Inch by Inch, Anything’s A Cinch

I met Dr. Robert Schuller while I was pastoring my first church in the South Bronx. Schuller was well know in LA and Southern California, and in our little Reformed Church denomination . . . but that was pretty much it. He was in New York and we had a brown bag dinner with Bob and a number of RCA pastors from New York City. He was his usual effusive self telling us how we could all build great cathedrals . . . provided we had enough “surplus parking”. Right! After he spoke at one of the Collegiate churches. About 150 people turned out, including Schuller and the RCA pastors. Not exactly the crowd he was used to, and the message fell flat.

Well I went back to the South Bronx and wrote him a letter saying basically it’s all well and good for you to say we can all build these great churches, but in the meantime I have a 150-year old church building that’s falling down in the poorest section of New York and yada yada yada, I need money from your rich Southern California church. I never heard from him, and assumed I never would, until 7 months later when I received a 10 pages letter from Schuller. Well that started an interesting relationship. The first station to air the “Hour of Power” outside of Southern California was in New York City. I got word that Bob was going to be in New York to meet with his publisher, so I said, “If you’re going to be on TV in New York you have to understand something about the people here and how they are different than in Garden Grove, California.” So I talked him into a tour of the South Bronx. We took him on rooftops, to “shooting galleries” where guys where shooting up with heroin, to our drug rehab program, to projects . . . he saw it all, and it made a lasting impression.

All that digression to say that one of Schuller’s favorite stories, and one which I love, is about “possibility thinking.” He tells the story of a man who said he was so hungry he could eat an elephant. Another guy said that’s impossible, how can you eat an elephant. The answer: one bite at a time! Which led to Schuller’s famous saying, “Inch by inch, anything’s a cinch.”

What does that have to do with Panama? You guessed it! It’s the philisophical basis for building a house in Panama. And we are making progress!!! “Inch by inch . . . ” but progress none-the-less.

Pergola and stonework on tower . . .

Breakfast bar and paint . . .

Dining room looking toward kitchen . . .

Doors!

Pergola and color samples . . .

Inch by inch . . . we’re getting there!

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Boquete developer Sam Taliaferro is a controversial figure in Panama, and he and I don’t always agree, but I enjoy reading his blog including a current post, “Which is better: Panama or Costa Rica?”

Panama can never really compete with Costa Rican as an ecological tourism destination. Panama has the advantage of a well documented and incredible history of transformation from a 1500’s backwater to the center of the universe in transits for goods and services in the 21st century. It is in her unique combination of modernization, infrastructure, history and culture that make Panama a major attraction as a place to live and live well rather than just to visit. Panama cannot afford to spend millions in marketing to be something she will never become, but she can and should focus on her strengths and attract people to her shores to live here rather than just pass through along with the containers in the canal and money through her many banks.

There are many foreigners who long to live among the forests and monkeys and are willing to share that world with the many visitors that come to gawk at the incredible world of nature. If you can afford to pay for it and are willing to sacrifice some of the many comforts of the first world, then Costa Rica may be the right place for you. If on the other hand you want access to all that natural beauty on a few hours away, but still want to live where goods and services are reasonably priced and in abundance, then Panama may be the right choice. After having lived in both countries I find Panama to be more to my liking.

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We hit a new record of unique visitors yesterday! Well, you are all “unique”, wonderful creations of God, but in Internet terms . . .you know what I mean! Thank you very much!!

Please return daily and also visit my new photography blog – www.BeautifulPanama.wordpress.com

I am a very amateur photographer, but I enjoy taking pictures. WordPress has come up with a new blog format and design which is very condusive to displaying photographs, so I have decided to use it as a vehicle to share some of my favorite shots of Panama, as well as some of my travels. Check it out!