Gulick Heights (A collage of memories) We arrived in Gulick Heights on December the 8th, 1958. The change was so drastic from East St. Louis in the winter, with snow and wind that I fell in love with the place right off. We lived in 522. Next door to us were the Crouches. My mom and Mrs. Crouch were very good friends, and I got to know their children for a short while, but then they moved and we got their house. They lived on the 1st floor of a two story with four apartments. Like us they were a big family and got two apartments, so the move was easy. We moved because dad was worried about fire, those buildings would go up in flames in 5 minutes we were told. Not sure how long they lived next door to us before they moved to “the other side” of the Canal Zone. Probably less than a year I believe. I remember the older girls, but Ruth and Alice and Walter are the ones I remember the most. I remember the youngest of course but did not get to know them. Though back in touch on face book now. It is an interesting connection. The last time I saw Alice and her mother was in 1970, but not since then, yet I feel a connection with the family. Perhaps it is because they were the first family we met and again my mother and Mrs. Crouch were good friends. There was another lady that I remember. We called her the candy lady, and back then it was something that all the children loved. She would go for walks and give out candy to the kids in Gulick Heights. She gave off an aura of goodness and gentleness, so we all trusted her. Never forgot her either, though we never really talked. She was just a good presence in the neighborhood. Kindness goes a long way in making an imprint in the mind of a child. She had these funny little dogs, have no idea what breed but she doted on them. One day I saw that one of the dogs was pregnant and I was curious how they gave birth. I think I embarrassed her, 11 year olds can do that I guess. So she told me that the puppies came from the back of the dog’s knee. So for awhile I would look at female dogs and try to figure out just how that worked. Other than that white lie that did not haunt me for the rest of my life, it was easy to overlook….she is a very fond memory. There were a lot of Soldiers from Puerto Rico as well as from Cuba who lived on base and most of them were named Cruz, Rodriguez or Santiago…oh yes andVasquez. They knew how to give parties. They would last for a few days from time to time and were for the most part always peaceful and I loved attending them. A great amount of time was spent playing Dominoes and I like watching them play. They would really get excited and slap down their pieces, laughing all the while. The best parties were when they got a whole pig and slow cooked it over an open pit. It would be turned slowly for a long time. One of my favorite pieces was the ear, it got nice and crunchy. I also like the music and dancing. Those people can dance, laugh, and have fun without a whole lot of fighting…..at least that was the way it was on base. I remember there was a family there who were Baptist. I was intrigued how on Wednesday nights the children of this family were dressed in their best and going to bible study. I found that impressive and that is another image that has never left me. When not nicely dressed up the kids were just as wild as the rest of us when it came to play. Of course the jungle was the best place to play. All the critters were interesting and I have always had a love of snakes. Though I understand how some people have an absolute fear of them. Of course iguanas, I had one as a pet for awhile. When at home I would place it on a towel hanging in my room and it seemed to like it there. It got sick and died, so I never got another one. I felt that it was the diet I was giving it, it was incomplete. David and I caught a lot of green parakeets and had them in a big cage. We tamed some of them and sold them as pets. Finally we let the rest go. I felt guilty about keeping them pinned up. It was quite a sight seeing them fly up and around and then speed off into freedom. I had a lot of pets, but mostly let them go after awhile. Today of course I would not keep a wild animal as a pet. Back then, I could not help myself, they were all so interesting. I learned to love rain while in Panama. Some days when the rain was coming I would go into the jungle under a tree with a lot of foliage and listen to the beautiful sounds of rain hitting the leaves and would wait for it to make itself down to were I was sitting. Also at night I would often go to bed when the rain came. We did not have glass windows, just screens, so it could be listened to easily. Then the wind blowing the saw grass back and forth, with the smell that comes with the rain….well it was so good that I did not want to sleep, it was almost heaven. The best part about living in Panama, for me, not sure all my brothers and sister would agree, was how much happier we were there. The contrast was so great that all the time I was there I was always grateful for the privilege of living in such a beautiful country with such beautiful people. The Jamaicans, the San Blas and those of Spanish decent were a delight to me. I am very happy that Panama is doing well, though like any country it has its problems, but it seems to be moving forward.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 16:11:27 +0000
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