So this is a guess, wondering if I am on the right track. I rarely ride when it is all rainy. Bike mentioned is a 1989 Panasonic, original bottom bracket configuration. I had serviced it early in the spring, a few weeks ago it was making an awful noise, opened it up and the grease looked like it had been running underwater. Marine grade bearing grease was used. I live in Florida, and I sweat buckets. If it is over 65, I am wet. And I don’t have a cushy A/C job. My thought is the sweat ran down the seatpost onto the bearings. Am I on the right track? Do I find a way to plug the seatpost? My wife says moving to a more tolerable climate is out.

One solution to prevent this from happening again, or at least as frequently, is to switch to a sealed cartridge bottom bracket (BB). They're a bit more costly but should not be as affected by the sweat/water. However, if you wish to stay with that tradition loose bearing BB...if it doesn't include a plastic seal insert...see if you can get one. It should provide more of a barrier. Not all bikes came with them...not sure where you could get one...maybe the LBS might have one, or you could try a DIY. What I'm suggesting is the plastic tube above the spindle in this pic:

Thanks, ForceD, will check that out, definitely an immediate fix. I am considering for the long run a sealed cartridge BB.