April Break / Fall Break

 

Every April my place of work takes a break, it is supposed to be Spring Break but since we are in the southern hemisphere it is Fall; therefore, we call it: Fall Break. It does sound a bit funny- a break to Fall. Nonetheless, I am grateful for the time off just to breathe and catch up with myself.

Before the covid virus hit, it was a week when I used to travel with friends or alone. Despite the fact that many people have travelled this time, I still do not feel safe in doing so due to health issues and medical recommendations. All the same, I was struck by a very powerful gut feeling to have my apartment rewired. I have been living here for nearly 20 years, time flies, and had never had this done. A highly recommended electrician was hired and since the electricity needs to be shut off from time to time, I have not turned on the tv and have been dwelling in books. As a matter of fact, the silence is very much welcome.  

Confession: I buy lots of books. I am not a hoarder because after I have read them, I donate them. I read a quote the other day that made me laugh. It read: I am not a book hoarder, I save books. I try to vary the genre, language (Portuguese and English- reading in the latter is much faster) and for different ages (I contribute to an online Brazilian magazine on literature on a monthly basis and my column is about books for children. It has been an amazing experience so far). I appreciate reading what my students enjoy, what the two book clubs I belong to read, and also what people I follow on IG recommend. After reading, as I have mention, I donate them. (Now and then, I buy the electronic version, although I prefer the paper copy. But sometimes it just comes down to cost. Unfortunately, I still haven´t found a way to donate these. It is a shame.) Sometimes to friends, the ones in English that I believe my students will enjoy go to the school library and the others to an NGO that distributes them to libraries all over Brazil.

             Another confession: The books that are autographed to me or my favorite authors I keep. I can´t recall whether I have mentioned in a previous post about how I passed my books on to others. You see, I always dreamed of having a huge library to show case all of them. I love libraries and the smell of books make me happy. However, when my dad passed, his little library was shoved in boxes to be thrown away. Luckily, I saved them and donated them. But then I started to imagine what will happen to mine when I pass away. Besides, you read it once and most probably you will not reread them. Although I have reread a few of them.

                Meanwhile, this week, I have decided to read as much as I can. Yes, I have been buying several books to read and since I need to stay home to take care of my cats while the electrician is busily working, I read. Now, it has been embarrassing when I laugh out loud or cry. But, hey, that´s what reading does - it just fills you up with emotions that are not to be controlled.

                Before I put them in the ‘read pile’, the ones I really like, I share a post on my social medias. Since I have been doing this, I have noticed more and more adolescents reading during the breaks. I know that I am always carrying a different book and whenever I have some minutes to spare – I read.

                Happy Reading 😊

 

Written: April 20, 2022 

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Walking with His Head up High

 

6:40 am, every day, Monday through Friday. He pulls his on-wheels shop to its spot dressed very simply and his flip flops on his feet. It must be in a good place, a hot spot, where sales are certain to happen.  “Good morning, Pedro” newsstand owner shouts and waves. Pedro smiles and waves back, however, he does not stop. He holds his head high and walks as if a happy tune were playing in his mind. It is a wonderful sight to see every morning.

As I drive by at 6:40 every day, I always see him and know that he likes to walk on the right lane and with all due respect most cars, myself included, drive on the left, not too fast as not to startle him. But then again, he just marches on with a smile on his face.

On many mornings, I wonder where he comes from and how far he goes. He is a hard worker for he goes through all this trouble to make ends meet. I sometimes wonder how big his family is and whether his children, if he has any, is proud of their hard-working dad. I know I would be.

His flip flops are what baffles me the most is, it does not matter what the weather is like, he walks with steady feet. It has crossed my mind to buy him a pair of sneakers or boots to wear on rainy days, but then again, I am just a driver driving by admiring his determination. Perhaps he has a pair or two, but prefers to wear those simple flip flops. I guess I will never know.

My homage goes out to Pedro and all those who every day get up to make a living when life has given you a difficult cross to bear for a period of time.

 

Written: April 20, 2022 (This is a work of fiction.)

Photo: Meire Marion

Eventually Everyone Ages

 

         20 years ago, when he was 60 and she was 40, he would always have a wide smile on his face as he escorted his wife from the car to the elevator.

First, he'd let her out of the car by opening the passenger door and helping his wife out like a true gentleman. He would off her his arm and gracefully they waked towards the elevator. He would open the door for her and everyone else who was waiting and be the last to get in.

  Once inside, he'd always have a cheerful comment and start small talk with whomever was in there with them. His hair had turned white but his blue eyes sparkled whenever he looked at his wife and mention how beautiful she looked. She would always smile and agree to whatever he had to say with a nod. You could tell there was love in this relationship.

Now 20 years later, he is 80 and she is 60, he is the one who needs to be escorted from the car to the elevator. However, he refuses the help and just walks towards it not waiting for his wife. He has lost a lot of weight. His eyes don't sparkle any longer and his wife needs to make sure the car is locked up before heading to the lift.

Inside the elevator, he doesn't let even let out a simple hello, or make any comments whatsoever. He hardly looks at whoever is in there with him- just stares at the floor. If his wife doesn´t make it to the lift on time, he presses the button and she takes the next one. He has become grouchy and stubborn.

Nowadays, the wife escorts him to the car. He needs help getting in and out of the car, however, he still drives. The car is still the small white VW stick shift from 20 years ago. To get in he helps his legs one by one and tries to sit comfortably behind the wheel. His wife closes his door and then takes the passenger seat still smiling - very different from 20 years ago, but love still prevails.

 

Written: April 5, 2022 (Observing my neighbors)

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Hand to the Slaughter

 On hot afternoons, the AC would always be turned on by the teacher at the request of the sweaty student. The kid goes up to the teacher and asks her to turn on the air conditioner, sweat just dripping down his face. She surveys the class before doing so, and everyone agrees. Happily, the student returns to his seat and within a few minutes he is all dry.

 In this particular classroom whenever the AC is activated, the huge outdoor unit which is located outside the window arouses as if it were a bear that had been hibernating for the past six months gathering all its strength to catch a mighty meal. The startles you the first time you hear, but after some time you get used to it. Those who sit at that window need to close it, otherwise all their material and hair will immediately blow off their desks.

 On this particular afternoon it was 30 degrees Celsius, however, it felt like 40. The sweaty student went up to the teacher, as usual, and the request was granted. Nonetheless, there was a new student sitting at the window where the outside unit monster slept until awakened. When it did, it did not frighten the student nor did the kid close the window. Instead, she put her hand out to play with the wind like we do when we are little kids riding in the back seat of the car going on a road trip with the family. The hand just glides rising and descending with the wind.

 When the teacher noticed what she was doing, she asked the student to put her hand in and close the window before it got caught in the machine. This startled the student for she was making believe that her hand was an aircraft flying to distant lands. All that was heard was a high-pitched cry. “Turn off the AC screamed the sweaty boy!” He was pale. The girl sitting near him couldn´t hold it in and threw up on the classmate sitting in front of her. When the teacher got a look at the whole scene, filled with horror she asked another student to go get help. The new girl´s hand was being chewed up by the outside unit monster.

 The teacher tried her best to help the poor girl. There was blood everywhere because it took a few seconds for the machine to stop rotating. It was as if the teacher had predicted what was going to happen. It was just a minute too late. The paramedics arrived and also the cleaning staff. Students were told to go out to the open areas, and some were sent to the nurse´s office.

 What a tragic afternoon! No more AC for this group and minus four fingers for the new girl.

 

Written: April 7, 2022 (This is a work of fiction)

Photo: Meire Marion

The Strange Smell

 

         Close to midnight the intercom rang louder and louder awakening from a deep sleep, thanks to the medication that I take, I stumbled to answer it. “You need to come to the garage there's gas leaking from the tank of your car”, the voice on the other side desperately reproduced this sentence three or four times before I realized I needed to go downstairs. While changing into a T - shirt and sweatpants, the intercom rang once again. I answered and said that I was on my way without even paying attention to what the person on the other side wanted to say. Before going to sleep I had noticed a stench coming from the staircase, but to me it seemed like turpentine; I knew that the staircase and garage floors were being renovated therefore I ignore it and went to bed. After all it had been such a tough day, I needed the rest.

Reaching the garage which is on the second sub floor, I was greeted by the Superintendent and the night watchman who had filmed the gas leaking from under my car, which was pretty nice because then I could see it without having to kneel. It made no sense to me how the smell of turpentine was coming out of my car. According to the night watchman, it could have been bad gasoline. He explained that sometimes they add chemicals to the gasoline to have more to sell. I had heard of this, but doubted that the same gas station I had been filling up the tank at would start doing this now.

With the medication in my body, I looked at the two of them and I asked “And now what do I do?” My brain was foggy and I couldn't make heads or tails of the situation and they were really kind in helping me by telling me what to do. So, I called up the car insurance agency and asked for a tow truck two remove the car from the building because by then the neighbors were freaking out thinking that the whole building was going to go up in smoke. They kept writing the most absurd comments in the building´s social media group. My stomach is starting to turn. At this point I didn't know if it was the turpentine, gasoline, the lack of sleep or the comments.

The tow truck arrived in 30 minutes. By that time the night watchman had taken my car to the first garage that way it would be easier for the tow truck to get to the car. Nonetheless, we called up the fire department to see whether or not we could turn the car on despite the night watchman having said that it would be OK because during the day he was a car mechanic.

He turned the car on because clearly, I was in no conditions to doing so. I decided to stay because if the car was going to blow up with this kind man behind the driver´s seat, I would blow up with him. After all it was my car. Now that I think of it, I think that this was the medication talking. I remember that before he turned it on, the superintendent grabbed my arm and threw me in the elevator so that we would wait up on the first floor. The smell was still horrendous and it didn't make sense that the gasoline could stink up building up to the 15th floor.

The tow truck arrived around 1:00 AM, hooked up the car and took it to a garage connected to the insurance that would open on the following day which happened to be a Saturday. If it was just the gas tank hose, they could fix it up on the same day. At this point my fingers and toes were crossed. The following week would be heavy at work and I really needed my car.

It had been such a heavy and tiring week and deep down inside I wanted to cry to release the tension but I couldn't find the strength to during the week; However, after this episode it hit me like a rock and I cried. After a good cry, sleep comes easily, but it didn't happen to help me sleep a wink. Nevertheless, I did read a lot of pages. I ended up falling asleep around 4:00 AM and woke up at 6 anxiously waiting for the garage to open at 8.

By noon, the car was back and its spot all fixed up, resting for the week ahead. I am grateful to the people who helped me, the night the doorman, the Superintendent, the night watchman and the tow truck driver.

On Monday around 4:00 PM, after coming home from a long day, the social group messages started popping up and apparently people were complaining of a turpentine stench around 10:30 AM. They checked all the cars to see if there was another leak and found out that the stench was really turpentine.

Luckily, it had also happened on Friday and I was able to discover that there was a leak in my car. It made me wonder how long I had been driving with the leak losing precious gasoline which is super expensive nowadays but judging from the information that I got from the mechanic, I only lost 3 liters of gas which isn't that much if you come to think of it.

 

Written: March 14, 2022

Photo: Meire Marion