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A.M. Costa Rica third newspage
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San José, Costa Rica, Friday, March 23, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 59

Here's a way to recycle your body after you die here

Several years after I left Majorca, some friends wrote to tell me the news of Cala Gamba, the small seaside community where my family and I had lived. They said that the old doctor from the U.S. who had lived there for a number of years had died. His wife and the rest of the community tried every avenue to find a grave for him. He was not Catholic and could not be buried in a Catholic cemetery. At the time there was no way to have him cremated.

Finally, in desperation, two of the neighbors put the homeless doctor in a sack, tied a weight to him, and rowed out into the Mediterranean to give him a midnight burial at sea.

Death, for many expats living abroad can be costly and full of red tape, not for them, of course, but for their families or friends. When I became curious about the process in Costa Rica, I asked Garland Baker, my fellow columnist at A.M. Costa Rica. He said he would find out and a couple of weeks later his column came out telling me everything I needed to know about leaving this planet from Costa Rica. It was filled with the various tramites and costs. See HERE and HERE.

I have avoided tramites most of my life, and certainly during my whole time in Costa Rica. (The one way, I am convinced that one can live a happy, carefree life here is to own nothing bigger than a bed) I have also been committed to recycling in my personal life, or at least, reusing. This started from necessity, then habit and now principle. I hate waste. I simply don’t throw things away until I have found several uses for them. As many of you know, second hand stores are my favorite places to buy. My friend Alexis is into recycling in a big way and personally collects my old bottles and plastics and paper.

How, I wondered, can I leave this world maintaining my principles. I certainly don’t want a costly casket to take up space in an already crowded world, or that would be burned, anyway. Although I did buy some years ago a beautiful little cooking pot that I said I was going to use as an urn for my ashes, my children or a friend can continue using that cooking pot.

That is when Sandy and I made a visit to the Universidad de Ciences Medicas and had a long talk with Dr. Jose A. Resenterra Ceciliano about leaving one’s body to a medical school.

Dr. Resenterra was both helpful and enthusiastic about this manner of exiting. (Having some time before seeing him, I chatted with the guard at the entrance of the school who

Living in Costa Rica

. . .Where the living is good

By Jo Stuart
jostuart@amcostarica.com

asked if I had doctors in my family. I said no, and he said that it was mostly families of people in the medical professions who donated their bodies.)

Dr. Resenterra said that often pensionadas living here with no relatives choose to donate their bodies. As he said, this is a way you can help others as your last act. I very much like that idea, and I also feel so much better at the thought that a body that I will no longer need can be re-used. And finally, there are absolutely no tramites or expenses involved either for myself or my family. The family or a friend just makes a phone call at the proper time and the school takes over.

First there is an autopsy that takes place in Heredia. (My understanding is that all bodies must be autopsied). In this case it's to make sure that there are no infectious diseases.

They also check to see if any organs are suitable for donation (if you okay this). Then the body is taken to the medical school, which takes care of everything, including transporting the body. There are at least 15 medical schools in Costa Rica, so the need must be great.

On my second and last visit to the Universidad de Ciences Medicas, I saw the notary public who typed up a legal document which I signed with two witnesses. It simply stated the above and is supposed to be presented at the proper time. In case of loss, she said, the school has a copy. That part of the procedures took about 35 minutes.

With the money and time that is saved I hope my children and whatever family that can make it, along with my friends in Costa Rica, to have a party on me (so to speak). I do not find parties to be wasteful or in need of a great deal of red tape. Besides, food and drink and good conversation make for a better memory than the hassles of tramites. We all want to leave them smiling.

Jo’s book, “Butterfly in the City: A Good Life in Costa Rica,” is available at the 7th Street Book Store, Lehmann’s and Liberia Internacional. Or contact Jostuart@amcostarica.com.

Two more held in case of phone scammers operating here

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A quick trip to the San Andrés vacation island proved to be the undoing of two men who have been sought by the United States for telephone fraud.

The pair were detailed at Juan Santamaría airport when their names popped up on an immigration computer.

They are Joshua Jorane Grimes, 29, and Michael Robert Kearns, 30, according to investigators.

The Dirección de Inteligensia/International Police Agency here said the pair were sought by the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Department of Justice as part of an investigation of scammers who defrauded U.S. citizens by telephone. Other suspects were arrested last year, but agents continued to seek Grimes and Kearns.

The gang, which operated a telephone call center here used an advance fee pitch. They told gullible U.S. citizens that they had won a contest with a prize of from $300,000 to $450,000. By using modern telephone technology the gang made it appear as if the call had originated inside the United States.

In order to get the prize, the victim had to come up with and send the scammers $1,000 or some other similar amount. In a new twist, the scammers told the victims that the payment was necessary because of a security system put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, said officials, citing U.S. allegations.

Grimes

Kearns

The suspects arrested Thursday had lived in Santa Ana, Jacó and Escazú, said agents. They were scheduled to be arrested this week but a computer check of airline passengers turned up their names as they were about to leave the country for the Caribbean island which is part of Colombia, said agents.

The pair will undergo extradition proceedings to also face a money laundering charge in the United States.

Costa Rica has been home to a number of scammer gangs. A notable one operating near the center of the city used similar telephone techniques to sell computers at a discount price. Of course, the computers did not exist, and the scammers simply took the money that victims sent them via Western Union.

Expats were hired to place the calls as well as bilingual Costa Ricans. Some bragged that they could bring home $900 a week, sufficient to support their drug habit.

Residents association gets positive response for cultural fair this Saturday

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The residents association said that it had received a lot of positive response to its charity and cultural fair that takes place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Parque la Sabana.

Ryan Piercy, director of the organization, said that the fair, called Regreso de la Flores, is a good place for individuals to make contacts for volunteer work.

A number of non-profit and for-profit organizations have signed on, he said, including both the U.S. and the Panamanian embassies. The Shriners de Costa Rica will be there, as will their clowns, who will perform for children, said Piercy.

He had a litany of participating local organizations,

including the Women's Club of Costa Rica, Newcomers, the Canadian Club and Foundación Vita.

In addition to clowns, Dos Pinos is bringing its promotional cow, Vaca Lulu, and the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging will present typical dancing. Square dancers will be there, too, Piercy said.

The event is free and open to the public, but there also will be some food stands, including sushi sales and other lunch treats, said Piercy. The Association of Residents of Costa Rica hopes to make the event an annual one, but Piercy said the organization will know for sure after they see the turnout.

Booths will be set up in the vicinity of the Museo de Arte Costarricense on the east end of the park.

Are you considering doing business with a burglar alarm company?

If so, you should contact me first
for my opinion

prometheusthegreek@gmail.com

2970-2/8/07

From a hotel owner:

'At this time we have a deposit and all looks good!! Thank you for your help, and I must say your paper is impressive, and I had no idea you had such a circulation around the world. Received many inquiries for our hotel for that reason.'

She used our classifieds!

You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE!

A.M. Costa Rica fourth news page
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San José, Costa Rica, Friday, March 23, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 59


	Are you considering doing business with a burglar alarm company? If so, you should contact me first for my opinion prometheusthegreek@gmail.com 2970-2/8/07
	From a hotel owner: 'At this time we have a deposit and all looks good!! Thank you for your help, and I must say your paper is impressive, and I had no idea you had such a circulation around the world. Received many inquiries for our hotel for that reason.' She used our classifieds!

Visiting artist melds hurricane, Caribbean to create storms of abstraction

By Saray Ramírez Vindas
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Kristopher Naeger is an artist who has been touched by a hurricane. His work reflects that. It is a labyrinth of colors, tempered by hurricane and dried by the heat of the Caribbean winds.

Naeger, a southeast Missouri native, expresses his inspirations as some unidentified Caribbean island, a world free but so dramatic.

He left his hometown for an unlucky visit to New Orleans. He managed to miss most of the storm, but the images remain. Like so many from New Orleans, he is destined to be a prophet outside of his own country, And in his abstractions he is telling a history of many who lost a son, daughter or friends. The material loss he suffered is less important. He knows that he started again.

His works will be on display through Sunday in San Rafael de Escazú at the art fair there.

A.M. Costa Rica/Saray Ramírez Vindas

Kristopher Naeger

México appears to be headed into a prolonged battle over legalizing abortions
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services Mexico's Roman Catholic Church has joined forces with other denominations to protest a move by leftist lawmakers to legalize abortion. Catholic, Anglican and Greek Orthodox leaders held a press conference to oppose proposals recently introduced in both the national legislature and the Mexico City assembly.	Current Mexican legislation outlaws abortion except when the woman has been raped, or the mother's life is in danger. Advocates of the pro-abortion law say it will allow poor women to undergo abortions under safe conditions. Mexico has more than 100 million people, with 90 percent of them belonging to the Roman Catholic Church, which is vigorously opposed to abortion.

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San José, Costa Rica, Friday, March 23, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 59

Death of Pakistan cricket coach turns into full-scale mystery

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

Jamaican police have brought in a second pathologist as the investigation continues into Sunday's death of former Pakistan cricket team coach Bob Woolmer during the World Cup.

Jamaican authorities said the unidentified pathologist would be brought in to determine how the coach died.

Jamaican newspapers citing unnamed sources said Woolmer was strangled. Police dismissed the reports as "pure

speculation." Woolmer's widow said in a British television interview that there "remains the possibility" that her husband was murdered.

Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room Sunday after Pakistan suffered an upset loss to Ireland the previous day. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly afterward. Police have called his death suspicious.

The loss to Ireland made sure Pakistan could not advance at the World Cup, but the Pakistanis did win their final group match over Zimbabwe by 93 runs Wednesday.

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A.M. Costa Rica Second newspage
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San José, Costa Rica, Friday, March 23, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 59