Today we were awakened by a phone call from a friend who told us that we lost Charlie Owen last night due to an unexpected heart attack.

Since we have so many Charlies here in Grecia, he is known as the Charlie of “Charlie and Jeanetta” – his wife. This is a very special loss to me as Charlie and I had spent some time together even before we moved to Costa Rica. He had been stationed in Panama almost the same time my family lived there, so we got to talk about that and many other topics – including spirituality – as we were alone, and this is where I grew to love him as anyone who just knew him even for a short time would. He was the epitome of spirituality and he practiced the ways of the God of his understanding in all his days and told me frequently how he would cross the bridge on their property and spend countless time conversing with the “Man.”

Every single time I saw this man, I told him I wanted to grow up and be just like him. While I think he thought I was joking with him, I was NEVER joking. He was calm-spirited, always happy, and with this smile on his face that I shall always remember as it is very true that I still want to grow up and be just like him.

Jeanetta, his loving wife of almost 50 years, owns and runs the La Terrazza Bed and Breakfast, and while she is the proprietor of the B&B, Charlie was her man. Life here in Grecia will be different, but he is a memory of Grecia that none of us will ever forget.

I never want this posting to be called an “Obit” because I am the first to say that I celebrate the time I had with him, and I will always seek to have the peace, calm, and love of his fellow man that this guy had. Yes, he was my mentor in life, and I will always miss him. Look for his spirit though – it is the calming feeling, and you will know it when you feel it.

Like almost every day that we’re here in Grecia, we have perfect temperatures outside, a spectacular view, and no frustrations of the big city life we had when we lived in Dallas. Most folks don’t even know where Grecia is, and unless they are that small percentage of adventurous and nature-loving people, then I am perfectly fine that we are where we are and they are where they are.

I know you are only 90 years old and still have a lot of Bridge to play, weeds to pick, and general foolin’ around with all your friends, but we made our move to Grecia because it was a new chapter in our lives financially and we were able to qualify for the socialized medical care system here, and with my health being what it is, this was the most prudent thing we could do. We could have never retired in the States, even with our house being paid off. Health insurance, medicines, real estate taxes, and house maintenance were over $25K per year, and that was only a start. With all our expenses (and no entertainment), we could see that we had to seek a different way of life than the lifestyle we had in Dallas.

We loved Hawaii in our many visits to the islands, but the living expenses there are even higher than those in the States, and again, no solution to my health care coverage needs. Here in Grecia, we get the tropical lush environment and we can use the private medical system and not break the bank for both medical and dental. At $20 a visit, we can afford medical care. My endocrinologist in Dallas charged $250 plus expenses of the testing, which were always over $100. And I never saw him for more than 10 minutes – ever! And if we ever have catastrophic needs, we have the socialized system to rely upon.

We absolutely love the climate in Grecia, and the beauty of the tropics is indescribable as you know. I know we are farther away from you here in Grecia, but I hope you can see that this is absolutely the best place for us to live.

You have seen that we have a house comparable to the one we had in Dallas, just without the pool – thank God! I hated all the expenses of that pool!

Anyway, I hope you can grow more content with our decision to live in Grecia and know that you have your apartment here that you can come stay in for a week, a month, a year, or however long you wish. And we can always talk for free on Skype or Vonage, so just pretend we are closer, not farther. We are all happy!

Until your upcoming Christmas visit, my wish for you and everyone is PURA VIDA!

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…