Another Time......another place......
Another time and another place. On damp, misty, rainy mornings like today with rolling thunder, I think of my days back in Cocoli........
Another Misty Morning in Cocoli
During the night maybe about 0230 our tin roof on our tropical duplex in Cocoli brought forth a tip-tap...tip-tap...tippy-tat-tat..... tip.....tap..tap.
I awoke with flashes of lightening on the horizon and rolling thunder heading my way. The clock dial read almost 0500. it was still pitch black outside. The leaves on the Clock-Radio flipped again and it was now 0503. I usually was up by 0530 on a school morning. Today was Thursday. We had three exams. One on English Lit, the other on Algebra, and the one I felt very comfortable with was on geography. Any Canal Zone Brat knows his geography. Hey, we live at the crossroads or the world and in the heart of the universe. In addition the home leave every other year makes most of us world travelers. Besides it was in our genes, our fathers and our grandfathers had love the adventure of travel to have come to Panama in the early 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s. Sure it was the opportunities for a better job, but it was also the love to experience something new. In my case my Dad had first arrived in Panama with the US Army Coast Artillery, Battery B. He had done two hitches and decided that the water of the Chagres was too good to leave.
The rains we had was a real blessing. It kept the watershed of the waterway and the canal with sufficient water in Gatun Lake and behind Maddam Wye Dam to make the number one engineering feat in all the world possible. No water no canal. it was as simple as that. So, as the tip-tap....tippity-tap increase, I knew that a heaven deluge would be upon us in a matter of moments. Crack-Snap-Ka-powee. Lighting and thunder together. I looked out my bedroom window and saw rain curtain racing off the mud flats toward our house. The wind was really blowing strong now as I struggled to close our windows.
Then I heard my mother yelling, “Are you up kid? Please close all the windows before the rain starts coming in......” “Yea, Mom. I got it, is my Dad home?” “No, kid he is working nights this week at the Navy Arrijan Tank Farm. He’ll probably get home soaked by 8:00 O’clock. Start getting ready for school, the bus should be here by 7:00 O’clock. I’ll get the oatmeal going and prepare a cup of cafe Duran. That should warm you up. And wake up your brother.” “Yea, Mom, it is cold!” Imagine that! But during the rainy season it did get cold in Panama!
Well, I would hit the bathroom like rocketman and in no time I was dressed and ready to go. It was still raining cats and dogs! Our tin roof was giving up a Calliope of sounds. The wind was really howling.
The Bus always stopped in front of our house, but it would be a real wet one this morning. I was wearing my black engineer boots, blue denim Levi’s and a white tee shirt. I would wear a yellow slicker like the ones the Canal Zone Police Department wore when it rained. I knew I would still get wet. But what I really hated was to have some water slowly stream down the back of my neck and slowly wet my boxer shorts. Of course not to mention the squish we made walking with wet shoes........but we had a way of almost water proofing our boots. I use plenty of linseed oil, petroleum jelly and saddle soap to keep the leather soft and water proof. Worst thing to do is get your feet wet. Then they would crinkle up very blue and you wonder whose feet are those that look a mess. Then one had to try to dry out your shoes or Uncle Mildew would arrive in a heartbeat. I had a friend once who had a habit of drying out his shoes by putting them in the oven. Well, once his mother heated up the oven to cook some pastelitos. She didn’t check to see if the oven was cleared. And the next thing we know we have a three alarm fire in his kitchen. Fortunately the Canal Zone Bomberos arrived in a flash and contained and put out the fire. But his shoes were history! They looked like two piles of burned out lawn mower tires......the little ones. Back in my day our shoes had a lot of Goodyear rubber as soles. So, rubber tires burn very hot and once started the fiery inferno can last for hours.
The loud blaring of the bus horn gave everybody a warning that the bus was coming down Tamarind Avenue and was picking up the kids. Jimmy’s house next door had disappeared. But our favorite bus driver had away of almost putting the bus in the car port. He was really good. So, I would not get completely soaked but I would get wet. Once on the bus I noticed that all the windows were always all fogged up. This was standard. Everybody on the bus looked like wet puppies.
Well, it took us about 15 minutes to cover all of Cocoli and then we were on our way to Miraflores Bridge. The rain had let up some and the driver cracked the side window to keep his front wind from fogging any more. As we rounded the last turn before the bridge one could see that almost everything was under water. There was a United Brand Ship north bound but it seemed that the Lockmaster knew our schedule and would make every effort to let us pass before closing the bridge. We passed okay and we were on the straight away to Los Rios. Here it was really tricky because the Los Rios Intersection was always under water during a hard rain. So, our driver would take the alternate route passed Diablo and Port Captain’s Office at Pier 18. Then a couple of left turns and we would be pulling into the back of Balboa High School. As I got off the bus and headed toward my first class Algebra, I looked toward Sosa Hill. It was not there. Yes, Mon, the misty overcast had covered it like a gray blanket and it had disappeared.
Well, I wondered if once I was in my seat in my classroom would I have a chance to sip a little bit of my Cafe Duran which I carried in my made in USA Thermos. I was going to chance it this damp and misty morning. Life was beautiful. It was going to be a good day!