The first sign makes perfect sense: No drinking on the premises. The second, a bit bolder: No drugs. The last, a favorite. One we can use every day: No fighting on the premises.

That about sums it up. With all those in tact, all would go along quite smoothly.

In every town, in every land there is a man who waits. His turn is yet to come. With a trusty paper at his side, he shall be the next in line to get a trim. A little off the top if you please.

And it’s a pleasure to wait, I can tell. For he gets a few minutes to shake off the rain; elude the boss; put off that extra errand needed to be run before the day’s end. The small, corner barber shop - a treasure of every country small and wide.

I followed this man with avocadoees on his head for a quite a while. I couldn’t help but notice that his sweat and his deep breaths to keep up his step added a sense of beauty that took me by surprise.

There are parts of San José, that if broken down ascetically, are what a critic could call unsightly or down right ugly. Yet in each snapshot of life, there is something beautiful to behold.His efforts could make the harshest of critics take note.

Plus, five avodaoes - and they were a pretty good size - for 1000 colones (about $2.00) was a very good price.

The long-nosed coatimundi, or pizote in Spanish, is a nimble, racoon-like animal that scourers the jungle. The advantage of being so nimble has turned into a challenge for survival as many troupes of the animals find little food left.

Near the Multiplaza mall in Escazu, Costa Rica, habitat has been covered with concrete. Left with little choice, the coatimundi often hunts in trash bins. We’ve passed the huge dumpsters behind the Outback Steakhouse seeing sometimes up to 30 or 40 of them, from babies to adults.

About a week ago, I saw this sign go up to “adopt a pizote.” My daughter and I decided to lend a hand. The restaurant told us to just bring in some fruit. So we did. We trudged the bag of papayas and bananas through the pouring rain and handed it to the hostess. She explained that the restaurant is working with the ministry of health to give a more suitable environment for the animals.

We were happy to hear a few other people had already dropped off some fruit. I hope it wil continue to catch on. No matter where we are in life, there is always something we can do to lend a helping hand - or paw.

Every August 2nd, the faithful in Costa Rica walk a pilgrimage. Tradition states to open the door and start walking and do not stop until you get to the Cartago. Several years ago, I took this journey. I was so impressed at the devoted, diligent, helpful stream of people, all of us on a journey with the same goal: To give thanks.

To read more of the journey I took, it is chronicled in three sections: The preparation called, A Walk to Cartago. The journey, called A Walk to Cartago, The Heart of the Matter a journal of the almost six hour journey with photos and dramatic (well, at least to me) ending. I made a video of the trip called: To Move the Faith. The video is a bit grainy though still brings on tears when I watch it.

Last year, the walk was closed down to the flu virus. I have a feeling this year will be a big crowd. Good luck for those heading out. May you have a dry day; a good pair of shoes; a second pair of shoes; a refill of water; a good hat; and the stamina to make it through.

Coco brings me a drawing every day. She folds it, usually backward, and puts: To MAMA on one line, and then LOVE COCO underneath.

Where ever I am, I have to unfold it and study it. There is usually long story behind the photo. She’s been working on the idea of perspective in drawing: What’s close is bigger; what’s farther away is smaller. I’ve taught her this joke that was on Kid’s in the Hall. (Great show if you’ve never seen it. Hopefully Internet world could make these shows live again.) I digress…..

On the show, Mr. Tyzik (Dave Foley) would “crush” people with his finger. If he’d get mad or frustrated with someone, or even for a little harmless fun, he’d eye someone far away and “pinch” him between his thumb and forefinger.

“I’m crushing you!” he’d say, with a long rolling “rrrrrr” sound.

So Coco and I drive around crushing things - without the mean intent; we’d be in it to gain a little perspective - the closer the object, the bigger the pinch. The sun, oh so far away, we can usually crush with a quick pinch. She’s gotten down the “rrrrrrr” part too. Since she’s bilingual, she can roll a mean “rrrrrrrr.” A building in the distance takes a bigger pinch, and so on.

The latest picture was of a bird flying home to the babies in the nest. The mother was close to us as was the rose bush with one blooming rose. The babies were far away, but not such a distance that we could crush them. Their little eyes peeked out of a hole in the tree, waiting for their MAMA. And, she always comes home to the nest. From Coco’s perspective, this is the absolute truth. I guess as close as I loom in her large in her psyche, I present a bigger perspective, perhaps, than I really am. As she grows away, to be her own, she’ll look back, from a distance and hold me right between her finger and thumb.

Note: This story first went on-line in 2007.
We still enjoy a good round of crushing here
and there, especially on long rides in the car.

My daughter runs screaming when it starts to ripen. My brows furrow when I begin to cut into it: Noni. Perhaps the most horribly disgusting smelling and tasting fruit could be one of the best out there.

Said to be to have a range of health benefits for colds, cancer, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, pain, skin infection, high blood pressure, mental depression, atherosclerosis and arthritis.
It contains antibacterial compounds in the fruits; is said to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli, which is responsible for intestinal infections, and Heliobacter pylori, which causes ulcers. In addition to eating the fruit, the roots, leaves, and flowers are also eaten. A few of the many other benefits touted are that it revitalizes the cells, restores energy, purifies the blood, stimulates the immune system, relieves pain, and is a potent antioxidant.

For years, I saw the fruit hanging from the bushy tree or rotting in the sand on the beach. One of my nannies would gleefully toss any that had yet to start to rot into the fold of her dress. I watched with scepticism and fear. First of all, the fruit stinks. A good metaphor eludes me, but perhaps the idea of a moldy, once-sweaty, sock stuffed with rotting brocoli might do it?

Noni is said to be used by the Polynesians and other tropical cultures for 2000 years. Not long after I arrived in Costa Rica, the popularity of the fruit - and all it’s health claims - hit the market. I go sceptical again. I’ve watched fruit loved and hated by nutritionists, alternative health experts, and the media. It gets confusing what to think.

I “re”-stumbled onto Noni after reading about it’s benefits in Dr. Young’s book, The PH Living Miracle. He says, and many others, there’s just too much sugar in fruit (had to be a reason it tasted so good!). Thus, the trouble with Noni - it tastes horrible. Disgusting in fact, so it has to be really good for us.

I decided to give it a try, but it made no sense buying it in a bottle when it grows on trees down here. My organic supplier delivered, I think, five kilos (I hit the wrong key on the order button! I meant to get a kilo.) It turned out to be a good lesson in the ripening of Noni and how to serve it. At first, I peeled off the brown bumps. This lead to very little juice. Now, I let it ripen and through the whole thing in a blender and pulse as not to break up the seeds. After straining, the consistency is like applesauce.*

When I first gave it to Addison, it bubbled back out of his mouth like a baby trying the first bite of “chicken and peas” from a jar. Now, it’s a bit of a science. I add a few drops of green, mint clorophyll, two drops of stevia and he actually eats it right up. We both take about 1/8 cupin the morning and the same at night. My daughter? Forget about it. She’ll have to discover it someday on her own.**

So, we’ve found another wonderful reason to call this paradise: A horrible, disgusting fruit that may save your life. If you can get it down that is. Figures.

*Noni is available in bottles at most grocery stores and health stores like Bio Salud in bottles. Many grocery stores do carry the fruit, fresh.
**Some have reported to vomit upon tasting it. No joke. 

Renewing passports becomes a double pleasure living abroad. The United States allows us to keep our U.S. passport and either have residency or dual citizenship with Costa Rica. I have residency and get a card called the cedula. The kids have two passports. That means two embassies. That means double the time in line.

The U.S. embassy, of course, is big and glossy. The Costa Rican building where “all issues” concerning immigration lives, well, let’s just say it needs a little work. Basically there are two windows for everything where there at any given time, about 50 - 100 people waiting. Some rooms, like the one pictured here, get lucky. We get to sit. It’s a wonder to watch. About every ten minutes to one-half hour, we break out of our boredom; stand up; and with incredible order and civility, move down a few chairs to start waiting all over again. Don’t let the look on this woman’s face fool you. She really is bored. Very bored.

The process involves getting an appointment (a day); going to the appointment; returning to get the passport (almost a full day). I am in the final stage of operation passport for my daughter. I get to go back and get in line just one more time until it’s time to do it all over again for my son. Or was that at the U.S. embassy? It’s something to keep this all straight.

What looks good in the window often doesn’t translate at home. It doesn’t take a command of several languages or the ability to master the deep influences of cultures to know we are often grabbed and hooked before we know what’s good for us.

I’ve started a new buying idea, I’m trying to buy IT before it buys me. Oh, the millions I perhaps I could have saved. Not that the books or the pants or the earrings shouldn’t be mine, it’s just I’ve decided to add a mandatory “browse” time - a kind of “internal “payment” plan. If I see it, maybe I’ll take a photo of it, or just browse and admire. Then, I go away, sometimes a day, or a week, or sometimes it’s  just minutes. If I remember the next day or week about that thing, it’s a good bet IT should be mine. If I can’t live without it, I’m placing odds I really don’t need it after all. Then, if I do really need something, I try to think about it before I go to the store. I think we should all have, in fact we should have IT all. I wonder though, if this plan might get us to as some famous band said: We get what we need. After a few months of trying this new method, I’ve managed to live with everything I thought before I couldn’t live without. And what I do buy has a much greater, dare I say, spiritual connection to it.

Shopping was always a frustrating bore. But now it’s a mission and quite efficient. Teaching my daughter these practices a little harder. But she’s doing pretty well. She’s saving grandma’s money for a special stuffed animal and a camera as she’s fancying being a photographer. I’m quite proud of the fact she’s got the guts to wait and get it all in the end. Hmmm…. quite a life lesson indeed.

When the rainy season takes over our afternoons in Costa Rica, it gets challenging to keep kids entertained. Unlike snow where you might be able to go out and whip a snowball around or hit a hockey puck for awhile, rain makes everything really wet and pretty impossibly to play in.

I’ve discovered a new, safe, fun, and dry place to play in Escazú, Costa Rica. Addison needs a lot of stimulation to stay walking and get exercise. The great benefit of the Playground - on the lower level of the new mall edition in Multiplaza in Escazú. - is that if you want to go, there’s no scheduled gym class or time slot. You just go. This system works our great for me, for I never know when Addison’s up to the task or not. Some afternoons, he’s just too tired.

I’ve had Addison in scheduled classes before and I just saw money flying away each time we’d have to miss a class. In all classes given in Costa Rica (young and old) a matricula is charged. The matricula usually adds up to another month’s fee and has to  paid before starting the classes. When we’d miss a class, we’d lose not only that class but a bit of that matricula I coughed up at the beginning.

Playground, a division of Yu Kids Island, offers big bouncy things, climbing things, slides, and spinning things. The entire floor is covered in a big matt. They even offer birthday packages. There is a height limit. My daughter Coco hunched over one last time to make it in and was told she’d just grown too tall.

But on those afternoons when Addison needs stimulation, we head to the Playground. They open at 10:30 a.m. on the week days. and 11:00 a.m. on weekends. They’ve told me it’s open until 8:30 p.m., but I’d always check before going. (A never-ending good-rule-of-thumb in Costa Rica before going anywhere!) The phone number is 506-2204-5804. Moms and dads can have a cup of coffee and hook up to the Internet. Playground offers a service where the adult can go in with the child or a guardaria - a day-care kind of service where the child is supervised while the adults can get some shopping in.

When I took my camera out for one last shot of Addison, he’d have nothing to do with just sitting there. He stormed my way, determined to get a look. I showed him the shot and tucked my camera away so we could head back up the giant slide.