The Costa Rican Experience.
I just spent nearly a month all over the Guanacaste Region on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. I’m in Atlanta now by demand of a woman I love. I’m happy to be here. Had a wonderful Thanksgiving experience. But still, I long for Costa Rica.
To say it was the adventure of a lifetime would be an understatement.
Frankly, I left to escape the noise of the world, and I found so many friends, I did not know quite what to do with them. They are all still texting me at all hours asking when I’m coming back. God bless them all!
Of all the places I spent time in, it was Las Catalinas that won my heart. Such a sweet town filled with sweet people. It will be my second home forever.
The noise of the world was calmed there for me and the friendship inspiring. I’ve never been more productive than I was there. The howler monkeys and the ocean would wake me in the middle of the night. I read Hemingway, wrote columns and songs and I partied like I was Keith Richards. Not sorry.
But the broader point of this column is to share the lessons I learned. Peace is possible (they disbanded their military in the 1940’s and have had zero problems). Friendship and family are everything. We are allowed to close our ears to nonsense and think about being kind and productive and how best to serve.
All good lessons as we try to work together and get America back on track. They are concerned for us; they need us down south as Russia and China try to get their claws into the region. From my time both in Mexico and Costa Rica it was always clear that they love America and Americans.
We also have a new hope in Argentina as Javier Milel prepares to take office. He too loves America and will need our support as he changes his nation for the better.
We must make our country better. We must be better neighbors. It may sound a bit trite, but again I have learned first-hand that the world needs America more than ever. But we cannot help people before we help ourselves.
Reporting from Atlanta, near the Ebenezer Church of the Reverend Martin Luther King where The Honorable Raphael Warnock is the current pastor, it makes my resolve even stronger. As I have learned down south and am reminded of here, love and peace work. I’ve witnessed it. Let love rule.