The Bandits Rendezvous

The Bandits Rendezvous By Franklin Price 9/1/2019 Once upon, a Far East time, in nineteen sixty eight The GEEIA squad made history on a non-remembered date The plan had come together to build a club house new When it was completed, was named, “The Bandits Rendezvous” All the parts, to build it, were scrounged from miles around Taxpayers did not pay a dime to raise it from the ground The name not given lightly when it opened on that day At the south end of the squadron a base called Cam Ranh Bay Our scrounger, whom I will not name, got a jeep, for quarts of rum From a needy alcoholic, there were a few where we were from Had it flown down to us, in a Hercules with space Then drove it down to Phan Rang where another trade took place The jeep was traded, for a truck,with wood to build the core Some was traded to the Navy, who poured the concrete floor Soon the walls were standing and the roof was on the top But the inside of it barren, and,. for sure, we could not stop The middle was an open bay. The ends were spacious rooms We made them into places that were far from storage toombs The south room had a large teak bar, flown from the Phillipines The north a full blown kitchen, a place to cook our steak and beans. Parachutes adorned the middle bay, to provide some ambience When we had our first unveiling, brass was invited to the dance. General McConnel came, he was the Air Force, Chief of Staff Along came other Generals, not the lowly riff and raff. Don't remember any congressmen, no congress ladies at the time The drinks were flowing copiously for opening this crime The General gave a rally speech that made us all so proud It was in the early evening, we were a drunken, rowdy crowd When the night was over, and I staggered to my rack I marveled at the place we'd built, from our scrounger's useful nack He was right there with us, was a pirate, having fun In the club house, “Bandits Rendezvous”, when all was built and done. That's my story, I have told it. That was fifty years ago The statute of limitations, has run out, for all I know It was all for entertainment, yes, was all this glitz and glam It helped to be creative in that place called Viet Nam