Well we headed out to Panama City on Saturday for some performances that we had there. Since Panama City is about an hour and a half’s drive, and we since we had a performance Friday, Saturday and Sunday…we stayed two nights in Panama City! Woo HOOOO! Our first performance in PC was in a huge bus terminal. We arrived at the terminal and began offloading our gear. After set-up, we had a few hours to lounge and chill out at the shopping center that was across the street! Oh YEAH! If you know me at all, you know that I love to shop. So that was pure happiness. The only thing that threw a monkey wrench into the whole situation was that I didn’t want try anything on because I had my uniform on and it would have been such mess taking the uniform and boots on and off to try on the beautiful clothing and shoes that called my name so sweetly…so believe it or not, I didn’t buy anything! Yes…I know…it’s shocking. But I did buy some lunch in their gi-normous food court…guess what they had? Wendy’s…Dunkin Donuts…aww it was almost like being back home. But no…I didn’t get Wendy’s, I actually ate at a local fast food type stand. I had stewed chicken, rice and beans and plantains…and an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts…it was great. So onto our performance. It was one of the most fun and bizarre gigs I’ve had in a while. We played a lot, I laughed a lot and there was a lot of noise (not from us). There were busses whizzing by and horns honking and car stereos blasting. It was CO-ME-DY! But it was so much fun. We tore down and made our way to the hotel. We were lucky enough to stay at the Crowne Plaza in PC. So cool. I was able to connect to the internet to upload a lot of photos from the trip so far and also send out a few emails and get updated on my blog reading. So nice. So, so nice. We all went out to dinner at an island that had lots of restaurants and shops, a wine bar and dancing puppets. After a dinner of pasta and jumbo shrimp (with the heads still on mind you) we made our way back to the hotel and crashed. The next day the ceremonial band performed at a music festival that had about 10 or so bands performing. Those of us who weren’t performing tagged along for support. Most of the bands that we saw (we didn’t see them all) were high school age and younger. And they were all pretty good. It was nice. Our guys played ”Stars and Stripes Forever” with one band just prior to us leaving. On our way back to the hotel, some of us decided that we wanted to go to another mall (woo Hoo!) for dinner and strolling. It was fun once again and for a while I almost felt normal again. LOL! I tried on some clothes, but didn’t buy any (WHAT?!?) but I did buy two pairs of shoes…WOO HOO! Not that I can wear them on the ship but eh well…it made me happy. A few of us ate at a place called Crepes and Waffles and my, oh my was it awesome! I had an Indian crepe with chicken, peanuts, raisins, in a curry sauce with a mango chutney on top. YUM-O! We left the mall and went back to the hotel and crashed. I was up half the night uploading pics to my Facebook page so that my friends and fam can see what we’ve experienced so far. Yesterday was one of the most exciting and fun performances and observances I’ve had thus far. We went and played across the street from a music school that was founded by Panamanian musician Danilo Perez. He was amazingly talented. His students were crazy talented. He is a man who is passionate about music and loves sharing his passion with his students and all he encounters. We started out the day with the BQ playing a few tunes, then we played a few tunes and an encore and then….the jazz group began. This is where most of the magic happened. The guys started playing along and then slowly…Danilo and his students began soloing with the combo. It was crazy exciting and intense….creative and beautiful….stunningly impressive! The level of excitement grew higher and higher with each song and by the end of the concert we were all bursting with pride because of our love for music. After tear down and truck loading, we hung with Danilo and his staff and chatted. Through all of the talking, there was one thing that Danilo said that made the little hairs on my arms stand at attention. He said “Today’s musical experience with you guys and us represented how I think we as people of the world should be.” I had “chicken skin for a while after he said that. He’s so right though. We are all different. We all come from different places. We all have different things we are passionate about. There are certain things that we love. But if we can all respect each other’s differences as not wrong, just different, unique and just important as our very own…things could be so much nicer. It was a beautiful thing to see people who have never played together, come together and unite as one band, one sound. Sadly, we had to bid farewell to make our way back to the ship for the closing ceremony. We narrowly made it. But we did and everyone was so happy to see the band!

Today is a very sad day for the Comfort, the US Navy and the United States of America. Last night, Chief Petty Officer Pamela Branum passed away in her sleep. It appears to have been of natural causes. Chief Branum was very young, I believe she was 38. I didn’t know her very well, but I remember her for her beautiful welcoming smile and lively expression. This afternoon members of the ship assembled a formation and the brass quintet played as she was helo'd out to the airport to be sent home. Please pray for her family, friends and those of us here on the Comfort who are grieving.

Thanks for stopping by….
Keisha