Category Archives: Costa Rica
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
Opera Odyssey
BufferIn an effort to absorb more of the cultural life in San Jose, we decided to attend “The Best of the Opera” at the elegant Málico Teatro Salazar with our friends Wayne and Marguerite. We bought tickets for a five … Continue reading
The Big Dig
BufferMy mouth is a silver mine, once you get past the front teeth. Still, years have passed, decades even, since a dentist has uttered the words, “You need a filling.” My new dentist happens to be the choice of a … Continue reading
Coyotes Come to Call
The first time I heard them, they sounded like a pack of hungry puppies. They yipped, wailed, barked and howled into the night: a convocation of coyotes. I obeyed a sudden, irresistible urge to howl along with them. Here in … Continue reading
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
Mystery Malady
“There’s something wrong with me,” I said to Jack in the middle of one night last week. “What is it?” he asked, snapping awake. “My lips are tingling, and so are my hands,” I said. I hadn’t wanted to wake … Continue reading
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
Fiery Fiends Find my Foot
I’ve always admired ants: they’re industrious, organized, and cooperative. Unlike humans, they’re unselfish. Unlike Congress, they get things done. Ants don’t have to receive orders: each one knows what to do, and does it. Among the most interesting and ubiquitous … Continue reading
