My mother was a secretary (before there were administrative executive assistants) to an elementary school principal in Michigan. When a kid was enrolled in school she had a fit and asked her boss “who would name their kid Jesus?”

Her boss gently suggested that it probably was pronounced Hay-sues since his last name was Jimenez.

She loved telling that story on herself. She cracked herself up every time.

This is the Jesus I had pizza with at St. John’s Cathedral and Soda. Hay-sues.

St. John is our friend who just built a big rancho – big enough we thought it could be a cathedral. Pat, his wife, is a great cook and we suggested she could run a little soda – tiny Costa Rica cafe – out of the rancho. Thus Nancy embroidered an apron for her with St. John’s Cathedral and Soda on it.

Saturday was St. John’s birthday so they had a bunch over for home made pizza baked in the brick pizza oven that John built. (Yes, we kinda hate them because they are just so damn talented.)

Jesus was there.

He was their night watchman as their home was built. He lived in the construction and watched out for the bad guys. There were no bad guys.

Jesus is famous in Costa Rica because of this commercial.

He speaks no english, but we teased him anyway… and he grinned his grin and gave us thumbs up and said “PURA VIDA.”

St. John’s, Jesus, Pizza.

Pura Vida indeed.