A Guy Named Fred

A Guy Named Fred

On one of my exploratory trips to Costa Rica, I was shown an old house that was in a semi-demolished condition, at least on the inside, and was told that a 77 year-old single man had bought the property and was in the midst of doing a remodel. While the property that the house was on was in a quite beautiful location, I was immediately struck by the massive amount of reconstruction it was going to take to bring this place into a livable condition. And I wondered at the time if this poor old man had been taken advantage of since I just couldn’t get the vision of what it would look like when finished. And the location, BTW, is in Santa Rosa de Poas, which is two mountains over from us in El Cajon de Grecia, which is about a 20-minute drive.

Fast forward a year and I finally met this old man, Fred, and ultimately saw his house as a finished product. I could not and cannot place enough descriptive adjectives that convey the dream property he has created. He literally turned the house construction over to his engineer and the interior decoration to the engineer’s wife. I don’t recommend this to people in the States, much less here in Costa Rica, but his experience is a testament to his trust in the locals and that all people are not bad people, no matter where you are. I have often called his home the most beautiful in Costa Rica and while it is only a 2-BR, 2-Bath home, there is indescribable warmth to the house, and the property is literally a botanical garden with 3 spring-fed Koi ponds, every kind of fruit tree you can imagine, and orchids (his hobby) all over the place. You can barely see his house with pictures from the outside because of all the flora, but trust me, it is warm and comfy, and he frequently entertains us and others with some fish recipes that are absolutely the best.  Do NOT turn down an invitation to eat at his house!

I try not to talk about dogs other than our own, but his dog, Susie, deserves an honorable mention, as she is the hostess with the mostess and an absolutely perfect dog for my stubborn friend.

And now to the Fred man himself. He is stubborn, of the wrong political persuasion, opinionated, cantankerous, single-minded, and I could go on and on. But I love him as my buddy, and he would probably erroneously use the same adjectives to describe me. He is now 81, still in the hospital for stint surgery to prevent an aneurysm and when he is recovered, he will go back in to have his stomach removed to prevent his cancer. He has stood up to his health issues with bravery that I am not sure I have, and he has come out of the surgery still sharp enough to finish my sentences because I can’t pull out the word I am looking for. Can you imagine the nerve of that man finishing MY sentences when he is almost 30 years my senior? I do frequently call him a “sh%$the#d” because it just ain’t right that he can remember some of the stuff he remembers.

We go to lunch every other week to the secret shrimp place just to catch up and solve the problems of the world. And don’t think he is a feeble old man who can’t get around. He is formerly an Iron Man participant and he loves to take off on long walks up and down mountains, and I must use my inhaler just to watch him.

He used the CAJA system (socialized medicine in Costa Rica) to pay for this recent surgery and the next one as well, and got it all paid for completely with his monthly premium of $20, with nary a cent out of pocket. He saved a LOT of money with the CAJA, and there will be a forthcoming article to describe its benefits.

Until next post…