Taking out the Trash

 

Nowadays due to the coronavirus, taking out the trash has become an event all in its own. When you live in an apartment building, the trash department is on the 1st floor underground or on the ground floor.

Due to the pandemic, we spend our days indoors more freely; not having to dress up or maybe spending the whole day in your PJs if you feel like it. However, when it comes time to take out the trash, you cannot go down the elevator in your PJs, even though most of the times the elevator is empty. But you anything that the day that you decide to go down in your PJs, there will be lots of people in the elevator.

So, the trash is overflowing, and you need to take it down. What you need to do is put on some decent pants and a shirt, for the ladies even a bra                 ( not having to wear a bra indoors is liberating ). Not to forget the mask; very important part of today's ensemble especially if you live in a building. You pick up those bags, put the hand sanitizer in your pocket and start on your journey downwards. Across the garage you go all the way to the garbage bins. If you're smart, you separate your garbage before you get there so you just have to throw it in the right bin otherwise, you're going to stay in the stinky room a little bit longer than you want to. Across the garage you go again or walk around the garage a bit to get some exercise, maybe a flight or two of stairs and then you start your journey back upwards to your floor.

You walk in the door, use the hand sanitizer for the third time, take off all that clothes and slip into your PJs once again. Do not forget to clean the shoes that you specifically put on to go downstairs. If you go out through the service area, here is a little tip. Just leave an outfit in the laundry area specifically to take down the garbage. It just helps make life, during these difficult times, a bit easier.

Written: May 30, 2021

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The truth will always pop up someway somehow …

 

If you have ever heard this expression Pop! goes the weasel, it is how I am feeling right now. When I was younger, I used to have a jack-in-the-box. I remember having to wind it and wind it while this tune played. When it reached the line pop! goes the weasel, this clown popped out. Even though I knew it would, it still scared me at times. Perhaps you know how it goes. I just remember the first part which goes:

All around the mulberry bush

The monkey chased the weasel.

The monkey thought 'twas all in fun.

Pop! goes the weasel.

The reason why I feel this way is for a simple but at the same time complex one. People tell you what they think you need to hear or want to hear; in the end it is just a tissue of lies. A lie has no legs and eventually the truth will come out.  With the Internet, Facebook, Instagram and all the other social medias that one can follow, it is very hard to keep something hidden - especially if you are a public person, in which case your social medias are not private.

It is very heartbreaking to know that people do not believe that honesty is always the best policy. The truth does pop out in your face eventually. So, why pull the wool over someone´s eyes? Why not just be honest with people? Why not stop playing games? Indeed, the truth can hurt, but crushed expectations hurt even more. It is unfortunate that we need to take facts with a pinch of salt.

So, next time you try to take  a person for a ride, remember that in the end the weasel will pop!

 

Written: May 19, 2021

Google Images - Jack-in-the-box

Reading Time on the Sidewalk

 

Every time I drove by, be it in the morning, afternoon or early evening, he would be sitting there on the steps that led down the slope of the sidewalk in front of his house. The street was a steep slope therefore the sidewalk had steps to facilitate the pedestrians who chose to walk up or down that steep slope. The cars needed to shift into a specific gear which made the engines roar much louder than on a plain flat road.

He was an older gentleman who looked like he was in his 70s. Nonetheless, he could have been younger, perhaps life had taken a toll on his body. I used to enjoy noticing that every week he would be reading a different book. Sometimes a newspaper or magazine. Nothing would distract his attention from those words stamped on those pages. People could walk by. Cars could drive up and down the street, in addition to the motorcycles with their horrible engines. Nonetheless, his focus was totally on those ideas, stories and opinions imprinted on those pages. When I drove by, I imagined that one day I would walk up that steep street instead of driving by and talk to him about the material he was reading. Just out of curiosity.

It had been a year and a half since I had driven up that street (stuck at home social distancing). However, today, I decided to do so as I had to go out for my groceries, I took the longer route to my home. When I looked at his house, there he was wearing a mask and letting all those ideas soak into his mind; a safe way to be sane during these crazy times. Reading about stories that can take you away from reality. I had to stop the car because apparently there was traffic on that steep street, which was absurd to me.

As I looked at him in awe, I think he felt my stare – a person’s stare can pierce you - he looked up and waved at me. Perhaps he could see through my mask that I was smiling and just happy to know that he was OK and living life as he always did, or he was just calling my attention because the driver behind me was losing his patience and started honking his horn frantically.

Written: May 19, 2021

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What's up? – The Inception

 

It started out with brief messages.

The words did not mean anything other than small talk.

Out of the blue, there was a call request.

The gifted caller knew what to say.

The words simple, yet direct, reached their goal- the heart of the listener.

 

So much care.

So much affection.

So much desire.

So much fire.

 

A decision had to be made despite the impediments that stood in the way.

What was blind to the eyes became clear.

What was unbelievable at first became within reach.

 

Lives needed to be changed.

Minds needed to be opened.

Hearts needed to be joined.

Two bodies needed to become one.

 

If only there had not been those obstacles…

 

Written: May 14, 2021

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The Blinding Fog

 

The city is behind a gray dense fog this morning.

A gust of stinking air hits me as the window is opened.

Mist? Fog? 

More like smog to my nose and lungs.

 

Dreamy words filled my ears as the morning unfolded.

Sounds that all auricles welcome.

However, the fog has overtaken my senses.

Repressing the feeling is the only choice.

 

It is there within hidden from eyesight.

Its presence eating me up inside.

Elated, for a while, that it can be controlled.

Nevertheless, waiting for that instant when it will explode.

 

Like the city that hides within the clouds,

This bittersweet feeling wants to flutter.

More vicious than honied.

It is eager to luster.

 

Written: May 17, 2021

 

Photo: Meire Marion ( São Paulo, Brasil - 6 am)

 

 

 

 

 

Twisted Values These Days

 

Last night was the last show or episode of Big Brother Brazil. I am not a Big Brother fan or viewer; therefore, I have not watched a single episode. To be honest, I only watched the very first show, 20 years ago and it added nothing to my life. All due respect to those who do enjoy the show. Nevertheless, due to the social media we get to know a little bit about what is going on in this somewhat reality show.

The show ended around 1:00 AM and you might be asking how I know this. I was awakened by fireworks and people shouting out some one´s name. It was like a mob at a soccer game.

I was so alarmed about the fact that I turned on the TV to see if what was going on. I thought perhaps it could have been because the president had finally been impeached, a cure for covid had been found, a mothership had been spotted over the downtown area, the cure for all cancers had been discovered, or even that aliens had finally contacted us human beings and someone had recorded the encounter. Unfortunately, no! It was just the winner of Big Brother Brazil- Juliet.

Sadly, also I saw a report that a comedian aged 42 named Paulo Gustavo, who had been in the hospital since March 13 due to covid, passed away. I am profoundly saddened by this fact because deep down inside I saw his story as a sign of hope for others being treated for covid. Doctors were doing everything they could to try to cure him and keep him alive and, in my heart, and mind, I was rooting that he would survive, and this would bring hope to other people in the same situation. I realize that perhaps if he had survived, he would not have been the same person as before covid in terms of physical abilities and I pray for his family and friends that they keep him alive in their hearts and memories. That now he can rest in peace.

As a matter of fact, I pray for the families and friends of those 400,000 people who have passed due to covid but because they are not in the spotlight, their names are not mentioned. Their families are still here trying to survive this pandemic which has NOT ended although some people think it has.

 

Let´s do our part. Wear a mask. Be safe. Stay home if you can. Pray for those who have lost a loved one to this virus.

 

Written: May 5, 2021

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A Shot in the Night

 

People are always saying that almost everything that I write has a murky tone to it. I tend to agree, but it is based on what I see, hear, or get to know about, and I can´t help it if the facts are gloomy.

Around 3:00 AM last night (I always check what time it is when wake up in the middle of the night), I was awakened by a group of people yelling nearby. I could not make out whether it was coming from my building or from the houses nearby. Apparently, the yelling was because someone was throwing a party where there was deafening music, rowdy voices, laughing - we all know how loud sounds can get at 3:00 AM.

Apparently, somebody who was not at the party, was unkindly asking the neighbors to stop the party. A few of his arguments (yes, it was a strong masculine voice) were that people needed to rest and there should not be a party anyways due to the pandemic that is going on and that those people were irresponsible for not caring about their own lives nor the lives of other people. As I was lying in bed and listening to all this, I was nodding my head in agreement.

I guess it was the host of the party who sounded intoxicated because his choice of words to answer back at this man was not the most pleasant to hear at 3:00 AM, so I will just stick to “mind your own business go back to sleep old man etc. etc”.

Then you could hear a woman's voice saying “please be calm let's talk about this reasonably. We will turn down the music people are starting to leave. It will end soon”.

As if a magic wand had done its trick, the noises stopped when the man who had been awakened by the festivities shot in the air. Literally he used his gun and shot in the air which meant that he was not kidding; he needed his beauty sleep.

While I was paying attention to all this racket, I just prayed that that bullet did not find anybody to hurt. So, you see, it is not my stories that are dark. It is the world around me. People have lost respect for others. People have lost respect for themselves. People are very much egocentric nowadays. The stories tend to be bleak.

written: May 2, 2021

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The Rooster

 

Roosters are known to wake up at the first sight of the sunrise. Who could´ve known that the rooster cooped up in the concrete jungle in the back yard of a small house among the skyrise buildings would have cockle-doodle-dooed at 2 am on a Friday, technically, Saturday night?

The big question that rattled my brain as I woke up to see whether it was a fact or an illusion, was what had caused it to cry out at that particular hour.

Could it have been the lamp post light blinking slowly as if it were going to burn out? Might it have been the loud music from the house next door where there was a party going on? Perhaps it was a hungry thief who was trying to steal a chicken from the coop.

Whatever the reason was, that rooster crowed for a good half hour. I guess no one really gave a hoot and eventually it stopped.

As the sun started to shyly appear on Saturday morning, the rooster performed its job proudly just before 6 m. Neither the rooster nor I got a good night´s sleep.

 

Written: May 2, 2021

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