It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.
But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Ahhhh ~ The Sound of a Million Horns Honking

There has always been traffic and there are always people who mindlessly honk their horns , here in Buenos Aires.
They honk if you pause a second before flying through the intersection, old people , babies and pedestrians be damned.
They honk if it is their birthday and I know they honk if their team scores a goal.
God forbid, there should be a street closure, or as today, a huge street closure with little streets leading to the big closure, being closed also.
And in the middle of all this, buses that go through lights and get stuck halfway there, blocking the one available lane for the other people to use.

Add to all of this... two people who never really pay that much attention regarding traffic, politics and assassination attempts and you have An Adventure.
We were slow ( okay, I was slow) getting ready to leave the house today.
I know I have a whole day to do anything I want, so I see no reason to rush into it.
My husband has a cold, he should move slowly and carefully and let me baby him.
He won't.
So we ... I, took my time getting ready to leave the house and then had to come back in to change clothes because I was too warm, too cold, oh , forget about it !
We did our bakery , grocery, produce market shopping then decided it is too beautiful outside to stay inside ... let's go for a walk, take the camera, maybe sit in a park like that photo I love,  of the two very old people on a park bench in Paris ..
We walked through the back streets over to the Bibiloteca Nacional.
As we were walking up to the steps, we noticed ( you would have to be blind as a bat not to notice ) the several vans with PDF on the sides, all doors open, men inside, men outside, all in riot gear.
For a moment, it seemed as if we had wandered into the Marine Corp training facility.
I have never seen such huge arms... muscular men, with combat boots, shields, huge guns, huge rifles for shooting tear gas and billy sticks or clubs or whatever you call them.
Then more came driving up on motorcycles, they drive 2 on a bike.
With clubs and guns and other gear.
Not for a moment was I nervous.
I felt like the safest person in the world at that moment.
They got off their motorcycles and were just hanging around waiting.
One said to us , Don't Worry.
I took his picture.
One asked us if we spoke English ...
I can never  manage  looking Argentine .. so I said yes and then proceeded to have a conversation with  the Argentina equivalent of the California Highway Patrol, with better guns.
He has family who live in Queens , New York.
He loves New York.
We love Buenos Aires. It was a moment of International Happiness.
Then they all got back on their motorcycles and pulled on their helmets and went back to looking like something from a Hollywood movie..
The Paraguayan Embassy is on the street   where the Biblioteca is located.
This was all about the Paraguayan President, Ferdinand Lugo, who was removed from office this past week.
It will be interesting to hear what happens ... for now, I can only tell you that about a million people are honking their horns as they sit in traffic from all the street closures.

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