When looking at a map of the Americas, this part of the world looks like a bungee cord holding up South America. Picture Costa Rica as a bungee cord in mid-bounce. Most of us have learned to navigate the sudden plunges and breathless highs of life here without it affecting our sanity. But for others, the ride can have unpredictable side-effects. Take my old friend Pancho. Like me, he came here from the states in pre-internet days and immersed himself in the Tico culture. He Hispanicized his first name, learned passable Spanish, got married to a Tica, had a kid, built a house, got religion, got divorced and came out of it a wholly different person from the innocent young...
Back in the mid 1970s behind what some called the pine curtain, certainly a designation that was an indication of a different civilization running its trains on its own time there was a small University in a rural East Texas town. It was an old town and Davy Crockett had passed through there on his way to the Alamo. Maybe he should have stayed because it's likely something in the air or water was already present that created the vibe of the place. Hamburgers and illegal smiles were cheap. Although Crockett was reportedly a fiddle player all long haired guys had guitars for this revolution. They lived in dorms that could best be described as upscale institutional. Hippie girls sunbathed on...
