When I was a teenager in Panama, I usually went to bed during the week before 10 PM, but on weekends I tended to stay up later. Sometimes Dad would also stay up watching the television, and I enjoyed just being with him. Having so many brothers and sister did not give any of us much time to just “be” with Dad; he was either at work, driving us somewhere, or in bed early during the week. Also his time was so stretched that he simply did not have the energy to give us much individual attention, though as a group he did a lot for us. He was always driving us, here, there and everywhere. Something I took over when I could drive, and it really got busy after my older brother Robert joined the Air force in 1966. I used to get so tired of driving, that on weekends I would just walk to the teen club, just to get away from the car.

Dad liked classical music, and on Fridays he liked to watch the Philharmonic Orchestra which was shown at that time on the TV. It came on at 11PM to about 12:30. Every once in awhile, just before it started, he would say, Mark lets go to Margarita and get some cokes and peanuts. So off we would go, since for me it was a real treat, and I liked just being with Dad. He was not a big talker, though he was perhaps one of the friendliest men you would want to meet. He had the ability to make everyone comfortable, always seemed interested in them, and when he left people tended to feel better for having spent some time with him. In the Margarita club house he was well known, and when he came in the lady behind the counter would have everything there for him; she got it ready when she saw him coming in thru the door. She had readied 4 cokes, and two cans of cocktail peanuts (planter’s brand of course); he spent a few minutes with her and we returned home.

I liked listening to classical when I was with Dad, but when by my-self it tended to put me to sleep. My dad was from a family that was well to do, so he was raised with a love of the classics, and I thought that just listening with him somehow got me in touch with his past. Growing up in Panama, we were far from both sides of the family, so in a way they were all a mystery to me. I was ten when we moved away, and while we did see his family a couple of times a year, they were still not known well by any of us.

One of my earliest memories, of listening to music with dad, happened when I was perhaps two or three. I remember being with him driving down a country lane; he had on classical music, and I was enthralled by how the scenery seemed to fit in so well with the rhythm…… the graceful movement of the leaves on the trees, the dust on the road, birds flying overhead….. Everything seemed to be in sync with the music, flowing from the radio. Strange that I had to unlearn my love of classical music, I guess I forgot how to listen to it. With my dad I guess I captured it for awhile, and now that I am older am starting to love it again.

To this day, a coke and some cocktail peanuts are one of my favorite’s snacks, and I suppose it is because of that simple memory of being with dad, listening to classical tunes, and just enjoying the food, and each others company.