Buenos Dias, Colombia (Not S Carolina!) (6) 181 If the national newspapers(Mr Santos and friends) would publish the safest bus records every six months or socross country and nearer routesthings might change. Not so many buses would run off the side of a mountain as now happens and as has been happening for many years on a too-regular basis. The writer took a bus trip from the capital to Manizales once and experienced, not going off the mountain, but something close to it. With records being published, passengers would take the safest companies. Airplanes can also be included. Talking accountability. 182 Now that the economies world-wide are rather weak(unfortunately), we see the need to save money and seek a bit of financial independence more than ever. There was a time when jobs were quite plentiful and a good, skilled worker could change jobs or employers with ease. Not so nowadays. We must be in possession of an array of talent and qualifications merely to keep a job and/or bumpEa less-talented/skilledEmate. Half the world lives off the other half, is one of the sayings here. 183 This country is officially a religious country, so, we have prayer in schools with no scandal attached. Some Muslims attend our school and when we pray, they stay off to one side or in their classrooms busy with something. Basically, everybodys happy. What, in our case, would Abe Lincoln or Ike Eisenhower have thought about no prayers in the schools of our nation? You see, we have gotten far away from some of our countrys most important thinkers. Its one thing to engage in pecadilloes as perhaps did Jefferson and Franklin. Quite another to remove prayer from kids whose only chance to hear one might be at school. 184 Much love exists in our small school and this, in itself, is refreshing and affirming. 185 Now with terrorism abundant everywhere, tinted windows in vehicles and tinted motorcycle helmet windshields should not be allowed. Here, we have lots of tinted glass/acrylic. A victime cannot even see who his murderer is these days. When was that ever common? 186 Im going to take a rest from this diary at this number. One reason is that it has not been very widely read. I am not quite sure if its me and my writing, if its the site, or if its a lack of interest in Colombia. I suppose if I were at home browsing and saw something about some small country I didnt know much about, I would just as easily by-pass it as glance at it. Anyway, thanks for reading to this point those of you who have. 187 At this writing, aren't thugs in charge in Venezuela? Remember Hitler and his thugs, or Stalin and his? God help us here in next-door C. Will I have to run out with the clothes on my back like any old refugee? 188 After one pays all the taxes due and has stood in these moronic, interminable lines for the innumerable bureaucratic stamps, signatures, instructions, photos, certifications, clearances, etc., why, one feels just about as revolutionary as those deep in the jungles do! One isn't, however. 189 It's happened. More senseless murder. I was about to write a few days ago that we were fine and hadn't got blown up but in Medell(this country's second-largest city) some people had. Not now. It's all changed. Yesterday evening a bomb went off in one of this city's poshest clubs. Numerous deaths and injuries. Alarm and grief all over this metropolis. Again, let's look at one of the problems. When all this garage/basement parking inside all kinds of buildings and malls was created, say, 40 years ago, we didn't hear much about terrorists or car bombs. Now we do daily, of course, and our complete safety cannot be guaranteed by anyone, anywhere. So, are we gonna continue to park cars blindly in any old building or shopping mall that has a garage handy? Sorry, but it's time to use those spaces for something else. Anything but to park a vehicle! 190 Salud, the Spanish-born columnist, hits the nail squarely on the head today in her enlightening column in "El Tiempo." It doesn't really matter about tight security or lax security. Reality is that the government kills some, they kill some, they do that, the government does this, etc. CARNAGE, in other words. The long-term answer lies, as she so accurately and intelligently puts it, in peace-talks--negotiations, for we have all seen, to date, that nobody can find the real masterminds. They are "holed-up" and not about to sally forth. Holed up internationally, aren't they? Everyone should put pressure on the talks--exchanges that will be substantial and that will get results that will prove beneficial to all. 191 Mr Gmez-Mndez talks about higher(post-secondary) education in his fine article of Feb 10(El Tiempo). He gives us an anecdote about a personal experience in the Germany of the late 1970s to boot. It is interesting how he expresses the problem of an over-abundance of graduates in nearly all fields nowadays. He says, "The State, due to political pressure, has been authorizing the creation of these new 'universities'...caring not what kind of training they are going to give the students." He says some of these institutions are only a name. They have poor profs, no researchers, no real libraries, etc. Yet they're innundating society with so-called professionals. He goes on to mention a society with a "chip on its shoulder(resentida)" due to the fact that these "professionals" can't get or hope to get a job commensurate with their amount of study and sacrifice. Of course, he's totally right. The task now is how to reverse such an unwise detour from the main tracks. 192 Much of the nation mourns the accidental death of Minister Londoo. Colombians can be proud such a fine, serious student, through sheer determination and exertion, rose in the ranks and attended/graduated from one of the worlds most prestigious universities. In my country we can be proud to be able to offer such an opportunity to thousands of students at home and around the world. Harvard U, its called. 193 S went out of Colombia for the first time last October. She won a 6-weeksEcourse in Japan. She said the experience was great and that the Japanese were very kind and polite. She fell in love. With Colombiaher own country. Now she wants to live here alwaysproblems and all. I understood her completely. Ive lived outside my own country for about 16 years, more or less, but love it(my country) more than ever. Thats life. 194 Since we know(and if we agree) that unemployment is the greatest TERRORIST, we are baffled that the government persists in laying off employees left and right due to restructuring/re-engineering(call it what you will). In doing so we are feeding the flames and can expect only more terrorism. Everyone has to eat, has to provide for her/his family, to survive, in short. In view of these realities, isnft it little wonder the insurgents find collaborators so easily? 195 Best Shit Award for Freddy Arelln, the principal suspect behind the Nogal bombing, for piling the stinky stuff on top of his poor grandmother who, in raising the squash squirt, undoubtedly made many personal sacrifices. Likethanks a lot, dear. 196 Some people say it's precious little Garca-Mrquez has done for his country in a material sense. Who can be sure? Only those few closest to him know. Botero, on the other handc 197 Riding through 7th of August neighborhood this morning, I saw so many unoccupied vehiclesold and new. What does this mean? It means high risk for all those pedestrians and business owners in that area. We dont learn so fast. When cars can be left in any old spot that your average Joe wants to leave one in, were in for trouble and asking for trouble. Proposal: Why doesnt our fair city itself buy up some large vacant lots and start to operate its own parking business? (Another item this city needs via donations from other countries is from 30 to 40 tow trucks!) 198 A friend said shed stay in Colombia even if it went the way of Cuba. Thats not an easy decision to make, Id say. She said she could handle being somewhat poorer if it meant that every really, truly poor person would have more. Its a noble thought, and, she and I both are far from having any riches, anyway. We live on our salaries, but I daresay we both eat and drink and dress fairly well. Occasionally we travel. So, I thought about it a day or two. Then I began to wonderwhat if you changed your mind or wanted to change your mind? What then? In Cuba, if Im not mistaken, there is no changing of minds to any significant degree as regards salaries, housing, etc. Everybody is poor and thats it. With their hot weather, everybody need wear only a bit more than their birthday suits. Now Im curious. In this country I live in Ive met a total of 3 or 4 Cubans. None is ready to return to her/his island homeland. Ive always thought most Cubans were happy in their country because no one has killed the leader. (Yes, it can be done just as most things can.) I wonder how many would advise another country or peoples to imitate their system of government. So, if youre a bonafide Cuban and are living in Cuba and you read this, could you send me a few lines to let me know how you feel about this? Id really appreciate the gesture. Ciao for now. 199 Get This: My English-speaking, Catholic and responsible friend, whos an engineer and has been working for the same Asian company for 5 years, gets denied a tourist visa to the USA cause, according to the letter he was given, his roots to his own country arent proved to be strong enough. In other words, he might not want to return. (Well boo-hoo, what might a person like him do to our own country? Improve it, thats what!) Anyway, is blood not a kind of root? Some people love their own country, you know(as we have been seeing in Iraq). But people like Atta get inlong term tourism! If they in the INS arent imbeciles, then the breed doesnt exist. And what about the US tourist organizations? They must be a complacent bunch! Mute, perhaps? 200 Good governments should do everything possible to ensure near-universal, functioning telephone service. They say they want the participation of their citizens in crime prevention, etc., but, in some cases, people are allowed to be deprived of a working telephone for weeks or months. Ones phone is a vital means of communicating whatever message, and, therefore, life or death sometimes. 201 Good morning, world. More killing for you here, isnt it thrilling? If thats what one does best, of course... 202 Seems our fair mayor is visually impaired, among other things. That stretch of road(K 30) from Av Americas to Carrefour at Calle 19 is a sight for sore eyes if this city has such a thing. No sidewalk and hordes of trash to boot. Maana, maybe Mr Mayor? 203 The cabbie was telling me today how some years ago life in this country was so much better. I agreed. I told him I could remember the 70s. There were jobs for practically everybody and things were rolling. Or am I dreaming? I was much younger then, of course, so, one has to be careful with the nostalgia bit. 204 Somebody I know was mad as hell telling me look how those people here marched in the streets because of Iraq, which is so far away, and then look at all the unsolved problems this country has and its daily murder toll(one of the worlds highest). The protest marches held here in our favorite capital city regarding kidnappings and cold-blooded murders that occur here are a pitiful few. We know God hasnt forgotten us here, but it seems He sure is taking a long time to give us a hand. Of course, what with the way the world is...Hed be terribly tied up Himself, wouldnt He? 203 Intolerance: Get this. Its true and sad. The cabbie gets ticketed by the patrolman for some traffic offensegoing the wrong way or running a stop sign or some such. Anyway, the cabbie goes all the way home, gets his more or less new revolver(bought illegally and still unpaid for), returns and kills the patrolman on duty who gave him the ticket. In cold blood. The patrolman, a father of two kids, was trying to care for his family. Smacks of Clockwork Orange almost, does it not? Many people in our fair city were shocked and disbelieving of the incident. It happened a bit more than a month ago. Of course, we get shocked fairly often these days anyway, do we not? 204 Who can understand all that the so-called referendum which is scheduled to be voted on contains? You practically have to be a lawyer. To make the decision easier, if the President, whom many of you voted for, wants the damn referendum, then vote for it. Dont you trust the President you voted for? Dont you trust his judgement and wisdom? Fortunately, every President is not the same. I daresay this man at the moment will turn out to be one of this countrys superior leaders ever. 205 Utility payments and all those things. (Yes, again) It was so nice to be able to go to a small store or internet place and pay the light bill, water bill, etc. Now it has surfaced that some of those little entities werent turning in the money. You know the rest... Why dont the utility companies, who cannot for the life of them avoid those shitty lines that are blocks and blocks long, select some responsible entity such as Colsubsidio, xito, or the like and allow them to help in collecting due and overdue payments? Mission: To avoid the so many long lines that are cancerous in this war-torn but beautiful land. Or would that be making life too easy for the average-to-poor Colombian? I think that's one of the reasons we have this seemingly endless war going on. The well-to-do Colombian and those with a handful of ephemeral political power(read legislators) have never given a shit about the poor, struggling Colombian. We know one can pay his/her utilities using the debit card in an ATM, but there are those really poor who cannot, for whatever reason, do that. They need a place(Thank you, Georgia Power, USA) that is open 24 hours(a hospital?) to which they can go and pay the bill with ZERO, read O, hassle! Or is such a thing possible in this NW corner of South America? Why is it that one never sees these long lines in a country like mine, the USA? England? Help Petro, what are you doing all day long?
Copyright © 2002 Randall Barfield |