Businessman

I've got lots of ideas.  I haven't found the one that's going to make me rich yet, but I think about it a lot.  I really admire people who turn a great idea into a business opportunity, and we met a young businessman in Costa Rica who definitely earned my admiration.

As we were driving from Arenal to Monteverde on the winding dirt roads, we drove through a little town and our attention was occupied by the people representing the country's 4 political parties outside of the polling location.  A nicely-dressed guy walked out into the road when he saw us approaching, and signalled that we were going the wrong way and told us to turn around.  We did, and as we got back to where he was standing in the road, he approached our window and handed Sherry a hand-drawn map photocopied onto an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet.

The map had landmarks like "green house" and "bus stop" on it, and the guy gave us directions in perfect English as he pointed to the map.  There were a lot of lefts and rights, all noted on the map but impossible to remember.  He then pointed out his name and phone number printed in the lower left corner of the map, in case anything happened while we were on the road. 

I knew where this was heading...nothing's free these days, right?  But I was so amazed by his ingenuity, that when he said that the map was for sale, showed us his business license, and said he was a college student, I would have paid him double.  I think we paid around $4 for the map but it was actually helpful because there are absolutely no road signs in Costa Rica and you can easily drive up a road that goes nowhere.

Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to make my first million.  I don't think selling photocopied maps in the 'Ham will get me there.
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