Then they got back home. Me. But then that one peer out their opinion beach. It was deep water because not like the beaches up here.

00:51:05.050 - 00:51:20.490

You walk out a few feet. Boom, you're down. And you could catch some big fish at that pier. Mr. Brewer be out there. His wooden boat back then wouldn't vote for popular. But when you went across the locks in GATT tune, there was a bridge to go across the bloc.

00:51:20.560 - 00:51:34.210

And if you happen to be on that bridge and there's a ship, it would open up and you're stuck on it. Now, I could be a close from you to me, to the ship. I could actually walk out touch the ship with wanted, because that's how close it was.

00:51:34.220 - 00:52:03.680

It was huge, of course, because you know, you're at the bottom part of the ship looking up, but I mean, it was it was neat to see that never went through the locks the whole time I was down there. But, uh, you know, you had the yacht clubs you could eat at just over a yacht club boy Yacht club got to and had a yacht club if they didn't actually love, but they had yet they do it for the tourists but But there were so many different places you could go to after church on a Sunday, we drive over to Panama City.

00:52:03.680 - 00:52:29.790

They had a Grand China restaurant or we go toe Hotel Tivoli that had a had a buffet on. And that food was just so good, man. A all kinds of meats, all kinds of vegetables, all kinds of desert and everything grew. Wow. If you went in the jungle, I didn't have to take anything in there because I had sugar cane.

00:52:29.840 - 00:52:48.980

I had pineapple. I had coconuts. We had mangoes. We had rows, apples on guava and ice cream bean assortment of food. So you never had to worry about eating. Now, when you win the jungle as faras us when you go in with two things a bully knife in a machete.

00:52:49.650 - 00:53:05.590

Yeah, the coconuts there that grew while. Of course, if you got thirsty, you could just way knew how to climb the coconut trees. You just had a string with you and climbed the tree and get a green coconut. You cut the top off and you had juice.

00:53:05.600 - 00:53:24.200

You get the brown coconut, you crack them open. And then you had coconut. You're gonna Yeah, I like this. So But that's how we and bananas grew wild down there. So everything grew wild, whereas appear no, because they even had those little I don't know what they call.

00:53:24.200 - 00:53:40.250

But around the palm trees, they had a little long like leaf, skinny one. And at the bottom was a brown thing, and you cracked it open. Inside was a white thing, and you ate that way. Had a lot of stuff. We could have been dead because we didn't know just it was good way ate that too.

00:53:40.260 - 00:53:56.760

And in Margarita, where Kenny Place he lived behind him had a guava tree that overhung the cliff and guava trees air slippery. And I would climb that tree to get the guava. If I had felt I would have been a dead as a doornail. It's like a 30 ft drop.

00:53:56.770 - 00:54:16.380

Stupid. I just climb out. But I go out there and rain get it. E never told my parents I did that because they probably would have chopped a tree down because I climbed trees a lot back. But we had a snake road. What we call it, I remember it still still there because we were on State road.

00:54:16.380 - 00:54:32.800

Allen. I saw my house because after 49 years, I went back there and every house that we lived in is still standing still there. A lot of them are there any more, Whereas everyone that we lived in was still there. So it was really amazing. It was a fun trip going back.

00:54:32.800 - 00:54:50.490

I wish I'd gone back sooner, but I gotta take needed with me. And she got to see where I used to live and all. And then she could understand more. But it was It was the climate down there. It was rainy season, nine months out of the year that rained every day, dry season, three months out of the year.

00:54:50.490 - 00:55:09.010

It rained every other day, but it rained a lot. It wasn't that long, you know, Maybe you could have maybe a half hour shower and that's it. But it would rain every day, sometimes all day, love, rain tender off the ring sounds so good you'd lay in bed and read your comic books on.

00:55:09.020 - 00:55:17.760

There is no such thing as not sometimes a lot of times you get off the school. But she had to walk home in the rain because they dropped you off at the end of the street. And then you had to walk home. Of course. Hit every puddle.

00:55:17.760 - 00:55:28.870

So you're even wetter by the time we get home. Over there. Done. Now we live in France Field. He dropped us off right at the house, which is nice. Yeah, but they didn't used to do that at first. No, you had to walk all the way down the road.

00:55:28.880 - 00:55:45.270

Finally, our parents said no, You need toe. Come up here and get them. So But another fun thing we did was since Dad was with the else pub and the police officer every year for the Easter egg hunt, we had two of them, one of the police range, the hit eggs and then the else above also did it.

00:55:45.240 - 00:56:00.880

So we made out like a bandit for Easter for Christmas because we have the Santa Claus at the at the police range and at the else field would have Santa Claus and they would have fish fries. I love the fish fries. Friday night to be a fish fried TLC put and we'd go to that.

00:56:00.880 - 00:56:13.270

They would also have them at the at the police range and we go there inhabit and the Golf Club. They had golf range all the way down. This one was a road called, but all the way down at the end of the police range was on that road to.

00:56:13.270 - 00:56:29.440

But you had to go further for the golf course, and I remember walking with my dad doing and they had a restaurant there. Two people ate there, too. Playing off, I learned to play golf in the jungle. That was interesting, because if you had a hook or a slice, your ball was gone.

00:56:29.450 - 00:56:47.280

Because they've been When the jungle you weren't gonna find it, you might find somebody else. Is that what you're looking for? Because it's it's that thick of a growth. I mean, so you had to really concentrate on hitting that ball because maybe, like I said, you would just lose it.

00:56:47.290 - 00:57:05.460

So it was interesting learning the blade golf down there, but I played the last time need and I went back. We played on a golf course. It's summit. Uh, Gamboa and Teddy Roosevelt played on that course and the Radisson Hotel, which bought all that property is redoing it.

00:57:05.470 - 00:57:34.340

That's beautiful. No, I'm not. Granddad Randall. He rode with Teddy Roosevelt. He was with him, right? He was a writer. But But there's different. There were so many different places todo and see and do I mean, even in Panama City, they had Taylor's down there to go to the book Taylor of Panama and stuff that people write about it all.

00:57:34.830 - 00:57:52.820

And my wife is trying to encourage me to write my memoirs and that they know that I would, you know, because it's just it was an interesting life. I started if I didn't finish everybody in this zone, we're waiting for my next. I have, like, a up eight chapter so far, and I kept him.

00:57:52.830 - 00:58:15.390

But everybody was waiting for the next chapter, and I just never do the next chapter e need toe, print it out and started to get start doing it again. But I think Grandad probably did have something to do with the canal because since he did ride with Teddy and new Teddy Roosevelt, that's probably one reason why he went to Panama because Teddy started that.

00:58:15.400 - 00:58:47.280

But a lot of the families down there, uh, helped build their family, helped build the canal, which are Roosevelt metal owners and stuff. But they mean it went up way until and actually Panama, when we we're in Panama, we actually gave them, um, their independence from Colombia, which, uh, that was all Colombian territory.

00:58:47.280 - 00:59:18.730

And way actually told Colombia that they couldn't come in there anymore. They signed a treaty, a perpetual treaty with panel. And I think that most people don't know what perpetual means. Especially Jimmy Carter, who gave the canal back to them. E mean, that's fine, that he did it, but all but he did it all illegally because of perpetual treaty is never ending, and you can't break it up.

00:59:18.750 - 00:59:38.360

But he took it upon himself because he was president to break it and give it back to panel. And they've done great. I mean, they've done great with it, uh, down there. So, I mean, they still have There is a canal authority, a pan canal authority.

00:59:38.370 - 01:00:00.950

But the a C P is how they have it. Authority canal, Panama. Because the Spanish things were backwards, but the a C P is still down there, and they take care of a lot of it down there. If they didn't do that, it wouldn't look as good, because if you go to Gamboa down there, I mean, it's got potholes, anything that the A, C P has control over and and all that.

01:00:00.960 - 01:00:15.670

It's nice. The roads are nice and everything once you get out of that area, they're not Chinese took over a lot. I think it's been there they wouldn't have, but it's it's really made. You should have more control than the Chinese do. I don't think that's fair.

01:00:15.680 - 01:00:32.580

It's really gotten big down there. I didn't go to Panama City a lot. I mean, I went with my cousins. We go over there and, like I said, up in the interior, we went for summers and stuff like that. But there's just there is a lot to Dio.

01:00:32.590 - 01:00:48.940

There's never nothing, not Dio So I mean, is there anything else you well, I'd love to hear about when you moved back to the States and kind of that transition for you guys. That was hard. I didn't like it. I didn't want to leave Panama City.

01:00:48.940 - 01:01:05.150

I didn't want to even either people in the States were just nasty, and it was a different atmosphere. They weren't nice, like they were in Panama and they were so prejudice. When we came up there, they had the color fountain and the white fountain. And I wasn't used to that.

01:01:05.160 - 01:01:17.750

And I'm looking at I wanted I was looking for water and I finally found and I said Color. And I said, Why doesn't say color e thought it makes its gonna be blue water green water? I'm sitting there saying, Well, I'm thirsty, I'm gonna drink it anyway.

01:01:17.750 - 01:01:30.680

Whatever color it is, I'm drinking the water. Then it came out normal. It's a good it's normal water in some white guy sees me, he goes, You can't drink from there. That's where colored people. And I said, It's water and he goes, Yes, I suppose that I'm going to drink it.

01:01:30.690 - 01:01:45.640

E wasn't used to that, and I would sit there and talk Teoh, a black woman. She said, You shouldn't be sitting here. I said, Well, you don't wanna talk to me, Just know. But everybody is gonna be staring at you and talking. And South Carolina, I said, I enjoy my conversation with you.

01:01:46.210 - 01:02:00.810

and the bus is way had to sit in the back. And I sit in the back and goes, You're not supposed to sit back there I said Why? I paid my fare. He said, That's for colored folks And I said, I paid my fare. I'm sitting back here That's what I want to stay E wasn't used to that part.

01:02:00.820 - 01:02:19.340

And then e says the school system that he almost got expelled out of school the first day he was there from all the rules at Chamberlain High School E horseshoe cleats, And the guy told me I'm not allowed to have him and I said Why? He says, because its rules.

01:02:19.340 - 01:02:32.620

And I said, All right, I'll make sure I don't wear him tomorrow He said, No, you'll take him off now I said, Well, what Hey, actually made me gave me a screwdriver in, actually, because, you know, if you ruin this hell, you'll be buying me new shoes.

01:02:33.300 - 01:02:47.770

And not only did I had him, and then it gives me to marriage because if you've got somebody to marriage, you've got exposed. That says, the marriage for what I said, I didn't know about this rule, and you're doing this e mean, it was just I did not like the people distrust teenagers down in Panama.

01:02:47.770 - 01:03:22.240

You didn't have that Here you did. It was it was a totally different society, and really, and then it just well at all. I mean, fact that I couldn't I take everything over again in school. All right? Eso it just didn't go well at first because it's just It was just a like night and day and, you know, because even in Panama, like she was saying, we'd go down to the column where Louise Lid, you had to walk.

01:03:22.240 - 01:03:40.640

It was funny when you walk through alleyways and you had to go up on the second and you're walking through boards how they lived down there and you're walking on board when we got to her house and she'd have food for us and we eat with her daughter and son and we thought nothing of it and all but up here is totally different.

01:03:41.100 - 01:03:58.940

But we graduated from Dixie Hollins High School here, and there was some black kids there at the time and none of us had a problem with. I don't know what the big to do waas but you know, but But we didn't. You know, there was no problem.

01:03:58.940 - 01:04:18.340

But if we associate it with the movie, didn't wanna associate with us I said, that's your problem, not mine. But the transition it transition was even hard for my father. E mean, he had to retire and come up here and for my mom. She had my mom.

01:04:18.340 - 01:04:35.810

Did Goto work up here way back then when we moved to ST Pete Webb City was prominent. That was a big, like four or five story building. Yeah, a lot of stuff. There was a big It was a It was a mall on one back then.

01:04:35.810 - 01:04:54.020

You didn't have malls, but Webb City had every floor had something different on it. The top floor had the mermaids. We always went down and look at the mermaids, the rooster or chicken. Yeah. Then they had one day and they have a rooster or chicken that you put money in and he pick and get this food.

01:04:54.020 - 01:05:30.150

You get this food and all he know what? Todo Yeah, I'm sure that after being born down there and coming up here, yeah, it was difficult. It just wasn't the same true way. Didn't have our friends. You had to make new friends. And at first I'd make fun of you because I gave a the speech that I had to give in in my speech class.

01:05:30.150 - 01:05:50.960

And I said, Well, I'll talk about Panama on the different things that I'm talking about, the bugs and the Roaches, But we do have big Roaches down there. They there's some cockroaches and jungle Roaches that 12 inches. Can they fly? Well, they didn't believe me, and they're they're making one kid made a complete jerk of themselves on a speech, and I said, We need to go.

01:05:50.960 - 01:06:06.940

And then they asked me if we are swung through the trees like Tarzan to go to school. And I said, No, we have bigger yellow school Busses like you do here in the States or rowboat to school. You have toilet paper down there, Everything down there running water, hot coals.

01:06:06.950 - 01:06:21.250

E did used to tease the kids. When I come up here on vacation, they say, How do you get to school? I said, Well, we swing through the jungle. I said they had buying stuff and I said, our schools across the base. So we take a canoe.

01:06:21.260 - 01:06:46.480

They actually believe me. I'm sitting there E but one of my friends when she came to states, she went to a laundromat and she had no idea what to do because she never didn't have washing machines. Amazed to the with the washboard and get the clothes and run them out and hang them up.

01:06:46.490 - 01:07:04.380

She had to ask somebody had Thio operate the washing machine and the dryer because she had no idea. And my thing was, uh, pay telephone. I wasn't Webb City and I had to call home. I put a quarter in expecting change. E called the operator back because I didn't get any change.

01:07:04.390 - 01:07:31.090

As you probably know about some dump e I put my quarter in, but I didn't get any change back. You don't get change. That's why not. They sent me. The change was a male E didn't know that if she probably still tells that story a little kid called E.

01:07:31.980 - 01:08:01.710

So what was it like going back to Panama? Thank you. When I went back to Panama for me and I told my wife need, uh I don't know. When I told her prior to our it was a to me, it was a healing process because I had been gone so long and I had such a chip on my shoulder about believing when I was in high school there and all.

01:08:02.350 - 01:08:31.550

And it was it was I really thoroughly enjoyed myself. We had a gentleman, Alan Hawkins, who lives down there. He gave us a tour of the Atlantic side and he didn't know it. And she he was taking pictures of me taking pictures of everything where I used to live because I was so excited that, you know, you know, trying to explain everything and all, you know, I was just having a ball, e you know, it was a lot of fun.

01:08:31.550 - 01:08:52.530

I mean, e it's still the same. Just different buildings now. But onda course, the roads, air rough, some of them, but everything like it was still there. But it was It was very enjoyable trip. It just wasn't long enough. So I definitely need to go back.

01:08:52.540 - 01:09:19.350

I mean, it was I love the country. It's just so nice down there, and you don't have to use air conditioning wait until 69. My parents finally got a C in 1969 after we all graduated, moved out. Then they get their way. My grand. My son Frank, who was just born the time they they had to get a C for him.

01:09:19.350 - 01:09:35.180

I said, Well, my mom never bought sodas in Panama. We didn't have sodas unless we went to a friend's house that had him or the clubhouse. She got fruit juices, Kool Aid and the grandchildren. She had a whole Cabinet episodes. I said, Mom, we weren't allowed with grandkids.

01:09:35.180 - 01:10:05.970

And then she had a freezer full of ice cream sandwiches. Popsicles the whole nine yards way. Didn't have that way had the disease, which is neat. Podcast his fist Coke one through the root beer with the best best. But Dad when he the reason he got to Panama, he was on Army Transport ship, and I wish I knew the name of the ship and they were going through the Panama Canal and they had a list of guys to get off for all book Airfield, and Dad was on the list.

01:10:05.970 - 01:10:26.220

He was headed for Hickam Airfield in Hawaii, so if he'd gone there, we wouldn't have been born. So there was a reason why his name was on the list to get off and he got off E guess because he was in the Army Air Corps. He flew while he was at left cop on the Atlantic Pacific side and he transferred over.

01:10:26.230 - 01:10:42.650

Dad was on the Pacific side Thio first and then because he was a motorcycle. Yeah, and that's what I was gonna say. I forgot my George. He's I think he died, didn't he? George recently died. Was he still alive? George Shiver Chevrolet or whatever. So he recently died.

01:10:42.660 - 01:11:00.350

Okay. Hey, was talking on the zone link about this police officer who was taking a I don't know, but it was a liver or what? He's taken across the the from from Colon Thio, probably Gorgas Hospital. And he made a record time. I forget what he said.

01:11:00.360 - 01:11:20.040

No one and everybody has tried to beat the record since and never did. And he said that police officer was George Children. George telling E in the reading, The email. I didn't know that about Dad. So I go to e Thank you. I didn't know that but no one was able to beat his record on George could.

01:11:20.040 - 01:11:37.870

I couldn't find that email on George. Couldn't find the email because he had moved. And he was trying to look up everything he said. Once he found it, he would have sent it to me. But he died before he could find it. I know Was there somewhere, But, Dad, I'd like to be able to find that information when he did it And what actually incurred how long it did take.

01:11:37.880 - 01:12:02.550

Because I don't remember now, because that was back in 90 98 or 99 when he, uh, wrote that email. Well, it's been really great talking to you guys. Do you have anything else to add? You know, I just enjoyed. I was glad I was born in Panama and got to live there for almost 18 years.

01:12:02.550 - 01:12:19.090

My mom course longer. She was lucky. She got to live there longer. Knew? My mother said she knew so many people. Bad news. I mean, they knew everybody from the Pacific side and Atlantic side, so they knew everyone. Every everybody knew everybody s so you couldn't get away with anything.

01:12:19.090 - 01:12:37.920

His kids, especially you know I have a policeman come up means the dentist. You know anything about the explosion in the old tower Old building over there, the airplane hangar like thing. And I know we heard it were a clubhouse eating and what we've done, we turned the fire extinguisher on.

01:12:37.920 - 01:12:57.120

It was a big tall on, and we couldn't shut it off. So we left and he says, Well, you know, somebody thought they saw you going in there. I says, No, What in us? Because we're over the clubhouse Eating E says. Why? What happened? He said, Well, the fire sanctioned blew up in It blew the steel doors right off, building out into the field.

01:12:57.120 - 01:13:13.410

And I says, Man, good thing everybody was a lunch, he says, Yeah, it's a good thing for you. Everybody was at lunch. This is what he thought about, he says. I know it had to be you. Dennis E can't prove it, but he says, I'll keep watching you and I said, Okay, keep watching way.

01:13:13.410 - 01:13:42.220

We're very mischievous way we're throwing, throwing rocks and pebbles at the theater when people inside Yeah, 10 room. So we by the Boston baked beans and throw the Boston baked beans up their way. Throwing Yeah, he coughed and, uh, e turned around here Mr. Delap and he says, e don't think you really wanna be doing that e s.

01:13:42.230 - 01:14:06.130

But yeah, that was a lot of fun. It's just it was Halloween was trip We loved Halloween because you went out and you came home and we had candy from Halloween to April Thio Easter We knew all the places that gave him We knew where the money street waas eso Everybody knew that I tricked, treated the fire station And I think Sharon with me that night and Margarita and we kept trick or treating.

01:14:06.130 - 01:14:25.300

And finally the holler down, Get out of here way! Get a big bag, take it home and we come back out again Then take another. We've had 45 bags on just and then you get treated all over. They give us apples, bring us and give us food and drink.

01:14:25.310 - 01:14:37.300

If they didn't have treat, they feed us and some would make a stool trick, he says It says, trick or treat. You're gonna do a treat before I give you a bigger and do a trick if I give you treat so we'd have to do something.

01:14:37.310 - 01:14:58.110

It was fun. E. On every Sunday, everybody went to church and after church, you to go to the clubhouse must go the clubhouse and have their breakfast there. Or or the lunch. And they had a salad. The best solid in the world had papaya and mangoes and all bananas.

01:14:58.120 - 01:15:20.140

It was the best fruit salad for 25 cents. Big Bowl, but we could go on and on for our. That's one thing I liked about Panama is went to the grocery stores and did our own cooking, and you could so cheap. I mean, it was the prices.

01:15:20.140 - 01:15:43.070

There are just one way got corvina and I got a whole slab of corvina for 55 cents. U. S E. Fish should be nothing. E. E was telling you about the monkey plums of Chinese plums. I used to eat the monkey pumps like crazy until one of my mom's friends said, Sharon, we gotta watch out for the little worms in them.

01:15:43.040 - 01:16:00.260

E She had told me that because I stopped eating the monkey plums. I still like the Chinese Pums again when she's in Monkey Plum Jam If you ever get a hold of monkey pump is the best jam guava jam that it's so good You have a fire jam Mango Jim is good Mango salsa.

01:16:00.730 - 01:16:22.760

You wanna eat that? Because it is fabulous. And they do have a Mingo Mingo salsa. That's good. But Chinese the monkey pumps just once you told me about the little worm. That's it. I'm not me anymore. And I never I didn't touch another one. E e like, all you have to do is just walk anywhere and just pick it.

01:16:23.630 - 01:16:52.220

And the ice cream bean tree It was ice cream bean. It's a big no, I've never been, but yeah, all these stories That just sounds wonderful. E You're from the other college too. You have the other side on the other college. Also. E I'm sorry. I just had thio years.

01:16:52.220 - 01:17:27.060

One off Florida awful. Both. She's a university of Florida. Oh, actually, I goto fs you. Oh, well, I grew up in Gainesville, but I goto f s u a thing is a U. S. Program thing. A good program, but they married. Hey, was talking about that at the, uh, meeting yesterday and it was so funny how he was saying about the wedding took place.

01:17:27.060 - 01:17:45.290

So that was so cute. Museum. And, um yeah, it's really great that you can continue this because we're dying. We're a dying breed once, once we go is so we're trying to get kids interested. So I think what I'm going to do is when I get money, I'm gonna get them to join.

01:17:45.290 - 01:17:58.230

And then after that, they conjoined themselves because my son has come with me and both my daughters have come with me, and Charlotte would like to come this year. But she had to go to Myrtle Beach with her family. But I told her maybe next year you could come.

01:17:58.240 - 01:18:13.470

She hasn't been to one since. I think the last one she came to, we were in Tampa on. That's when we got kicked out of that one. Okay, It's their own fault. But it was It was the fault of the hotel because the zone Ian's told him how much alcohol to get.

01:18:13.480 - 01:18:34.460

They didn't believe it, so they didn't get enough. They ran out the first day on Sunday. Back then, you couldn't buy alcohol, so they wouldn't give us any alcohol. They got rowdy and cold has not come back way. Wouldn't come back anyway. Way on the first day, they're gonna have a rebellion on their hands.

01:18:34.460 - 01:18:53.260

And then folks, they drink. They like the room. E o, Thank you so much. It's been wonderful hearing your guy's story. Thank you, E O.