Judy Richter

Well, the good news is that democracy has held on in the US by the skin of its teeth. But those teeth are weaker and more brittle than ever. Well, maybe not ever. The Civil War posed quite the threat. Be that as it may, looking to the future, we’ll never evolve to a better…

So much at stake.  Ojalá, it’s not too late… I have always been a hopeless believer in the goodness of humanity. That the probity and integrity in all of us will prevail, given time. My heart is breaking as that belief is being put to the ultimate test. I’m at the point where I just…

Yeah, it’s still raining. And raining. And raining. Record amounts of lluvia this season, with no relief in sight. It has something to do with La Niña, or so they say. The infrastructure of the whole southern Osa peninsula is disintegrating before our very eyes. Suffice it to say, we’ve already had over 9 meters…

Kind of ironic that I’m sitting on my terrace polishing my manuscript as I look out on blue skies and a clear view of the whale’s tail. The first sunny day in weeks, and here I am complaining about the rain. Not complaining, really, just already tired of the damp, humid, and coolish weather that…

The buzzing of a chainsaw has my gut in knots. How can I protest the deforestation of the rainforest when I’m part of the very problem that I doth protest? Our neighbors are going batshit crazy over building more and more rentals on their properties, because if one is good, three is better? The same…

Just for fun, I wanted to share a glimpse of what’s it like to live in Paradise, 24/7. It’s everything the travel brochures selling a beachy jungle experience promise, and more. Much, much more. And not all of it’s glam, Disney-approved, and sanitized. So, a few days ago we were awakened at midnight by the…

So much has happened since that Rumble in the Jungle. Both dogs have recovered nicely from their wounds, gracias a dios, and have adjusted to a much smaller play area. Phoenix did experience a two-week PTSD episode after smelling a pizote on one of his walks with K. He bolted home, tugging hard on his…

It had been a rather idyllic day, actually. We began our morning sitting on the terrace sipping fresh-brewed, homegrown coffee.  We basked in the radiant warmth of the sun after enduring several sunless, rainy days. It is the rainy season after all, and the reason everything stays so viridian green and grows at the speed…

After much trepidation, I am going to take a leap of faith and share with you my first Flash Fiction piece. What is that, you may wonder. It’s a short story written in less than 1000 words. I am honored to be working with a group of international novelists, and we all took the challenge…