5/8/7

Today, Bob was a good boy. I got mad, and nobody knew it. I couldn’t believe my ears! Today, two men from the Municipality of Puntarenas came by in their nice pick-up and asked to see the building permit for the new house. Fine, no problem, there it is taped to the inside of the window for all to see. Then they wanted to see the receipt for the payment of the permit. That’s when I got mad. I left immediately to hunt for the receipt and no-one noticed. I learned from Carlos, the builder to always be patient and amiable.
These guys were calling me a thief and/or liar. These men from the most corrupt province in the country, according to Carlos, and he has dealt with them all, were calling me dishonest. We, and by we I mean mostly Carlos, but me too, had put up with delays that are commonly used here to encourage bribes. I got an email today from a fellow who says, and I have read this in the papers, that the best way to fight corruption is to not pay bribes. Well, we didn’t, and it was harder not to pay these than a simple traffic ticket. But, the point is, there must be a way to get a permit illegally, or these guys wouldn’t routinely, and I hope it’s routine, ask for the receipt.
I looked for the receipt in my copy of the original plans, and when they saw them, they asked if it had the original seal. Since it did, they didn’t need the receipt. Nobody else seemed to notice the affront. I’ll talk to Jose about it tonight, and get the Tico perspective. At least I did the right thing, even if I wasn’t thinking it.