Regrets

First off, I regret the aforementioned black beans. You don´t want or need to know more than that.

I regret not taking in more tranquil moments in my life. Moments like the one I took in at the cascades and waterfalls we visited today. We watched water move. Have you ever really watched the way that water jumps over rocks?

I regret that more of you couldn´t experience the joy that came from a zip down a rainforest canopy. All 20 of us clipped into the harnesses and enjoyed (is that the word?) a peter pan-esque ride over the Costa Rican treetops. Laughs, pictures, screams, and spins...

It is regrettable that more cannot be done for Don Jorge - the man who owns a budding recycling business that we visited today. The business, formerly his tavern, is turning old phone books and newspapers into packing materials for the flower companies that ship to the states and elsewhere. He is also collecting plastics to clean, shred, and sell back to factories that make new plastic containers. His company, a company that held promise when it started a year or so ago, has been hit by the economic crisis and is burdened by an inventory of used plastics that is worth half of what it was when he purchased it.

I regret that we had to say goodbye to Pastor and Isabelle. We will miss them. We took up a collection of about $300 for them, equal to three months of his salary. The gift didn´t make the goodbye any easier.

And yet, still, I regret the black beans. You don´t need or want to know more.