Category Archives: Retirement abroad

Riding the Floor

About a week after we moved to Japan, my daughter, Bonnie, and I experienced our first earthquake. As we sat on the floor, Japanese style, our legs tucked under the kotatsu for warmth, the apartment began to sway. “Look at … Continue reading

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Breaking Up With Hooligans

In Roxborough, the Philadelphia neighborhood where my family moved in 1963, the first fast food restaurant to litter the landscape was Gino’s. We’d eaten steak sandwiches and hoagies from Delassandro’s, in Wissahickon, for years, but Gino’s was the first hamburger … Continue reading

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My Dinner With the French Ambassador

It’s true.  I had dinner with the French Ambassador to Costa Rica, at his home, or more precisely, in his garden. No, I was not the only guest of the Ambassador; also in attendance were Jack, our friends Wayne and … Continue reading

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Creeping to Arenal

Toni said, “I’m sixty years old, and I’ve never seen a volcano,” so we set off for Lake Arenal. Who knew it would be raining? In the Central Valley, where we live, it hasn’t rained since Thanksgiving. We thought the … Continue reading

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The Hug: A Handshake From the Heart

When I meet new people, I like to shake hands. I expect a firm handshake, accompanied by eye contact. If I find myself on the receiving end of a limp handshake, I struggle to resist the urge to wipe my … Continue reading

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Reconnecting in paradise

Three years ago, my cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer. The thought of losing her galvanized me. We began talking again, visiting each other, sharing secrets the way we did in childhood. But I had one foot in Philly and the other in Costa Rica by then. We decided she had to come for a visit- the sooner the better. “I won’t go through chemotherapy again,” she said, in the understated way she has. Continue reading

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Rooster today, feather duster tomorrow

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0savesSave BufferBack in August, I wrote about a chicken who adopted us. She laid us a few eggs, and though they were tiny, we had dreams of an endless free supply. We bought some chicken feed, named our girl Henny … Continue reading

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You CAN go home again

In Spanish, the word casa means house; as far as I can tell, there’s no word that means home. In English, we differentiate between house and home, but often use the two words interchangeably. Lately, I’ve been wondering: How can … Continue reading

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Diamonds on the floor

Joan Rivers said: “I don’t exercise. If God had wanted me to exercise, he would have put diamonds on the floor.” But she’s skinny; I need to exercise because my middle is growing, even though the numbers on the scale … Continue reading

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The Prisoner’s Village

I’d have felt boorish if we’d visited Cuba and not checked out Havana, but the words “beach vacation” ricocheted around my brain. After all, this trip was my escape from the rainy season. I booked three nights in a hotel … Continue reading

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