Lieutenant Colonel Larry I. Matthews, U.S. Air Force (Retired), was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas. He earned a BBA in Personnel Administration (University of Kansas City, 1963), and an MS in Guidance and Counseling (Troy State University, 1975). He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, in August of 1963.During his twenty years of military service, he was awarded 13 decorations, including the Bronze Star (Republic of Viet Nam, 1965-1967). Matthews was retired from active duty in June 1983 in a Pentagon ceremony. Matthews traveled extensively in the Pacific during his four years as a staff officer in the Air Force Pacific Headquarters in Honolulu. He also traveled throughout Europe while assigned to the USAF Inspector General's office. His travels fostered an appreciation of the political differences among nations, and sharpened his powers of observation relative to cultural uniqueness of their people.Since February 2007, he has resided in Central America, the last three years in the Republic of Panama. His recent experiences combined with his USAF travel experiences allows Larry to provide readers with fascinating insights into unique features of the culture, the government and the people of Panama. For several years Larry has maintained a blog highlighting his travel experiences in Central America, which has a large and enthusiastic following (http://larrytravels.typepad.com). He is also currently working on a sequel, the next Terry Mathis adventure: "Angels and Heroes".