My diary - January 25-27, 1973

The destroyed Pan Am building in Managua, 1973, with my Dad wearing a hard hat.

January 25, 1973 Thurs.

Dear Smiley:

Went for a short swim. Didn't see Brasid sob. We left in the afternoon. We stayed in the airport a long time. I saw Mrs.Brown, my Algebra teacher there! She said that Mrs.Grafft is fine & was in California. Well we finally made it to Managua. It’s good to be home. The house is real cleaned Rosa did a wonderful job. Its just like before almost. House full of people. Dad’s boss spent the night. Hingst were here & Chuck Murphy. Trost too (met us at the airport. I got perfume from Gisela She is Suiza.

BYE!!!

Note: This was a very stressful and difficult time for all of us. It was a long day flying home, stopping in Costa Rica and then finally Managua. It was nice of Colonel Trost to meet us at the airport. 

Gisela was Swiss. She was back home in Switzerland and had left me some perfume for Christmas. 

Rosa was our cleaning lady, and she had the house looking nice, which was comforting. When we left, it was in shambles with things broken and turned over. The house itself survived with only minor damage.

Gretel, David's dog, had aged a lot.

Mrs. Brown, our math teacher

January 26, 1973 Fri.

Dear Smiley:

Not a smiley day. We had a busy day unpacking, getting organizing. Good - parts of today. Simone is here & is going to continue living here for awhile till about June. Other good point. Dad came home early & took us on a sight seeing tour of what is left of Managua. It was very depressing. 10,000 people or more are dead. Houses all down. I couldn’t reconize a thing practically. Dad’s office is gone. He just works at airport which is now combined downtown office and airport. Country club is a mess of destruction but the golf course, tennis c. & bowling alley & pool? is okay.

BYE!!!

Note: Seeing the devastation from the earthquake's aftermath was heartwrenching and difficult.

Simone was supposed to have moved to Venezuela. I was glad she was staying.

The city tour was eye-opening. Seeing the destruction from the earthquake's aftermath was heartwrenching and difficult. Grateful that it happened at night when schools and most businesses were not in operation. The numbers would have been even higher. Still, so many people lost their lives. I was grateful that my family all survived. I still didn’t know about most of my friends.

Sequel to Anne of Green Gables

January 27, 1973 Sat.

Dear Smiley:

I didn’t sleep well last night. 5 tremors. I felt 2. We took the Xmas tree down. Second tree we’ve taken down this yr. Read on Teen mag & Young Miss. Read on some newspapers. I got loads to catch up on. A whole months. I wrote 3 letters, Grandma & Grandpa, Coverstons & Gisela. Cleaned out my drawers. School starts on Mon. YULK! T.V. is all re-runs, no novelas. Good point of day: Caught up on reading. Read on Anne of Avonlea. Pray I don’t have cancer on my upper leg! Make it clear up on its own. PLEASE!!

BYE!!!

Note: I had a cyst on my upper leg, and I was terrified it was cancer. Fortunately, it was not.

It’s ironic that one of the only things that didn’t fall down and break was our Christmas tree. It was one of the aluminum ones; not a single ornament was damaged.

The tremors continued, and each one now terrified me, making it difficult to sleep.

January 25, 1973 (David’s Diary)

Snoopy, today was bad and good. I got up at 10:00 with Beck. Swam ate swam = ate and swam.I had minute steak. We left from Panama (late at about 6.00 instead of 4:00. Played and gambled. Beck hit the jackpot 5 or more times. We flew to Costa R. And from there we went to Nic. I got to sit in the cockpit. That was fun. I could see everything. The airports open. Well Gretle aged a bit. She’s white. (I’m not sleeping in my bed. Bett it’s the small one.  This man is sleeping in mine.  Didn’t let me finish writing in my Diary. Dad was really in a bad mood. Well that’s everything. 

Note: I sure liked using equal signs.  I remember riding in the cockpit. I believe the flight was full and that’s why they allowed me in the cockpit. I have memories of being placed in airplane bathrooms on full flights. The cockpit was a big step up! I remember the flight engineer showing me all the buttons and switches and going over their flight protocols.

David and his banana bike

January 26, 1973 (David’s Diary)

Snoopy, today was pretty bad. I woke up at 8:30. Skipped B.F. and later had two Scrunch bars. Beck got up later than Sue. I ate a lot for lunch. We saw Simon today.  Dad took us all downtown. It’s pretty bad. Today I took 9 pictures. Dad was in a bad mood. He bauled us all out for everything (especially Ma).  I rode bikes a bit with Beck. For lunch we had hard to cut meat and Mom was struggling eat it. Dad just laughed. He was DRUNK. This made Ma pretty mad. Well I bothered Beck a bit but only because I was picked on by Dad. I was nice with Sue.

Note: This was a hard entry for me to read.  I realize that this was a dark difficult time and I can see the cascading effect of taking out frustration on each other.  Seeing the crushed buildings including the PanAm office and our High School had to have been traumatic for all of us. Were fortunate the earthquake happened at night.

Inside the destroyed Pan American office, Dad is with an engineer

January 27 ’73 Sat. Good day (David’s Diary)

Dear Snoopy,

Well today I got up at about 8:00. I ate breakfast and lunch in Pajamas. Yesterday Rosa scratched a mole off of my back. At 15 to 6 I rode bikes with Gustavo, Ricardo and Cairon (I think). I got back at 7:05. We’re going by daylight savings time now. 

We visited this girl. She’s pretty and not vulgar like the rest. I kind of like her. She seemed to approve me.  Well I started to make a puzzle of a cabin but then decided to do one on Miss November of 68. I finished it today. 

I have a headache. Well… Hingst is wearing glasses now and I’m sharing a tent with him on campouts.

Note: Rosa was our maid and I remember being worried about the mole being removed. No recollection of this girl that caught my eye.

Gustavo (Tavi) Gomez was a close friend and the only person I would let ride my bike. My bike was a banana seat Schwinn knock-off and much better suited for the river beds we used to ride in compared to the 10 speed Raleighs they rode.

I crossed paths with Gustavo once in Puerto Rico during my college days but have since lost touch with him. I often wonder how he’s doing. 

Camping in Nicaragua was always an adventure. Our Scout Master was a no nonsense Marine and worked us hard. I was small for my age and he taught me that being small was not important in the big scheme of things. I didn’t sprout up until my senior year of high school.

David's diary January 27, 1973