www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I remember that guy, trying to remember his name, got it, he went by Garfield I think.

Hmmmmm,,,,, let's see now - what was that old saying again ???


Ahhhh, right. Believe NONE of what you hear and only HALF of what you see,,,,, works for me.

_________________
Reviews with Name, Where we can find her, Description (Height, weight, measurements (best guesses will do just fine)), and a rundown on services provided (and yes, YMMV is understood) would be GREATLY appreciated.

It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.

-- Mark Twain

_________________
The most dangerous adversaries are the ones that come with a smile instead of a sword

Yea ..that was "Garfield", I remember him well, he invested with the "Brothers" and ended up (according to AMCostarica) living in a a tent near the RioColorado lodge. Supposedly a Viet Nam vet. Was an stock broker for a big firm, was on a TV dating show..If he was so smart why did he give his money to the "Brothers"? I once saw him wearing a purple heart pinned to his bandlon shirt, wearing his black suit coat with his jeans.
Met many a B/S artist in C.R. , A now deceased expat friend of mine gave me a lot of good advice about C.R. one was regarding the B/S artist, He knew Garfield and called him out on his charade.
My friend was in fact a WW2 vet. Yes, you can get his service record after a vet passes. Minus S/S number and survivors info.
Flacoduro1
The link to Garfield
http://www.amcostarica.com/101708.htm

Very true quote Devo. I think it is the ego that prevents guys from looking in the mirror and admitting they got took. From a chica or a con artist.

The guys with the worst bullshit detectors are the ones who see EVERYTHING as bullshit- it is the same thing as having no filter for it.

And yes, not having a good evaluation of self leaves one very libel to being taken...

_________________
I said hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.
Lou Reed

Wow, thanks for the brilliant analysis. Where do I send the check?

_________________
I said hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.
Lou Reed

Interesting how this thread has turned into being about Garfield.

I can't say I knew the man well but I most likely knew him better then most who have posted in this thread. I would run across him in the gulch in the 90's and early in the new century. I like many lost track of him when he lost his investment in the "the brothers" and lived in the jungle around Rio Colorado. I last saw him at a fish fry in Sabana Oeste a few weeks before he died.

Was he a decorated Vietnam veteran? I have no idea so I can not say either way. I do know Dan Wise, who wrote his obituary that was in AM Costa Rica, http://www.amcostarica.com/101708.htm and Dan is a pretty sharp guy not easily conned so I have no reason to doubt what he wrote.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

You love your research, ID.
It sounds like this poor fellow never left Vietnam. Interesting, but sad (pathetic?)

Greengo, you are always entertaining and wise, for those who have the intelligence and take the time to read your posts carefully. But I'm surprised, I always thought you were an old goatphucker.

_________________
" Omit no happy hour that may give furtherance to our expedition."

A bunch of sharp guys knew Boyd too and had no reason to doubt him.

Too much self serving non sense and very detailed info in that "obit" for the author to know. Garfield wrote his own bs obit knowing he wasn't coming out of the hospital. "World's most famous eligible bachelor" on TV talk show but married 7 times, was good. C'mon.

Guess anything is possible and a fertile imagination can come up with all kind of theories. The world is full of conspiracy theorists for example. However, I tend to think that anyone who had this experience "Garfield spent his last three years in the jungle reading books and talking with me about the world." might get to know the person well enough to write that obit.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

So, I guess it would be safe to say that Mr. Garfield is now tico urban legend?
I don't know of any ex-pat, living amongst the paisas, who has attained that status.

Nor sure how make the quantum leap from gringo gulch character to tico urban legend but i guess in the wonderful wacky world of the internet it is possible.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

The thread was how you could could detect a bullshit artist, and someobody was surprised how it it turned into why are we talking about Garfield? Because the shoe fit--he was a classic example of how a bullshitter can play you.

Here's some ancient pre-death posts about this wanna be Viet Nam Silver Star winner, Medal of Honor Nomimee, "World Famous Bachelor", million dollar broker.

Dongordo Post subject: Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 3:55 pm
Masters Degree in Mongering!
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 5:55 pm
Posts: 688
Location: Boynton Beach Fl Pablitho

You are talking about Garfield...I haven`t seen him in quite a while...
the story goes that he comes from the Baskin-Robbins family and they paid him quite well to remain away from the family.

NON ILLEGITIMI CARBORUNDUM
DG-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pablitho53 Post subject: Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 6:12 pm
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 2:06 pm
Posts: 58

Don,

yeesssssssssssssssss!!

Man, you do bring back some memories. That is the story i heard. It is all coming back to me now. That guy thought he was Miami Vice or something.

I owe you a drink. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________________________________________

Those two above old posts reminded me of his image back then. "I'm an heir to Baskin Robkins", that's what the fake Nam hero was selling everybody in the Gulch as he was walking around with a Purple Heart, easy to buy, on his bare chest in his bizarre clothes. Not only a complete medal display violation, let alone for a Silver Star nominee or for a Medal of Honor nominee--more complete bs, but also disrespect for those who cherish theirs. Fake military heroes make me sick. There's thousands of them out there.

How did his bullshit Baskin Robkins heirship get left out of his eulogizer Dan Wise's obit if they spoke together about his life for his final 3 years in the jungle? That got replaced in Dan's obit by "he was from a fine family in Flint, Michigan". Messrs. Baskin's and Robbins' were both life-long Californian's where their chain started, not from Michigan.

The "hero" later changed his past from being a Baskin Robbins heir to "I made zillions doing million dollar deals on a handshake as a broker in Florida, and appeared on a long running TV show as "world famous" as the Obit says. "World famous"? His obit says Garfield was world famous? And the poster who wouldn't doubt Dan Wise's obit felt that didn't flunk the sniff test?

Obit also says he had a big house with a big boat in FL. But he gave all that up in the early 90's at roughly the same time, + or - a few years to move to SJ (when he was in his early forties) and hang around the gulch rather then live a very cool life in a nice gringo state? And to add to the broker who made millions non-sense, and with the assumed acumen of an assumed million dollar deal maker broker, he puts all his stash in a single ponzi scheme in goofy (law wise) CR?

This Dan Wise eulogizer who was Garfield's benefactor and confidante in the final years. Once his name was mentioned in this thread, I recognized it. He was the guy who replied to my letter to the editor I mentioned in my early post in this thread after the obit was posted years ago. He expressed his outrage that I doubted the bs war hero stuff in his obit (that the deceased probably wrote). He answered my post on line that he was going to prove me wrong, he was going to get Garfield's records from the DOD to prove it. That was years ago. Dan, time is still there and now it's easier. But, you are going to come up empty anyway.

But to the get to the point of the thread, how do you spot a bullshitter? Pretty hard to do if they're really good. That's how the better one's like you know who recently and now you know another.

But to the latter's defense, he only conned people so that he was viewed as a .......whatever.

People who con folks to think they are a Golden Glove champ, a Don Juan, a self made made millionaire, hung like a tripod, never pay for the gulch prize, to me that's all fair game regardless of the boring quality. But you can't cross that "military hero" line in my book. Turns my stomach.

I knew Garfield was a con because in my original post in this thread I recognized him at the DR from years earlier in the states in college in our small world. I can see how he fooled alot of guys, but then again, he was so fake when I saw him years later in the gulch, not sure how he fooled so many. Those are the points: I hate fake war heroes and they need to be called out in life or death, and #2, hard to know if a guy is a pro alot of the time.