In Memoriam

Today is Memorial Day. A very important day of rememberance and gratitude for persons most of us don't even know. I think those who died in military operations and now serving would appreciate this small gesture. I know I do.
Being a military veteran, the day becomes more special as I get older. Things seem to happen that way. I had a very quiet career in the Navy and was, to my knowledge, never in harm's way. Certainly not like the military personnel of today. I wish them safety and God's grace.
However, this holiday weekend carries a much deeper meaning and a more profound rememberance for me. This is the weekend my brother took his own life 17 years ago.

Chris was a magnetic personality, a person whom other people sought out for company, for fun and laughs. He was a wonderful father to his daughter - lessons he learned from his own father, lessons of compassion, patience, and love. He looked at the best people had to offer and chose many times, to allow the mis-givings of others to pass by as not that important. He had a smile which could light up a room. A sense of wonderment at places yet unseen, a love of Elvis bigger than any fan could imagne, were all parts of his joy.
The demons which took root in his soul were never to be shaken off, never to be understood, or arrested. They stayed until they got all of him. His death was at a time when conditions like his were less talked about, and considered by many to be more of a personal deficit in character, or a weakness. This is not true. He was neither weak, nor had a deficit in his character. The pain he felt was far too great of any of us to begin to imagne-a soul too tortured to continue an earthly journey. His Mother and Father were there to love him through it all. His brothers offered encouragement and support in efforts attempted. Never was he left to fight on his own but it was not enough. His heartbreaking decision is vastly too complex for any of us to really understand.
Chris is missed by so many of us. It has been a long time since that weekend, and the emotions which come with this type of demise are softer now - less jagged and maybe, just maybe, a bit more understood.
There are no hard feelings left - just not worth it to harbor such.
Chris was loved then, and he is loved now.
Godspeed, little brother.

BANANAS! PAPAYAS! MANGOS! OH MY!!

Well there is no excuse for not eating your fruits and vegetables here in Costa Rica. Fresh produce is everywhere and produce in season, is cheap, cheap, cheap. It is very tasty too!!

Love it!

This guy will bring it to your car. Now that's service!!

Fruits, vegetables and re-cycle center. One stop shopping!

I use this place between trips to the market. Nice folks work here and I always get "con feria", which means, "a little more".

This is the market in Guadalupe. Much larger than the one in Moravia.

Once again, car side service.

Volcan Barva

Dennis and I had been planning this hiking trip for some time now. This is the Volcan Barva a part of the the Braulio Carrillo National Park. The mountain is dotted with small farms, (fincas) mostly for milk and cheese production. Let me tell you, the air up there is so clean and fresh it is unbelieveable!! It starts getting cooler and cooler, but the sun kept it nice and comfortable all day. In fact, this is a cloud forest with different types of vegetation than a rain forest, however on this day, we had sun all day - lucky us!! The hiking took us about 4.5 hours and was just over 8 miles long. Yep, at least half was uphill. We were tired but in a good way and did I ever sleep good Saturday night. Even the trip back was really neat. We stopped at a local restaurant and enjoyed one of the best meals I have had here and a show of hummingbirds right outside of our window. We stopped and bought homemade cheese a little further down the mountain.
A very nice day.....

Here we are in the town of Barva asking directions. The mountain we are going to is the one in the background.

A view of San Jose from the slopes of Volcan Barva.

Along the trail in the park; most of it was easy and well maintained. However, toward the second crater the trail became more like "hiking" as tree roots and muddy places became more common.

This plant is called the Poor Man's Umbrella, (La Sombrilla de Podre). Can you guess why? And it wasn't even the biggest one we did see.

The pond created by the crater.

Dennis at one of the overlooks. You can see the clouds starting to build.

Too Cool!! Ol' Bessy just standing by the road watching the day go by.

This is where we bought the homemade cheese.

Tree Planting & Jaguars

Last Sunday, Mother's Day, I went over to Santa Ana, the Onion Capital of Costa Rica, (for that Jeopardy Question) and participated in a tree planting/reforestation project at the Centro de Conservacion in Santa Ana. It was a blast. I found out about this through the Democrats Abroad. Kathy, our coordinator, is a very sweet young lady from Manhattan who is here to learn and participate in conservation efforts. This community picnic and play area was a bit neglected by local governments and this was a good way to help bring in some much needed attention and awareness. There were many people there from the community and student volunteers participating in this worthy project. On this property are animals which have been injured, abandoned or confiscated from people who could not take care of these animals; especially the jaguars. Normally the jaguars are off limits to the public, but on this occasion, we were allowed to go back to the enclosures and look at these big cats. They are nothing but beautiful!! We planted a tree, relaxed abit with some refreshments and had a really nice Sunday afternoon.

Kathy and I at the tree planting area after the tour of the museum, the grounds and the animals.

Kerry, Kathy, Paul's Mom, Judy and Paul from Democrats Abroad. Great group of folks!

Yep! We were that close. They had 6 jaguars and kept the males and females apart due to agressive behavior in the closed quarters, normally they are solitary creatures. They all seemed to be pretty docile, except for one which was very agitated. They are very loud when they snarl and roar. Impressive!! They hopefully will raise enough money and awareness to improve the enclosures. Let's hope they do!

The Central Market downtown San Jose

This is the Central Market at the end of the Pedestrian Mall in central San Jose. It covers at least one square block of the city. Let me tell you....you can find almost ANYTHING in here. They have all these winding, intersecting corridors lined with booths of housewares, souvenirs, food, spices, costumes (note the little girl with the "I can't believe Mommy is making me do this" look on her face), meats, fishes, flowers, coffee and numerous "sodas". A soda is a small cafe with a limited menu of local dishes and usually includes the "casado" which would be our blue-plate special. The casado would consist of a small portion of meat, chicken, beef, pork or fish, rice and beans, salad, fried plantain and a desert along with a "refresco" or juice. You can buy fruits and vegetables, leather goods, shoes, t-shirts, herbs and vitamins, pets and baskets. All sorts of items. This is one of my favorite places to browse and wander. I don't think I have ever exited the same way I entered. When you come visit, we will surely do this...You will LOVE it!!

Fire! Fire! Fire!

Yep, where there is smoke, there is fire. Here's the story: Saturday Dennis had to work so I decide to go downtown to the Central Market and take some pics for a blog (previous blog). As you see in the photos it had begun to rain. Now, the rainy season has just started and it started raining much earlier in the day than I anticipated. But, hey, we all know the weather don't wear no watch and don't use no calender.

No big deal. If you live here, you carry an umbrella and go on about your business. I had planned to get an exotic lunch in the Central Market, but changed my mind when I looked up at the Q-Cafe and saw an available table. I like the Q-Cafe with its stylishly cosmopolitian New York-ish open second floor.

I get my table, place an order for a cup of coffee and thai chicken salad. In a very few minutes the waiters start pointing out the other side of the cafe as well as the kitchen help is coming out to see what is happening. I also notice the folks on the street are starting to stop and look upward. You know it!!! I had to get up and go see myself. Thank goodness I did not see what my dirty mind thought I might see......

A fire has broken out across the street at a third floor restaurant that backs up to a mission for folks in recovery. It does not take long for a crowd to form, and smoke to start leaking into the restaurant I am in.....a little heat creaping over too as the fire, which started out as you see in the pics, starts to grow

Well here comes the firemen, (los bomberos) and the police (il policia) and they get to work!! Shutting down stores, moving folks around and setting up boundaries. I start thinking, " I hope some fool doesnt' lock us up in here". Give me my salad to go......remember I mentioned the heat?!

No need to say it - no sooner did I think "get it to go", than the waiter brings a to-go box, my bill (la cuenta) and follows everyone else out the door. ME TOO!!

Broke up my day!

All was good and the newpaper stated today that no one was hurt and the cause of the fire could have been the restaurant or the mission. It had not been determined as of yet.

Un gran arbol......

This is one magnificant tree. It is a variety of ficus and the neighbors claim it is about 85 years of. It is at the other end of the park across the street from our place. In the evening parrots make it their home for the evening. I do enjoy trees.

Good Morning!!!

I was helping the Little Theater Group prepare for the opening of "Twelve Angry Men". The Little

Theater Group (LTG) is the oldest english speaking theater group in Central America. It is a wonderful group of people, too. I have always had fun in the company of these folks. The people involved in LTG are from all over the place and many have lived here for many, many years. It is so interesting to talk to them and discuss the changes they have seen occur. Everyone has spoken of how quickly the changes came about. For instance, Susan, (not pictured) who has lived here for 17 years, says back then there was about 300,000 people living in the Central Valley and hardly any cars. Today, over a million people live in this area and traffic congestion is incredible. I prefer many times to take the bus, walk or use a taxi. All very afforable and convenient modes of transport.

Anyway, this is Andrew and Vicky with me as we stain some molding to be used on the set. The set looks great, the production and players will be fantastic, I am sure.

Well, I hope you all had a great night's sleep. I slept like a log. Yesterday I did my walk, but included some jogging/running back into the routine. I have missed running and hopefully can ease back into what I used to do. Now, the old body protests sometimes, but dog-gone-it, I have to move around. Bottom line is I did a good work out and slept wonderfully.

Today plumbers are here to hopefully fix a problem with the shower drain. Seems it does not drain so well due to a construction error. This building is a new construction and who knows why, but the shower has started to back up a bit and that aint' good. Our landlady is really good about getting things done and taken care of - that is a blessing. When I owned a house/condo, there was always something to do or needed doing. I cannot imagne having to tend to multiple properties and all that would go with that ......OY!! Not for me.

Nice Weekend....

I hope you all had the weekend you wanted!! Not much to report here. We did go to a karoke party on Saturday night and had a good time. Thank goodness I wasn't the only there who would be reduced to tears if Simon Cowell were judging......singing is not a talent I have, but hey, you join the party and give it a whirl.

Sunday Dennis had to work and I got invited to Andrew and Emma's for Sunday brunch waffles and it is always a good time at their house. They left last night on a red-eye to Amerstdam, Paris, and London. I am wishing them a most fab-u-lous time and safe return. Ray, who is the night manger for Cafe Mundo, one of San Jose's better restaurants and places to be seen, was there. Lots of laughs, stories to be told and time well spent with friends was how I spent my Sunday morning and after a great walk around the area I was ready for a good breakfast.

I took my camera with me this time as I have missed a couple of interesting shots on my walks. The above photo is of a Sunday morning soccer game. They love soccer like North Ameicans love football and fast food - can't seem to live without it. Sometimes, in some of the smaller towns, it looks like the town was built around the soccer field.

Well, back to the "grind". Love you all and have a great day.

Las Vacas! Las Vacas! Las Vacas!

This was a fun day of touring downtown San Jose to see the "Parade of Cows". There are about 200 or so of these art pieces done all my Costa Rican artists with various sponsors. Lots of imagination involved on some of these. Here is a photo of Dennis and Andrew during the tour.