As the chair twirls...

 

The chair twirls, twirls, and twirls in the hotel lounge; not by itself; but with the help of a little five-year-old boy. His mother is short too, way below average height. She had called my attention at breakfast when her head turned to see where the early morning laughter was coming from, our table. We tend to wake up in a chippy mood. Well, at least I do and I tend to make my family laugh at breakfast.

In front of the twirling chair, there is a huge screen where the England vs Argentina semi-finals World Cup game is playing. I attentively watched, parted in two, as in which team I should cheer for, I love Argentina- the country – despite the rivalry between Brazil and Argentina when it comes to soccer. In addition to all the trouble in Argentina against the fascist president and the racial remarks during previous game during the World Cup. At the moment, I feel like a traitor because whenever an Argentinean player reaches the goal, my heart skips a beat.

Meanwhile the five-year-old still twirls non-stop. His mother, who seems to lack spark and life, softly tells him to stop. He twirls and twirls. She picks up her cellphone, types in a message and within 5 minutes, a tall stern woman appears. In a firm voice she asks the boy to stop. He twirls and twirls. She asks again in a louder tone. Then without any enthusiasm, the little boy´s mom turns and says: “I´ve already told him six times to stop.” Nonetheless, he just keeps spinning.

End of match. Argentina beats England 2x1. Now we await the final game where the colonizer plays against the colonized (Spain x Argentina) which will be on July 19^th   the final match.

I get up to go back to my room as the boy twirls and twirls.

Written: July 15, 2026

Google Images - the actual loune I was sitting in and the chairs that twirl. Great hotel!

3 Hours of My Life - GONE

 

Once a month I have to go and get my mom´s high-cost medication. Our government gives medication to those who cannot afford it. People complain about the country but seem to forget the benefits they receive. There is bureaucracy to getting into the system but it is for everyone and as soon as you get in that is one thing less to worry about. There are developed countries that do not have such a benefit although some people in my country seem to romanticize the idea of living one.

There is an app that you can schedule the time you will pick up the medication; supposedly it is to save time. However, not everyone knows of its existence. Nonetheless you need to arrive 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time and access the app which gives you a number through which you will be called.

Like all the other months, I went and did what was required. My number was 171, but they were still on number 45. As I have been doing this since the beginning of the year – my sister was in charge of doing so before me – I knew I had some time to wait; so, I always took a book with me. Luckily, I found a seat and started reading.

The numbers on the screen slowly turned. In between turning the pages, I started noticing the people around me. Not only are the app people attend there, there are also those who go through the old way: arriving there, getting in line so you can get a number and then awaiting their number to show up on the red screen. I forgot to mention that the app number appears on the green screen.

People there come from all places near and far within the state. Some even bring the disabled or elderly with them, perhaps because there is no one to stay with them, or even because these people get a different number and can be attended sooner.

As I was turning the pages, I started noticing people. There was even a man sitting near me who wanted to talk and asked me a question as soon as he noticed I was turning the page. He asked me about the screens. I politely answered with short sentences and went back to my reading. As soon as the seat beside me was empty, so another person came over and took it not even allowing it to cool off a bit before sitting down.

Number 100, a very young woman carrying a baby sat next to me. The baby kept digging its feet into my thigh, no biggie, I just kept on reading. This woman all of a sudden started screaming at this baby, who clearly had no clue as to what she was saying due to its age. She took out her breast to feed it. The man to my right, who previously wanted to chat, pointed his phone in her direction. I was appalled when I noticed what he was doing. I coughed real loudly and gave him a drop-dead look.  Guess it must have scared him because he immediately put his phone in his pocket.

There were people all around doing their own thing. Some were talking, some were doing so deafeningly, some were trying to talk on their phones with people who apparently couldn´t hear them, some coughed, some listened to their social media video while I simply sat there and read.

When the green screen read 165, I decided to get up due to the pain I was feeling, and walk around a bit. Besides I wanted to reach the teller as soon as his/her number showed up. 

Finally, 171, teller 29. There is a total of 32 tellers to attend everyone. I said good morning and asked why there were so many people. Simple answer as if I should know “The first of the month was a Saturday. We are attending 3 days of people”.

I signed what I needed to sign and headed to the other line where the screen is yellow to await to be called so the medication could be given to me.  In the end I arrived at 8 and was leaving at 11.

 

Written: August 6, 2026

photo  - Google Images