Doings of Dudley Doolittle: This is the name I use in the sometimes hilarious, outrageous, or cynical short stories posted monthly on https://bingsbuzz.blogspot.com/
A fictitious name will be used in most of the stories. It is there to protect the identity of the guilty.
These true stories are over half a century old or more.
LUPERIOS…OR FLYING WITH ARMANDO -
In
1925 in Mérida, Yucatán, México. Armando Troyo Canton G. was born
into a very special place in time.
In
those years the Yucatán Peninsula was an
island within an island, cut off from the rest of the world except
for ship travel. It wasn’t until 1961
that the first paved road to the Yucatán was built, and even today
the peninsula can be cut off from the rest of the world in the fall
when the hurricanes take out the incoming road.
The
Yucatán today is still different from the rest of México in many
ways, the climate, the food, the dress, and for sure the way of
life…slower, kinder and gentler.
Back
in the 1920’s the mix of cultures was very distinct, the Mayan
Indians lived in their palapas or palm thatched roof homes as they
had thousands of years earlier and their distinct costume was
uniquely their own. The colonial settlers had been in the area for
more than four hundred years, the Spanish first, then followed by the
French and Lebanese and many others. Each brought with them a
distinct culture and home style, and all were business people.
The
family of Armando was well to do and had a large “Quinta” or
country place hacienda named Petcanche within a walled compound not
far from the city center. In those days
Mérida was known throughout México as “Cuidad Blanca”, or the
“white city”. All of the people of class in those days had lots
of servants and an elegant standard of living.
When
Armando was a teenager his parents moved to México City, but each
summer they would make the two-day boat trip from Veracruz to the
Yucatán for summer vacations.
I
had a chance to glimpse some of the wonders of that place that held
so many fascinating curiosities of centuries gone by when I first
arrived on their shores in the early nineteen seventies.
So
vividly I can picture the very early morning sun casting its first
rays of light on the shore of the Yucatán as hundreds of small
fishing boats slipped into the water and caught the offshore breezes
to fill their sails and carry them out to sea.
In
days gone by, the coast of the Yucatán was in its tropical splendor
with endless miles of towering coconut palms forever swaying in the
breezes, and that gave the place a magical feeling of an isolated
tropical island, which it was.
In
the 1920’s when Armando and his family made the trip to Mérida
from the coastal port town of Progreso, it was a twenty five-mile
ride on a narrow gauge steam train. That train was finally out of
service by the 1970’s.
In
Mérida the train depot bustled with commerce, the streets
surrounding the large white colonial style structure were filled with
venders hawking their produce, beggars both blind and lame filled the
exits with outstretched hands and pathetic pleading expressions.
Lined up and waiting were the “calesas”, horse drawn carriages
that were the taxis of the day…at present in some of the out lying
towns calesas are still in use as taxis.
I
fell in love with the strange charm of this place that gave a glimpse
of a time gone by, a kinder, gentler place that Armando had the good
fortune to spend his younger years in.
The
world was not going to stand still for Armando, an eager reader, and
a good student…he excelled. While still a teenager he was enrolled
in the Mexican Air Force as a pilot trainee.
As
Armando has later related, those were the days of real pilots. He
first trained in a DC-3, and on one of his first training missions
while carrying some dignitaries and military brass and flying through
the Mexican mountains, Armando lost his way. In those days navigation
was with a compass and chart that marked significant landmarks. In
trying to get back on course to their destination, the fuel
supply was exhausted. The option of going
on was lost. Armando had been trained that if a crash landing was
eminent it was better to go down with power than to just glide in.
The plane was put down in a cornfield without
personal injuries. In a nearby village the priest was able to find a
guide and round up some mules. The expedition set out headed to the
nearest road some two days away. Armando said that each night he had
to be lifted from his burro because his legs had become so crippled
into that unnatural position, and his posterior so red and raw that
he just didn’t have the resolve or strength to dismount by himself.
One thing good came out of all of this and
that was: Armando never again in his long flying career had any
accidents.
Just
to add insult to injury Armando was put under house arrest for
destroying government property, and he was restricted to the base for
two weeks. The airplane had to be totally dismantled and taken out in
pieces
Years
later, when Armando had gained the position of a
commercial pilot, he enjoyed greeting the oncoming passengers.
One day as Captain Armando stood at the
entry door, who should appear but the old general from the ill-fated
trip down in the cornfield. The general looked Armando straight in
the eye and told Armando that he was going
to México City and that he didn’t want to go on a burro!
Armando
was assigned to fly with the United States Air Force towards the end
of World War II. He
was stationed at Napier Air Field in Dothan, Alabama. There he met a
“gringa”, American girl, and had his first romance. Neither could
speak the other ones language at that time. Armando had to learn
English later in life when his flying took him to many corners of the
world.
While
stationed at Dothan, Alabama, an idea took shape to have a real
Mexican fiesta complete with all of the authentic Mexican food and
drink…well Armando to the rescue!
A
special flight was made to the place to buy the real stuff…México!
I
was told that the “fiesta” was a huge success, but this time, as
a reprimand for his unauthorized flight he was restricted to base for
two weeks over Christmas
In
1947 Armando married in México City when the city had one and
a half million people…one of the most fantastic cities in the world
at the time. Today the population has risen to in excess of 24
million.
Armando
took a flying job with Mexicana Airlines and over the years had an
accident free record while he flew every type of aircraft that the
airline had to offer, up to and including the DC-10. Flying to Puerto
Rico, LA, Chicago and New York to name a few, he especially liked
those two-day layovers.
A
couple of stories that he especially liked to tell were, for example,
of his time as co-pilot flying into LA International when the pilot
got on the radio and informed the control tower that he didn’t
speak much English and that he was coming down…you can rest assured
that radio message got lots of prompt attention. Flying with the same
pilot Armando often would mention that they were not flying at the
prescribed altitude and the captain’s response was always, nobody
ever pays any attention to the control tower!
Coming
or going from the Yucatán, Armando loved to catch a glimpse of his
favorite beach getaway spot in Chabihau on
the Gulf of Mexico. There can be no mistake that Armando had a
fondness for the place and also loved his beer as well, he fondly
referred to the place as “Chevas House”, a real English-Spanish
corruption of the language, but it could only mean, beer drinking
house…and later in life it was just that!
When
headed to México City form Yucatán in the late afternoons he used
to joke that when altitude, speed, and direction were attained, it
was customary to put the newspaper over the windshield to keep out
the offensive afternoon sun…a true Yucatecan, the afternoons were
meant for shade.
I
can’t help but think of a story that Armando told that was a real
classic. On a two day layover and after
lots of party making and celebrations and as Armando was sleeping off
his excesses in the nude in a very fancy hotel in Puerto Rico, he had
the urge to urinate. He got up, half awake, and staggered to the
bathroom to relieve himself. Then when he turned on the light there
was in the same bathroom with him a naked stranger…terrified he
took flight and found himself out in the hallway. Only after the door
had slammed shut behind him did he realize what had happened. As he
stood stark naked in the hallway of this plush hotel, the whole thing
came into focus. It had been himself that he had seen in the ceiling
to floor mirrors…that terrifying, naked stranger, and he was locked
out of his room!
I
must admit that in all of my life and in all of my travels I have
never met a person that truly loved the out of the way cantinas and
could savor cool beer quite as much as my good friend Armando. A
whole book could be dedicated to the cantina experiences that I have
shared with this man.
Armando
loved to read and discuss the books and authors, to travel and
discuss the culture, and when we got around to it to practice his
English. Drink, drank, drunk, sink, sank, sunk and with his last
gasps he would grab the tall necked beer bottle and blow across the
top to make the toot, toot, toot of a ships horn and announce that
“this ship is sinking”.
In
México, one of the most popular beers of all is “Superior”. On
the label at that time the name was written
in a very fancy scroll type and upon close scrutiny it is easy to see
that the “S” is written like a capitol “L” and at the end of
the word as the scroll trails off the final “S” is there…and
that is how LUPERIOS is formed and in the cantinas across all of
México if you asked for LUPERIOS you are sure to get a Superior beer
and perhaps even my old friend Armando as his nickname is Luperios!
The label from a Superior beer bottle with
its distinctive scrolled letters.
Note; 1992 was the last
year that Superior beer used this scroll type lettering.
Captain Armando Troyo’s business card with his México City phone
number.
Mexicana Airlines was
joking known as “Aero Lata” or tin-can airlines. and had the
distinction of unlimited drinks included in the fare…we got our
share.
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