General Wesley Clark at security, no special treatment. Remove your coat, belt and shoes and raise your arms for a full body search.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
General Wesley Clark
Today we flew home and met a good and humble man. Do you recall General Wesley Clark, a former candidate for the Democratic nomination for President? We stood behind him and his wife Gertrude in the security line at the Panama airport. This man was a four star general, Supreme Allied Commander of all NATO forces in Europe. Valedictorian of his West Point class of 1966, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, seriously wounded in Viet Nam, recipient of the Silver Star and many high honors and awards. He is a frequent guest on the nations TV talk shows about politics and war.
The security in Panama was very strict. We went through the metal detector and then each had a full body pat down search, the hands were uncomfortably close to all my private parts and then a hand search of each piece of carry on baggage. General Clark was standing two feet in front of me and they patted him down just like the rest of us. He took off his shoes and his belt and his coat and waited patiently while the young security guard decided he was not a terrorist. As he raised both arms he must have dislodged his ear piece, for a minute later he said to his wife: "I've lost my ear piece."
She gave him a look and said: "How could you do that?" and they proceeded down the walkway towards the airplane. We had to take a bus to the plane, it was very full of passengers and carry on bags. It was hot and people were in a hurry. General Clark and his wife each had an additional piece of luggage and they were rolling them along on wheels. As they boarded the bus he stepped on her toe and she cried out: "ouch, that was my toe." He looked very sorry and hung his head as he asked her forgiveness.
After a five minute bus ride we reached the airplane on the tarmac. We had to climb up an outdoor stairway and he gallently took both suitcases and his own carryon and lugged them up the steps after his wife. I followed close behind, thinking "this man once commanded over a million US soldiers, he was Supreme Commander of all NATO troops, he ran for President of the United States, and now he is huffing and puffing his own bags up the steps."
We took our seats and watched the General and his wife move to the back of the plane. Just before takeoff the steward came back and said there was one First Class upgrade seat available, would the General like to have it? He deferred to his wife and she came up to take seat 1A, leaving him with a wan smile, knees jammed into the seat ahead, ready to fly home to the USA.
The steward came back to hand out newspapers. I took La Prensa and the lead story is about another General, Manuel Antonio Noriega. The former dictator of Panama has just asked the US Supreme Court to review his sentance for drug dealing, money laundering and mahem. I think of Noriega sitting in a beige prison cell in Florida, playing dominoes with his buddies. My thoughts turn back to the time when Noriega was in power. My father and I were on a trip to Egypt then. Mom had died very unexpectedly. A premature death in every way. Dad was suffering a serious depression and Gail suggested I take him on a trip and try to help him out of his malaise. We were in a hot, crowded bus, crossing the desert south of Luxor. Egypt, the home of ancient civilizations, the birth place of large scale government, military power, agriculture and art. The ancient Egyptians had much to be proud of. Theirs was the greatest civilization known to man, the acme of human achievement. My father was a scholar, he loved Israel and Egypt and the cultures that flowed from that part of the world. His depression faded as he taught me lessons in that dusty bus tour.
Suddenly we saw a large stone structure off in the distance. Compared to the surrounding sand it was stark and as we came closer it loomed large. The bus driver stopped so we could climb out and take pictures. It was at least 50 feet tall to the shoulder. But the head had toppled off and lay sideways on the sand. This was a self portrait of Rameses the Great, also called Ozymandias, the Ruler of the World. He built the gigantic statute to comemorate his military triumphs and the inscription at the base was full of self confidence: "Look on my works Ye Mighty and despair."
The English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, in 1818, reflecting on this superman and this statue, wrote a sonnet :
"I met a traveler from an antique land who said:
Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, half sunk
a shattered visage lies, whose frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, tell that its sculptor well those passions read
which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, the hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; look on my works ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare the lone and level sands stretch faraway."
Now as I sit in the airplane, thinking of the fallen statue in Egypt, I weep for this world. I recall the gigantic statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down by US soldiers. A few years earlier I recall the statues of Stalin being pulled down all across eastern Europe. I remember seeing in 1965 in Haiti the people pulling down a statue of their dictator Papa Doc Duvalier. I remember reading about statues of Mussolini and Hitler and Franco all pulled down by their own citizens. Hubris. Destroyer of men and nations. We need more men and women of humility in positions of power. Men who carry their own bags up crowded stairs and do not expect to be seated at the right hand of power. Ride home safely General Clark. Thank you for your service. Duty, Honor, Country
Friday, February 19, 2010
Monkey in the boat
Monkey Business
Our last full day in the jungle was the best. Early in the morning we took a boat tour down the Chagres River, through the Panama Canal, into Lake Gatun and around the many small islands that are home to monkeys, iguanas and a variety of birds. The canal was busy, several large freighters steaming through and we sped by dwarfed by their gigantic sides. Our guide Liz was great and all ten tourists "oohed" and "ahhed" as she told us about the canal and the wildlife.
The Capuchine monkeys are the most gregarious, one jumped right into our small boat and grabbed at the guide. She warned us that they might try to grab our cameras but we kept taking pictures. The family of six monkeys live on a particular island and do not like to swim as there are caimen (small alligators) and large fish that enjoy monkey for dinner. On a different island we saw an old Capuchine male who lives alone, either too sick to be with or banished by the larger group. At another island we saw three large howler monkeys in the tree tops. At a fourth island we saw two huge iguanas, one with a large orange belly who the guide said was pregnant. We even saw a sloth hanging upside down in a tree. It was a wonderful tour and we highly recommend it to anyone to ventures into the jungle. This has been a great visit. The weather perfect, the food delicious and the scenery magnificent.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Musings from Gail
BUGS: My mom always tucked me in when I was a little girl and said, "Don't let the bed bugs bite". Well mom, last night they did bite. Dale had a restful slumber bite free. I am blaming this bug attack on the same scented lotion that the huge black flies enjoyed feasting on in Argentina. Panama is home to 216 types of reptiles, 940 bird species and more than 10,000 plant species. I am not sure how many insect species exist, but I know there must have been plenty in my room last night. None visible of course. (Admittedly, they were probably mosquitoes not bed bugs. Afterall, this is a five star resort!). LESSON LEARNED: No more BED BATH AND BEYOND products for me in the tropics. SPANISH: I have limited Spanish skills. It is always easier for me to practice speaking with children. Today, as I was basking in the sun poolside, I opened my eyes and there was a small four or five year old child peering at me six inches from my face. "Oh good" I thought to myself, "I can practice my Spanish". He was charming and we exchanged the usual...how old are you, where do you live etc. Then he wanted to explore my new iPOD shuffle earpiece that I was using. So, I let him play with it and listen to my music for awhile. Then I took the earpiece away. He was not happy with me. Of course I could not understand his childish rapid fire Spanish and he could not understand my English explanation of why our play time had ended. So, the kid stood over my bathing suit cover up that was on the deck beside my lounge chaIr, screwed up his face and urinated all over my garment. LESSON LEARNED: Not all kids are as adorable as my grandchildren. PIRATES: I love the movie and music from "Pirates of the Caribbean". We enjoyed a Pirate's Buffet here at our resort the other night with delicious tropical flavors. It was a feast for the eyes. Dale may like the jungle ride at Disneyland, but Pirates of the Caribbean is my personal favorite. But have you ever really thought about the way Hollywood has romanticized these guys? The English pirates Frances Drake and Henry Morgan were both active pirates in Panama were really wicked men. They pillaged and plundered. Henry Morgan's men even used the Jesuit priests as human shields during the seige of Panama City. LESSON LEARNED: Next time someone tries to tell me a pirate is cute, I will not believe them. I don't think bugs are cute either, especially today as I am covered with bites. SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PANAMA: My first cup of Panamanian coffee each morning....yummm. The sounds of the jungle. A tropical fruit plate. My new iPOD Shuffle....it is so tiny, yet can store over 1,000 songs. A swim and soak in the beautiful pool at Gamboa. To see and hear a spider monkey when on my morning walk with Dale. The time to enjoy the solitude and beauty of God's creation. LESSON LEARNED: Be Still and Know that He is God this 2010 Lenten season. |
Sunrise at Gamboa
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Fishing
Every day the local men go fishing for a variety of fresh water fish. We have been eating a lot of seafood in the restaurants and it has always been fresh and delicious. Today a tropical rain storm blew through the jungle and it poured for about an hour, then the sun came back out and blasted us with 95 degree heat. It was wonderful, hot, humid and just like the jungle should be. Later in the evening we went for a walk and saw a lot of birds and animals coming out to enjoy the fresh air and cool evening breezes. I think the large rodent in the photo is a canejo. It was a lot bigger than the ajouti we saw yesterday. Today is the first day of Lent and most of the hotel guests have gone back to Panama City. We are here with some folks from France, Colombia, Canada and a few Americans. It is a great jungle hotel and now that there are fewer people here it is even more magical. Tonight we ate at the River Chagres Restaurant and the food was superb. Mahi mahi, scallops, shrimp, hearts of palm salad. Nice. We both read a lot today and I have been thinking about politics and "One Term Presidents" like James Buchanan, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama. That will be a good blog for you political junkies but I am still working on it so you will have to wait for another day.
Iguanas
Conejo pintado ?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
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