VACATION DIARY #3

old school map quest printout for Steve and Cheryl

8.13.25

Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

“Sergeyich diluted his bitter thoughts with honey and felt better.”
― Andrey Kurkov, Grey Bees

I’ve been captured by Grey Bees, can’t put it down, except to go swimming, because the book is not laminated. His character has this great mission (daily survival, and taking care of his bees) and at the same time gets dismissed at times as a refugee and a nobody. If courage is “feeling the fear and doing it anyway," that’s kind of who he becomes in war, in his own dour, drag-ass way.

I’ve had a small vial of my brother’s ashes since March--some of them went into the fountain at Royals stadium.  I brought the rest to Costa Rica and we took them to Playa Playitas beach this afternoon.  I went out a ways to empty the little stainless steel urn, but the stuff was dense and compacted and wouldn’t come out. I was shaking and slapping the urn on my palm like a bottle of ketchup or Green Goddess salad dressing.  Then a wave knocked me down and there’s video of my exposed butt crack as I’m stumbling around.  Timely comedy for Neal.  He didn’t get to travel as much in retirement as he wanted to--that got cut short. Part of me still thinks—what a bunch of bullshit, what a ripoff! No damn fair.

My fave song from The Adverts Cast of Thousands is definitely “The Adverts” with “Cast of Thousands” and “Television’s Over” up there too.  After I finish the Kulkov book I plan to get back into Stay Fanatic! Volume One.  I also want to watch that Harley Flanagan doc--it looks great, with a bunch of choice guests.