On the Bright Side

You can tell a lot about a place by the way they treat their animals. I spent the first half of the summer in Costa Rica and met the most kind-hearted, life-embracing people I’ve ever encountered...anywhere. Monkeys and humans share the mangoes from the trees, cats relax on bookshelves in coffee shops and “dingoes” (as stray dogs were affectionately called) wander the streets visiting their favorite spots, beckoned by nickname from all of the locals. The mutual respect between the people and the animals in 'our' little town made my heart smile. And it seemed to carry over to the wildlife as well. A bird landed on my coffee cup one morning, chirped me a little song and flew off (true story!). Coatis poked their noses right into our beach bags, and iguanas visited us on our porch, eyes staring and heads cocked, seeming to ask, “Are you leaving soon? I want to sun myself on that chair.” But the attitude that I think best exemplifies the genuine kindness of the people we met, ...