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existence. The 24 homes that got built by the owners who helped each other build them have to a degree not only survived but have been augmented materially and decoratively beyond the government plans that we were using. One owner even created a shallow concrete above ground wading pool to combat the heat. That same owner also recently installed a satellite dish to be better informed of world events and to probably indulge his passion for professional baseball; perhaps the most important sport in Panama. (Note that Carlos Ruiz, the Phils catcher, is from the neighboring province on the Pacific side of the 10,000 ft high Continental Divide.)

All things considered, the housing efforts were effective. One man said to me, "if you hadn't been here and changed the mindset, the hill that the houses sit on today would have become the cemetery the folks wanted to put there". That was great to hear. And better yet, it was more rewarding to visit the housing site and talk with a couple of old friends who joined the housing coop and built their houses. They and their homes are included in the photo album mentioned above.

Most of the surviving members of the housing coop are still living in those homes. These homes and their embellishments far exceeded my expectations.

3. San Jose Catholic HS Basketball team coach.

Two old Panamanian friends and I drove out to the central provinces to go to Mass, Communion, visit and have lunch with the Catholic Bishop of Penoneme. Obispo (Bishop) Uriah Ashley was ordained Bishop by Pope John Paul II in Rome. He is a West Indian descendant from Patois Town who was on the Basketball team I was invited to coach. He serves a constituency of Mestizos; Spanish – Indigenous Indian mix. As I discovered, he is very charismatic and fills the church every Sunday. He told me that he is so busy that he no longer plays much basketball.

Interestingly, Bishop Ashley didn't get to start school until he was nine years old. Consequently, when I coached him, I was 23 and he was 21 and a HS senior. As I told him last summer, he was the only one on the team who seemed to understand the concept of Basketball as a team sport.

I certainly can't take any credit for his success in the clergy but am incredibly proud of his extraordinary accomplishment. Way back then, the Christian Brothers’ message to us, and the Peace Corps message we delivered to Bishop Ashley and others, was that an individual could be anything he might