Seems there was an earthquake there

Left nothin’ but a Panama hat And a pair of old Greek shoes ( Dylan )....or maybe it was a hurricane that Panama City this day.....reminds me of animated character of the night from my Navy years... a story I shared with Dano because he had a keen infatuation with the true insane creatures that roam the earth, and he thought it was amusing that I would cross paths with these folks ...”nuts attract nuts” dano would say....ah , but I digress...let me try to share the story of ole Alvarez....it’s a better story in person....in the spring of 1989 I was transitioning out of the US Navy, I was being processed in Pensacola Fla, but still had an apartment with my shipmates in Pascagoula MS.....so on fridays I would take a greyhound bus through Alabama to Mississippi ( I know I have told stories about mobile al in the past ) ....but on particular Friday I met a shipmate by the name of Chris ( smith or Schneider) waiting for the bus to MS...he introduced me to a fellow squid by the name of Alvarez, Alvarez was 30 going on 65....he too was leaving the Navy ( against his will) and eventually going home to Panama City Fla......Alvarez spoke very little English despite 10 years in uncleSams service , but he smiled a lot and was a bonafide alcoholic, no strings attached.... Chris assured me he was a good and I saw nothing to the contrary...it being Friday ( a day that ends in Y ) we decided to get some adult beverages for the ride.....I bought 12 pints of Budweiser and a styrofoam cooler w ice ....Chris and Alvarez went for a 64 ounce bottle of jack daniels...no chaser nor ice...we hit a bar before the bus came...it was late, we were pretty drunk when we got on the bus...at this point it was difficult to understand Alvarez, but his Sherpa guide CHRIS was doing his best to translate...we finally got on the bus and each took our own 2 seater in the back....me and ole Alvarez say across from each other and CHRIS sat in front of me....about 11 seconds into a 5 hour ride it started “hey Chris , hey Chris, CHREEES ?” Alvarez would say in his Mexican accent.....what do you want Chris would reply...” I drink...a little bit of the jack Daniels please, Chris “ .....to which Chris would reply “go ahead “and Alvarez would smile at me, unscrew the cap and guzzle some JD......and he was content...for about 3 minutes....until..... “ hey Chris, hey Chris. Chreeeeese? Until Chris gave his approval for another sip.....and Alvarez would smile from ear to ear after he took each sip......Chris would occasionally ask for the bottle and take a guzzle and they would pass it to me and I would offer them a pint... and so it went....about an hour into the trip Chris said he was going to try to sleep and that Alvarez didn’t have to ask permission every time he wanted to take a drink....Alvarez either didn’t understand or was a slave to protocol, because on it went across the great state of Alabama....”hey Chris, hey Chris “.... sometimes he would say that 10,15 times before Chris said what....”I drink....a little bit...of the jack Daniels please “......to his credit, despite my URGING, Alvarez refused to take a guzzle until Chris gave him the green light....2,3,4 and 5 hours later “ hey Chris, hey Chris “.....sometimes Chris would start screaming at him to let him sleep and go ahead and drink the fucking jack Daniels, the rest of the bus would look back at the three of us inquisitively ...and on it went.... we rolled into Pascagoula after midnight and I of course offered the two of them to crash at the apartment I was sharing with my shipmates and they accepted....the next morning Chris and Alvarez headed into town for a hotel......I saw Chris solo Sunday night on the bus to Pensacola and he told me Alvarez went crazy Saturday night and was locked up in the Mississippi police station...not a good place for a Mexican..... I never saw him again, but I would leave dano messages on his answering machine for 28 years imitating Alvarez....dano never met him, but he would imitate him too.....I miss both of those guys, true characters of the long dark night.