I'm a Zonian. I remember well October 1, 1979. That was the day that the Panama Canal Treaty started its implementation. That was the day the Canal Zone ceased to exist as a territory of the United States.

I lived near the Thatcher Ferry bridge and there was a false road leading to it in my neighborhood. Panamanian officials were driving around Balboa honking their horns in jubilation but got bottlenecked at the false road. A minor clusterfuck for them and we got some laughs from it. But it was a sad day for me and the other Zonian kids. The few laughs didn't assuage the sadness.

We all thought that Panama would never be able to run the canal without the U.S. We were certain that they'd eventually ask the Americans to run it again. These thoughts were part imperial arrogance and part rooted in reality. The Panamanian government couldn't even run the railroad that was given to them. But we were wrong and it's clear in retrospect that we (the United States) held back Panama's development. Not consciously or deliberately. Panama grew up when the U.S. finally left in December of 1999. The country is doing much better.

One of the ironies of America's involvement in the Canal Zone is that troubles with Panama really started over whether or not the Panamanian flag should be flown alongside the American flag at Balboa high school. Today, there is a single Panamanian flag flying there. Progress.

I miss the Canal Zone. I don't speak Spanish. Well, a little. I know cuss words and how to get around. We had our own schools, TV, police, stores, etc. It was an American colony and the luxury it provided Americans largely came from cheap labor from Panama. During the Canal Zone days the company (the Panama Canal Company) paid Panamanians to mow our lawns for us. Coming to the U.S. to live took some getting used to.