Sharyn One year later I took Fred to the airport, he was returning to Evergreen, Oregon to the resource of the helicopters he had brought to Africa. I dropped him off at Oakland and on the way home I developed a plan. I called a girlfriend Fred didn’t know and asked if I could stay with … Read more
Rawlings and his PNDC escorted Fred to the airport directly from the party. He wasn’t allowed to return to the compound to retrieve his belongings, he wasn’t allowed to inform his staff they no longer had an employer and there was to be no $600,000 commission check. He was put on the first flight out … Read more
It took me several months to learn how to combat the Malaria. I heard from several people that tonic water had quinine in it so that became my drink of choice. The symptoms slowly diminished and after several years, non of the symptoms exist. By the time Fred got back he had taken a couple … Read more
“Malaria.” the doctor smugly pronounced as he flipped through the chart of the many test results. “Malaria? How is that possible? I got the shot!” I did indeed do everything I was told I had to do to make the trip to Africa safely. “How much do you weigh?” the doctor queried without looking even … Read more
A very kind man noticed me, saw Doctor Olson’s sign and went in to tell them about me just hanging out (literally) of the car. When Dr. Olson explained to the doctors at the hospital I had just returned from Africa, they were certain they had a rare disease they would be able to tackle … Read more
As soon as I got in the car with him, his greeting was “You look like hell!” “Good, I wouldn’t want to confuse anyone!” I mumbled. I managed to drive the hour back to Lafayette and crawl into bed to try and ease away from the drowning feeling that had overtaken me. The next morning … Read more
Somehow Fred managed to push my flight back by seven days and he sent a Telex to my boss to let him know I wasn’t going to make it back for another week. And I spent the entire week in bed, sleeping more often than not. When the week was up, I boarded a small … Read more
I was more tired than was warranted for the leisurely day of being driven through the scenic jungle, but still, I headed for bed before 8 pm. The next morning I could hardly get out of bed. My back ached and I had a raging fever. Not that we knew how high the fever might … Read more
Fred noticed an area where the jungle was rather tame by comparison and had the driver pull over. Now, you would have thought with Fred’s experience in the jungle he would have warned me and had me wear a dress rather than slacks, but it was not the case. Rather self conscious and very embarrassed, … Read more
I could barely contain my questions after the last of our guests parted. “Why didn’t they bring their wives?” I queried. “In Africa, the more girlfriends a man has, the wealthier he is presumed to be.” Fred explained. “Don’t the wives mind?” I wanted to know. “No, their job is to have and care for … Read more