Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 25oC, warm, sunny and slightly overcast.
Part 2: What I did on my birthday: there were some ups and downs, which is life itself; we never know about tomorrow. Even though it was my birthday, I was up early and out to exercise at 5 am.
It was a little chilly, but as the day progressed, it became a really lovely day with a cool breeze blowing along all of Copacabana and a sun that could be mistaken for a summer sun; the only difference was the temperature being much more civilised than the boiling carioca temperature of the summer.
Passing by the bakers for two coffees and sitting outside watching the world pass in front of you while doing something online is so good. Arriving home at 9 am with Yasmin already up and waiting to wish her father a happy birthday was also so good, even more so when she had prepared breakfast for us both, as I did not want to do on my birthday.
I made myself a green tea with ginger, lime juice, garlic, and sweetener. I left it to brew for ten minutes or more; I decided to read a little and told Yasmin to be ready for about half past midday.
We left home at a quarter to one; the walk is only four or five blocks from Jessica’s, so it is quick. As we turned into Avenida Princesa Isabel, the main street that divides Copacabana with Leme, we passed in front of an old and traditional newsstand that has been there for years when suddenly a homeless man who seemed to be high and without a shirt pulled down his shorts in front of Yasmin and me.
Homeless, poor, high with crack probably, etc., but to do this in front of my daughter made me explode, calling him names, and he, in turn, threatened me. I was willing to hit him there and then, but suddenly I turned round to look at Yasmin and thought that if I thought, who would look after her? So, instead of fighting, we kept walking without stopping to avoid getting involved even more; sometimes, it is better to walk away.
What had made me most upset and disappointed was Yasmin seeing this. I do not care about myself, but I care a lot about my daughter. I feel a sense of relaxation in people and society in general in Brazil regarding what is right and wrong, or what we can ethically or rightfully do and not.
This is what upsets me: Rio de Janeiro is becoming a no man’s land with good and decent people held hostage to an eroding society with eroding values; it is heartbreaking. We turned into Rua Gustavo Sampaio, Jessica’s Street and quickly arrived at her building about halfway down the street.
Jessica opened the door, and who appeared first was Tequila, who is now turning into an old lady golden retriever. Mario was in the living room, and everybody complimented one another with kisses and hugs. Then Cibele, Jessica’s mother and my first ex-wife, arrived, and consequently, we decided to crack open a bottle of red wine for us; Mario was drinking beer, and Jessica and Yasmin were drinking water.
The lunch was simple but delicious: stroganoff with rice and salad. Yasmin loves stroganoff. After lunch, Jessica brought in a cake. We sang Happy Birthday, and I blew out the candles. Everything was good; nobody had died until now.
Then came the next disappointment of the day. I think Cibele was a little tipsy due to the wine. Still, anyway, she explained a situation about a street seller in Leme who has been selling flowers there in Rua Gustavo Sampaio for years, never regularising her stall with the local council.
Then, one day, an inspector from the council came, took all the flowers she was selling, fined her and closed the stall. Luckily, one of the seller’s regular clients, obviously a person of means who lives in Leme, was able to regularise the woman’s situation so that she could sell flowers without any more harassment from local council inspectors.
Cibele’s point was that regularising the seller’s situation was extremely easy and that the woman should have done it long ago, so losing her stock and livelihood for some time was the seller’s fault and nobody else’s. She wanted to say that the woman was ignorant and that it is very common in Brazil. I showed my disagreement, explaining that it was not as simple as it seemed and that she should not judge people because we do not know their real situation- their war!
We began discussing politics, eventually leading to me mentioning Lula, who, for me, it is clear that he was and is responsible for so much hardship in Brazil. She then tried to correct me, telling me not to say names and specifically his name, which, in turn, I said, “I will say what I like”!
I am tired of the hypocrisy, but mainly at fifty-seven years old, I have to be careful and police myself and what I say in a normal conversation. What is the world coming to???
One of Cibele’s characteristics is that when she has a point, she does not let anybody else get a word in and completely disqualifies the other person and his or her opinion who is debating with her.
As I have seen and heard this endless times with her, rather than continue to be ignored or disrespected, I told Yasmin to get her things as it was time to go. I neither shouted nor wanted to make a scene; I just showed that I am too old to be disqualified by somebody who does not respect my opinion. Sometimes, doing nothing is better than doing something.
We thanked everybody for the pleasant lunch, said our goodbyes and left. On the way home, I and Yasmin talked about what had happened, and everything was good. We split up to rest a little in our respective bedrooms when we arrived home.
When I woke up, it was already dark. I decided to go out to buy some mini-pizzas or something for Yasmin to eat. I asked if she wanted to come, and she said yes. Walking in the street at night with my daughter on a chilly Saturday night was sublime for me.
We first went to the bakers for the mini pizzas and bread. I then suggested that we walk around the streets a little, as it was such a lovely night, and for us to make the most of the evening. When we passed in front of Praça Lido, there was a show with a small stage and a band playing Brazilian rock, and all around the square were stalls selling food and drink.
The place was completely packed; we stayed for about twenty minutes to watch the band playing, then left to go home because it was too crowded and the music was too loud.
It was so pleasant to do something out of the blue with my daughter that was not planned or expected, completely spontaneous and sublime.
In bed by 10 pm.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments.
Richard
