It’s about time for another installment of my life in Panama 76-78. When the holidays roll around, I often think back to when I was stationed at Howard Air Force Base in the Panama Canal Zone. It was my first time away from home during the holidays and for all the years that I have been away from “home” since those two years, those two years that I was stationed in Panama have always been a yardstick of sorts for dealing with holiday nostalgia and those pangs of homesickness.
Here’s a glimpse of what awaits you. Hopefully, I’ll have the chance to write this up before I leave for Laos in six days.
This is what I remember singing in the back of John Hill’s dune buggy with a group of friends from the 24th CAMS squadron as we sped across the Thatcher Ferry Bridge on our way to our favorite watering holes in Panama City.
“Jingle Bells, Shotgun Shells/Rabbits all the way/Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse Chevrolet….”
More to come soon.
In the meantime, may I suggest picking up a copy of Invaders from Mars and Other Tales of Youthful Angst? I have two Christmas essays which will get you in the mood: “1968, the year I Stopped Believing in Santa Claus” and “Out, Out Damn Tree.”
Mr. Miller,
I’m a newspaper editor on Jeju Island. Could you send me your email and/or tel. number to this address or toddthacker@jejuweekly.com.
It regards a review of your book.
Thanks.
t