Selected Cocoli Verses By Carl Berg Our Town Kobbe, Clayton, Farfan, Curundu, Were all good towns, but still---? There’s one much better that we all know, At the bottom of Cocoli Hill Town of Cocoli From an Isthmus river, took its name, Near a sea so peaceful and calm; Built on the edge of a rocky spoil plain, Graced with hibiscus and palm. For us you will last, When your time has passed. A Cocoli Cheer Two-bits, four-bits, six-bits, a dollar, All for West Bank stand up and holler! Move Over! Certain Cocoli Boys Dared not make noise, As they would sneak To get a quick peak; When girl clothes would drop, Their eyeballs would pop. Not at Cocoli School, But the Rodman pool Cocoli Hill Climb My legs are so sore; they can’t take too much more, Think I’m going to drop, just as we get to the top; When this hike is through, you’ll see the great view, Then it’s just you and me, Well, iguana makes three. Cocoli, where the living is......easy. An aerial shot of Cocoli. (Circa 1984) Some Cocoli Sounds Pins crashing in the bowling alley And being re-set… Shoe repair shop grinder And polishing brushes turning, And nails being driven into new heels… Barber chatting with customer in the barber’s chair… Waitresses in the clubhouse collecting plates And silverware,Joking with one another… The blast of the noonday emergency siren… Bus doors opening and closing at the bus stops… DDT jeep or pickup truck working Its way down my street While spraying a dense white fog... Two boat-tailed grackles (changames) Having a spat over A nearby female who ignores them… Early morning garbage trucks squeezing garbage, The garbage men banging cans and lids, Shouting at the driver to pull ahead… The yells of the grandstand crowd At the Little League games… Whispers of elementary schoolers While they lie under desks During A-bomb drill… Ring of the school noonday bell… Opening and closing of mailboxes At the post office… Tailor shop sewing machine… Clubhouse and theater doors opening and closing… Aircraft from Albrook Field And Howard Air Field overhead… Army helicopters on routine patrol… Kids playing in the Cocoli Gymnasium... Streets of Cocoli When I grow up and move away, I’ll come and see some day, All those places where you and me, Had so much fun in Cocoli. Pedal-Pusher Pin-Up A real cover-girl no less than that; With her long blonde hair, And a great-looking pair, She’s the dream of every Cocoli cat. Cocoli Cola Talk about this week’s bad luck, We just missed the Pepsi truck, Two dozen empties in the rack, Have to wait till it comes back. Cocoli Lullaby Black palms, sago palms, royal palms, Coco palms, their outstretched fronds Rustled by a dry season breeze, Makes me drowsy, Zzzzzzzz, excuse me, please. Welcome to Cocoli. Here are some more verses by Carl Berg. Fort Cocoli Can’t make any sense civilian sense Of this eight-foot chain link fence, It’s been put up all the way around, Makes me want to tear it down; Like Fort Clayton and Fort Kobbe, It’s now Army… it’s not Navy. Panama Wrecking Contractor Where house 2523 once stood, We see Panameños stacking wood Roofing and rafters all stripped down. Now nearly all piled up on the ground, Posts and beams are bundled nearby, Salvaged materials ready to buy. Stripped are the windows, shelves and doors, Same for the plumbing, wires and floors, This 4-Family House has met its demise. Against the Wrecking Ball no house will escape. Cocoli Souvenir This little piece of the past In a form of concrete, Was taken from the street curb Near my tropical quarters. I’m taking it home to remind me Always of the best little Town site in all the Canal Zone… Yes Cocoli! On the street where you live. Touring the Ruins of Old Cocoli We are now passing… On the left side of the bus, The clubhouse, the barbershop, The tailor shop, the teen club, The bowling alley, the Army NCO Club, The beauty shop, the bingo parlor, The movie theater, the old commissary, The post office, the playground, The maintenance shops, The 12-unit bachelor quarters, The gasoline full-service station, The Cocoli Elementary School, The gymnasium, the barbecue hit, The Little League ballpark, The baseball diamond grandstands, St Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church, The Baptist Church, the Episcopalian Church. The local-rate housing, The Cocoli VFW Club, the police station, The fire station, the electric substation, The Chinese gardens, the gun club, The one-family cottages, the duplexes, The 4-family housing, The Boy Scout Shack, the trash dump, Cocoli where 300 federal employees, Civilian and military And their families and enjoyed living With their ever-growing families, The population on one census Was about 2,000…. Cocoli just off La Bruja Road The main artery to Rodman Naval Station And to the fabulous Miraflores Locks swing bridge. Obituary Cocoli, Canal Zone Born: 1939 Died: 1999 Some Cocoli Guys at a Dance. The Cocoli boys and girls were great dancers. There was a very popular group called the Five String Busters who often played to the enjoyment of everybody. The Wurlizer Jukebox The Wurlitzer Jukeboxes were everywhere in the old Canal Zone. From Clubhouses to watering holes there was a jukebox in a corner. If I recall a play was only a nickle. You could be the DJ by selecting your favorite songs. Life was great listening to the oldies and goodies. El Puente de Las Americas Sunsets with a wink Or maybe it is daybreak It is Carpe Diem Living in Cocoli meant that the Miraflores Locks was the center of our lives. After 1962 El Puente de Las Americas became our center of our lives. We would cross it daily going to Balboa to shop at the commie and for a shopping trip to Avenida Central in downtown Panama City. Life was an adventure as we all lived the Panama experience. It has been a real pleasure to showcase some of Carl Berg's Cocoli Verses. This is just a small sample of the hundreds of verses that this Cocolian and friend of mine has written. Through his verses I desire to share some of our love for a little town called Cocoli, where the living is easy......I spent almost all my growing up in the Old Canal Zone in Cocoli. I left to travel with my Uncle Sam in the US Navy. Now as they say ".....let the journey continue!" Check out another page, we hope to have other Cocoli Verses featured there too. Take care and drop by Cocoli again. Hasta la Vista. See you on the flip side. Photo Credits: Author, Carl Berg, Cocoli Archives, US Navy and PCC Archives Return to Que Pasa More Cocoli Verses More Little Stories US Navy, not just a job but an adventure. Sing and rejoice, tra-la-la, for fortune is smiling upon you!