[alexander_busek]

When you say Mogadishu had a great night‑life in 1980, do you mean they had actual cocktail lounges with dim lighting, fog machines, and overpriced martinis, or was it more the kind of ‘night‑life’ that appears whenever a Navy ship docks and locals realize naive young sailors have cash?

Should I be imagining something truly sophisticated — maybe a Desi Arnaz‑style rumba band shaking maracas under soft pink spotlights, an orchestra in white dinner jackets à la the old Copacabana — or was it more the kind of establishment where the main décor was a flickering light bulb and a hand‑painted beer sign?

I’m just trying to picture the morning after. Did you wake up wondering why you were clutching a feather boa and humming ‘Babalu?’ Or were you desperately wondering where you could get a quick shot of penicillin?

Regards,

[7thson]

It was the former. Nice drinks, B girls/hookers, little cafes to sit and drink beer, and I believe they even had flush toilets in the clubs..

I did not need a shot of penicillin while there but later - after visiting Mogadishu and Mombasa, Kenya - I came down with my first case of vertigo. Only one instance on the ship. The next several incidents came in 1988 while stationed at Wallops Island, Virginia. And then recently, about a year ago, I had several incidents of vertigo.