Re. that Forster quote up there...
I'm an elite athlete without the athleticism.
I've been home about 30 hours and I'm beginning a return to consciousness. I may not work at peak efficiency today but I will work. I have to finish removing the stove pipe for tomorrow's new installation, the barns need to be cleaned, and I want to have Sally running by the end of the day. I also have to watch Brazil play Serbia at the World Cup.
Yeah, I'm now watching futball.
At 8 a.m. I'm processing my trip, something that will probably continue for awhile. Brazil is NOT a third world country (I've been told that term is now considered un-PC but I don't remember what is supposed to replace it). It's also very different from the U.S., a good thing in many ways and not so good in others. A few very random thoughts:
- Roads are atrocious. Infrastructure is a problem in several areas but roads are probably the most obvious one. Pot holes as big as fry pans and a foot deep, lane lines that were painted in the last millennium, sidewalks that are difficult for a normal person and completely impassable for anyone with mobility issues.....
- I didn't see any wax while I was there.
- Millions of people have never seen a sunrise or sunset. They live in high rise apartment buildings surrounded by high rise apartment buildings and their only view is of...a high rise apartment building.
- Recife (pronounced Hay-SEE-fay) is the Portuguese word for reef. The city is on the coast and a reef runs along the shoreline about 60 yards out. It's just tall enough to break the waves at low tide creating a nice breakwater and it's covered at high tide. Nobody with any sense goes swimming at high tide because the sharks can then swim all the way in and munch on arms and legs.
- I didn't notice anything resembling a car culture there although I'm told it exists in southern Brazil. No customs, restored vintage, hot rods.... And no custom motorcycles, either. They have thousands of motorbikes on the streets but they're all in the 125-150cc category. No big bikes and no Harleys. I did see lots of vehicles we don't get here including Citroens and a Fiat pickup truck.
- The unemployment rate is 20%.
Like too many countries Brazil often things American is better.
Maybe you've seen the ads on TV for Rock Auto, an auto parts store that only sells online. Their stuff is quite a bit cheaper than in a brick & mortar store and they ship quickly. I use them frequently.
My favorite sign from Brazil for an auto parts store: Rocb Auto.
It's now the end of the day. As soon as it's warmed I'm taking a bottle up to Eclair and will then put them in the weaning shed for the night. Back for a cup of coffee and a brownie, and then bed.
It's been a good day. Brazil won, I got several tasks done, we went for pizza....
Yeah, life on Baker Rd. is good.
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