I
live pretty close to a park but it is not that close to walk to. I guess I
could if I wanted to, but I prefer to drive there and walk 5k around the lake.
There are many places to park around the park on the streets. If you get there
early, before 9 am, it is easier to find a place near gates one and two. After
that time, it is much harder to find a spot, especially in the summer time.
Sometimes,
when I go after nine, I park near gate 4, but then you need to walk like 500
meters downhill and then back up when you leave the park, which is hard on the
knees. So when that happens, I just take a 3k - walk around the lake. But to be
frank, I like to park near gates one and two.
The
main reason is that there is a homeless man who takes care of the cars parked
near those gates. He must really scare thieves away because I have never heard
of any cars being stolen around there on his watch. He lives in a tent under a
tree across from the park in this kind of square. He actually shares his tent
with two other men who help him keep an eye on the cars parked in his area. If
you tell the other guys that you want to give the other guy the tip, they
automatically tell you that they work as a team. I forgot to mention that they
do not charge you anything, but everyone leaves them a tip. It really doesn’t
matter how much you give them, they still smile back at you and thank you even
if it is a 5 cent coin.
Anyhow,
I want to tell you about this homeless man who keeps an eye on cars near gates
one and two. I have known him for at least ten years. I have never asked him
his name, though. But every morning, as I lock my car, he greets me with a
beautiful smile and says: Good morning! How are you today?
I
return his greeting and he always says: I’m doing very well thank you. It is a
good feeling to know that he is there keeping an eye on my car. Besides that, his greeting is warm and
friendly. He has a brown dog which he shares his food with and takes very good
care of it. He seems to be a very generous, simple man.
Perhaps
one day I will chat a bit more with him and at least find out what his name is.
From many scenes that I have witnessed I know that he doesn’t want to change
his lifestyle and really enjoys living on the street.
Written:
January 5, 2015
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| Google Images : Parque da Aclimacão |