Buenos Dias, Colombia (Not S Carolina!) (4)
110 Buenaventura. It was a holiday Monday, so I thought why not take a bus to this Pacific port? The ride from Cali is short enough. I was working in Cali a few weeks. On the way we passed through hills with beautiful villas atop them. The air is cooler there. In the port there were lots of wooden houses with tin roofs. Some houses and roofs were painted and some not. I walked around the town, including going down to the boat docks. Talked to a German man who had a business there. He was going out to an island where swimming was better and invited me to accompany him and his wife. I declined. I had a fat fish lunch in mind. A very leisurely lunch. I didnt understand much Spanish that day, but I enjoyed the lunch and port town decidedly. 111 Excitement-seekers should come to Colombia, but dont come expecting to get around the law, whatever you do. First of all, you probably dont have the expertise and second, youll be highly conspicuous and your every move and phrase talked/whispered about. Come to this country to find love and legalEadventures, yes do. Theres plenty of those to go around. 112 Politicians say theyre patriotic and love their fellow citizens and whatnot(quite loudly before elections) then go and start cutting personnel left and right after the elections. And this after they have been entrusted by the voters to occupy some of the best positions in existence in the land! Smacks of the old child-beater sires: This hurts me more than it will you, son, but...E 113 Why doesnt Senator Vargas-Lleras run for President before he becomes a grandpa? Maybe hes not crazy enough yet. 114 The good God-fearing people of this country must hold their heads high. Only the worlds ignorant(a majority, unfortunately) dismiss or write off a whole nation due to specific incidents or idiosyncracies. Even those of us who dont like a certain countrys system(like Iraqs, for instance) know that there are many fine and great people(souls) in that country. 115 One well-known politician recently compared this place to the Titanic. I and about 40 million Colombians hope hes wrong. 116 Im trying not to look through rose-colored lenses, but in the 1970s this capital was a fun and vibrant place to live, even though we didnt have the bike paths and improved sidewalks we now have(and wouldnt trade for anything). Contraband and the marijuana trade were in full bloom, although the latter was losing ground rapidly to cocaine and heroin. The nation wasnt problem-free, by any means, but jobs were quite plentiful and smoking, drinking, loving, and chitchat in the bars were popular. Nowadays, drinking and loving, perhaps, are the only two of these 4 things that remain popular. It seems its a sad drinking, however, not a happy sort. Impromptu house parties, too, were popular on Friday and Saturday nights. These have almost gone the way of the breakfast sausage except for the rich, I suppose. Scarcity of cold cash can be blamed. (Why dont I shut up,you say.) 117 A retired police general was recently called to come back to work. Can you imagine a greater ego-booster existing? Hey Joe, get out of that rocking chair! We see now we cant make it without you.E What a rep for doing a good job! Obviously. 118 Another horror tale. (Ill try to make it up later with a tale of beauty.) My neighbor went to the bank to cash her monthly paycheck and that of a co-worker(as a favor). Two checks! She hails a cab as she leaves the banks premises. A motorcycle starts following the cab but she doesnt know this. When they get to her workplace, the 2 guys on the bike flip the door open and point a gun at her. Give them the purse. She must, of course. The cabbie acts just as surprised as she is. He felt helpless and said he knew nothing about the bike guys. Of course, theres no evidence otherwise. Sometimes cabbies are involved and sometimes not. We THINK some bank clerk alerted the waiting bike guys by cell phone. Hows that! 119 What if Allah, who is also the God of the Western World Christians(monotheism), is mad at us westerners for whatever reason and has decided to turn the tables of hemispheric power? (Gulp) 120 Not to get into an impossible discussion here of privatization, Id like to say that since our garbage pickup was privatized a few years ago, service improved totally. Maybe were paying more but I suppose its in line with whatever residents of other cities are paying. At least I hope it is. These days the bigger problem is national disposal, isnt it(as in waste management)? 121 Something quite curious and pleasant in the architectural tradition of this country was the practice of creating niches or recesses in estate walls or the walls of private residences and buildings to house the Virgin Mary. She acted as a sort of protectress of the property. Sometimes Jesus was used instead. Either, at least, was an affirmative reminder of the faith. You can see these still by strolling through older neighborhoods such as Teusaquillo or Chapinero. You also see plaques occasionally on house walls proclaiming the name of the architect. One can envisage the pride of the new builder and/or owner of the house. What do we take pride in nowadays is the question. 122 Parents'nightmare and true story. College girl is accustomed to renting a vacant house for wild parties in order to earn expenses for each semester. To attend, students must pay X amount each. To save money, apparently, the alcoholic punch is made with rubbing alcohol as well as others. A welcoming drink is on the house and placed in each students hands as she/he arrives. But the drink isnt such a large amount. Three girls convince the punchkeeperEor whoever to let them take some in a jar to another party they are going to. Two of the girls later drink much more than the third one and mostly sleep the next 2 days at home. They feel worse and worse so are taken to a hospital where they die. The friend who drank the least lives. Girl who rented the house gets arrested. She'll be charged with manslaughter(personslaughter?), most likely, if she hasnt been already. What was initially well-intentioned turned out grotesque. 123 Two things we learn over and over again while living here is that we must be patient and that nothing can be taken for granted. Not necessarily the patience of Job, but not the impatience we are often accustomed to at home either. Its a when in RomeEsituation. And we cant take for granted well have all the utilities functioninglights, water, telephone, etc.at any given hour. Things have improved in this respect, but there is still a lot of ground to be covered. In the end, we realize these are two virtuesnot two thornsand possessing or adopting them might even add a year or two to our lives, who knows? 124 My dear fellow citizens: Speaking directly from drug land", Id like to say that its not so much drugs we should be fighting as it is the reasons underlying the need for them and/or the attraction they give rise to. Getting into heavy drugs is self-destructive behavior in almost anybodys book. That behavior is what must be dealt with like it or not(ask the Tough Love people). Nobodys going to get rid of butcher knives simply because they can be dangerous. Or whiskey, which has caused an unmeasurable amount of damage over many decades. If supply were the biggest problem, wed all be wobbly down here 24 hours a take. (We are wobbly some days, but thats another story and it isnt due to any snort, etc.) This is a sermon that must be preachedEagain and again because we humans are so bullheaded. We always want to see only that which we consider convenient. 125 One couldnt know where or when one of Escobars bombs was gonna go off and get somebody innocent. The one near the Tequendama showed us this reality. The next day a first grader didnt show up at school. Nor the next or the next. It wasnt her, however. It was her mom that had got blown away. Shed just gotten out of a cab and boom! The cab was identified later(what was left of it). I think there wasnt even a piece of her available that could be identified. This is the situation they are living in the Israel-Palestine region this very moment. Cant some surgeon invent a heart job to take care of this kind of hatred? 126 I realize now that a river doesnt have to be in one place or intact. The tears shed due to murders over the past 40 or 50 years in this country would be sufficient to create at least several rivers, I suspect. 127 C is so considerate, proper, and very professional. Shes been terribly kind to me over the past 2 or 3 years. Shes from Manizales. If most people in Manizales were even similar to her, wed all be standing in lines asking for housing in order to be able to live there. 128 Lets face it. No ones gonna ride by the so-called sports coliseum(dome) on the Avenida 30 and ogle and strain her/his neck admiring its beauty. Its a very unattractive contraption that no amount of paint or replaced panes of glass can alter. The sooner it can be razed and replaced by something with more sparkle the better. 129 But can he still flip? Higuita, the flamboyant and famous soccer goalkeeper who did the scorpion flip in Wembley Stadium some years ago is planning a comeback it seems. He wants to play in the World Cup in Germany fours years from nowE006. 130 Gonzalo Gallo used to be Father Gallo(gallo with a little g means rooster!), the priest. Now hes giving seminars and lectures regarding interior healing as well as family and workplace leadership. There is little doubt here that Mr Gallo has great talents. Hopefully his healing and instructive presence will not be limited to Colombia only. 131 On the way to our ill-guarded capital city airport, indeed quite near it, is a nicely-painted motel. A motel in this country isnt like a Days Inn or any similar motel/hotel at home. Its a brothel of sorts. Its got a cutesy sort of entrance, if not a bit tawdry. Who knows what kind of prices theyve got? Any takers? 132 C studies English and is a member of the Ballet of Colombia. Recently she was on tour in the States and felt very positive about the message they were able to convey to the audience. She wants people in the world to see and learn about the positive side of this country. Kudos for C. 133 Violation of Privacy. As the worlds population continues to grow alarmingly, we see more and more of this kind of violation. Although it is universal, it would logically be more prevalent in countries with higher poverty levels. This country is no exception. In middle and upper-class neighborhoods home owners must enclose their property with 15 to 18-foot-high wrought-iron fences or brick walls. Six to 7 feet high used to suffice but not anymore. If this is not or can not be done, straysEvagabonds) will help themselves to some thing in your yard or, worse, break into your house. At street/road intersections the homeless wash your car windows quickly for a few coins, like it or not. Fortunately, many of us still dont have a car. If I had one, I wouldnt want anyone touching it as they pleased without my permission. I mean, would it be mine or wouldnt it? Another big abuse is something that appeared in a newspaper column this year. Its getting tenants who dont(or cant) pay the rent off your property. The article compared how long it took for an eviction to take place in Canada and how long here. Something like 55-odd days versus 370 or 380-odd days, respectively. The considerable difference gives you a better idea of what I am talking about. Nonetheless, one eventually gets accustomed to all sorts of things. Even St. Paul and MLK Jr got somewhat accustomed to jail at various times in their lives. 134 Years ago there was even less tolerance than now, so, some strides have been made, perhaps. J had gotten some strikes against his reputation so he decided to emigrate to the States. It was a sort of self-imposed exile, you might say. In spite of all the things wrong with our cherished 50 states, tolerance is one of our strengths and beauties. It is a practice we should defend at any cost. 135 We are the only country, I think, that teaches students 7 continents instead of 5. The IOC has only 5 rings in its logofor the 5 continents, of course. All of us in the Western Hemisphere are Americans. I suspect the custom of referring to the USA as America began in the time of the Colonies. The British people were very powerful then and practically ignored the South and Central Americans(perhaps since they werent English-speaking). Haughtiness was also involved I daresay. Anyway, many of these otherEAmericans resent being left out when we talk about America/Americans this and America/Americans that(Cant you hear John Waynes voice?). We would feel the same way, I am convinced. 136 For a while I thought, Why couldnt drugs be legal if alcohol is legal? But thats just the problem. While growing up, I saw the extensive damage alcohol could do to a family. The biggest problem seems to be the social costs. How can a country take on more social costs if it already deals with alcohol, tobacco, AIDS, etc? Wheres the space? Any country, I think, would go broke(many already are, as we know). It has been unfair, however, for this medium-size country to pay such steep costs just because developed and rich countries on both sides of the Atlantic have been unable to curb the demand in their own backyards. 137 Looking back, I see the beauty that was my mother-in-law from this country. She was proud of me and I of her. She cared about my Spanish and my getting to know this city quite wellher hometown.E She loved it and this country. Also, she admired my country greatly and loved to visit it. A true patriot and progressive. 138 There was a loud crack of thunder today, just before 4 pm, but at first I thought it was some big bomb going off since thats what we have in our heads these days. Fortunately, it was only thunder; then, it rained weakly. I think of murderers. How far they have to be from God. Its only logical, isnt it? Im far from being a saint, but I dont feel so far from my Creator. Quite the opposite. He knows I have bad thoughts and I know it and know He knows it so we have this complete absence of a dispute, you see. Hope this makes sense and thanks for reading. 139 Hes from an island in the Caribbean, which is his moms home. His dad is a European. They are here living in our cool city. It seems(I dont know him well yet.) hes very weak in languages but strong in math, which he says is his favorite subject. It isnt an unusual situation. We like the things we can do well, normally. He said his dad is very very demanding of him. I said thats good, youre lucky to have a dad who bothers to demand of you. How many lads have dads who dont give a shit or, worse, who disappeared from their lives sometimes before they even started to school? Its also a common situation, unfortunately. But Sartre said he was fortunate it happened to him, didnt he? 140 Great news that the government wants to back credit for low-income housing(which had been extant but this is a new turn). Not only credit but fixed-rate interest, which disappeared in this country some 15 to 20 years ago. Kudos for the new President. I think we all see the error of having allowed fixed-rate interest to become extinct. Poor people who are responsible and work hard, but who cannot see any hope that they will ever become homeowners and first-rate citizens have little use for democracy. 141 I wish Dr Arturo Carrillo, the so-called human rights expert in New York at Columbia U, along with Mary Robinson, would leave their desks. I wish they would come down here and take a cross-country jaunt by jeep, unescorted. In doing so, they might get abducted, somewhat as did Ingrid Betancourt. And if so, Id like to hear later what they would have to say about human rights. Id sit on the front row. They could also tell us about their personal commotionEinstead of a governments. A deal? 142 Coupons(grocery) use here is new and spreading rapidly. Some of you will say, Oh no, pity them!E Not true. Coupons can be fun, distracting and interesting. Its all in ones attitude, isnt it? 143 It was the horror crime of 1992. A girl and her mom were in a police station(Las Aguas area) for some reason. The mom was talking to some policemen, friends or acquaintances. The girl had gone wandering off to another floor. She was intercepted by some police officer on that floor who, due to a lack of control, raped the girl and killed her then left her body in a restroom. The crime shocked this seemingly shock-proof nation, to say the least. 144 Since most people are born Roman Catholic in this country, we see very limited evangelization. Competition for flocks is weak, although stronger than that many years ago. The headway that the Protestant sects have made lies in the poorer districts, logically, as they need a new or additional solution. What is good is that there exist choices in this country, same as in mine. Not far from me is even a house designated as an Islamic cultural center, according to the sign. Ive yet to knock on its door.
Copyright © 2002 Randall Barfield |