Author: Susan Lynn

Posted on

Jungle, Waterfalls, and Wine

I haven’t been able to make myself write in a long time but as I sat here watching my old pictures of jungle, waterfalls, and animals in Costa Rica run across my screensaver, I thought I should make my travel journal into something readable. Hopefully the posts will be enjoyable to both write and read.

Destination: Costa Rica
Purpose:      Fun and adventure

Susan gazing at a waterfall in the jungle

Day 1 Wednesday 8 May 2013

I knew that my adventure would be somewhat contrived and that Costa Rica is a pretty touristy place but even so, it was the first time I had been out of the United States in five years and I was looking forward to practicing my long ignored Spanish.

 

It was fortunate that I got to the airport two hours early! I learned that I had gone so deaf in those eight years that I couldn’t hear the beep from the self-service check-in that I had no idea how to operate. United Airlines is smart to keep someone close by in case people like me decide to travel. The machine told me I had no reservation but I had my printed confirmation in hand. The magic man helping me, fixed it all and I was off to the security checkpoint where I learned just how empty my pockets had to be, that computers could be x-rayed, and that bad people hide things in their shoes.

 

Hotel Aeropuerto

I was meeting Kat at Hotel Aeropuerto in San Jose. The hotel provided a nicely dressed taxi driver to take me to the hotel at no extra charge. I liked the no-extra-charge part.

The hotel architecture was open construction, no doors or walls in the public areas, just a large permanent pavilion. You get out of the cab and walk a few feet to the front desk. Sorry, no pictures.

I tried out my Spanish even though everyone wanted to speak English. I couldn’t hear well enough to understand them anyway.

 

La Paz Waterfall Gardens – Walking in the Jungle

Waterfall in the jungleWe got started right away. The Gardens were exquisite! I love the jungle, for jungle is what it was. Johnny Weismuller could have swung into view and I would not have been surprised.

Tarzan vine in the jungle Those Tarzan vines  are really a water-gathering mechanism for the trees. They grow down from the tree tops and when they reach the ground, they put out tendrils to collect water.

 

There was a small nice zoo. We saw jaguars, monkeys, millions of butterflies, and birds. Little did I know that later in the trip, I would get to see monkeys, birds, AND caimans in the wild… alas, no jaguars.

jungle animals, two white jaguars

 

picture of our feet in our barefoot toe shoes
Our twin feet

The Waiter and the Wine

I had a late dinner back at the hotel and ordered red wine. (Red and white are all I know about wines.) The waiter misunderstood me because he brought me a white wine. I went with it but when I wanted to order steak for dinner, he wouldn’t let me because I had a white wine. I ate fish. It was good fish and I had a great day so I couldn’t complain just because I was looking forward to steak.

 

Kathryn came down just for an after dinner drink and ordered a specific wine by name.

“When did you learn about wines?” I asked. “I know nothing about them,”

“I don’t either, I just didn’t want to appear ignorant to the waiter.”

Posted on

Why Were We So Clueless During the Viet Nam War?

stylized drawing of sailor uniforms
image by Sean Lynn

I was recently talking with a friend about Quilts of Valor. She told me some of the problems that she has with presenting them to Viet Nam vets because they did not receive a warm welcome when they returned home. This convinced them that they did not deserve any recognition or thanks. Viet Nam vets downplay their involvement and don’t want to talk about it.

This reminded me of my senior year in high school. Two boys I knew had joined the Navy and were home on leave. They wanted to take me and my best friend out to lunch. We wanted them to wear their uniforms. They balked but we pleaded so they gave in and wore them.

Now I wonder how those boys felt, being forced to advertise in their hometown that they were in the military during that war. I knew that they were uncomfortable because they kept looking around. I just thought it was because they were the only ones in any kind of uniform.

My dad was Air Force and I had two uncles in the Army in WWII so I was always taught that being in the military was an honorable endeavor and I was proud to be seen with them.

Why WERE we so unaware and careless?

My family watched the news every night. We watched protests and riots over the war. I knew that many people were against it but for some reason that was always somewhere else. I did not see those attitudes in my world. What I saw on TV was not real to me. I didn’t see those people as people. We were clueless. We had no understanding, no real awareness that there was a world other than our own, another world where people were mean, disrespectful, and careless of others’ feelings.

There were no incidents while we were with them and they never mentioned any later. They never explained to us why they didn’t want to wear their uniforms. They probably thought we should know.  It could be that in other places, they would have flatly refused but were counting on conservative Oklahoma to be good to them.

Years later, I married a Viet Nam vet and learned what problems might exist. My husband told me horror stories of being a college student after returning from the war. Other students slammed their books down just to watch the vets duck under the desks. People yelled horrible things to them and call them baby killers. I never knew any of this.

To David and Roger,

I’m sorry.