Beautiful Horizons

Happy Father's Day

Mércia and I have no children of our own, so I'd like to extend a heartfelt happy father's day to my brothers Michael and John, who learned from one of the best fathers to have walked the planet.

My Recent Sparse Appearances

When I started this blog in 2002, I hoped to make regular contributions on a daily basis. As those of you who know me know the challenges that we have faced this year, so I won't bore the rest of you with details. I merely sincerely intend to appear here more often: comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.

Happy new year to all.  I'm truly hoping that 2012 will be better than 2011.

What Am I Thankful For?

The following:

That despite some initially alarming situations, Mércia and my health is good.

That I was blessed with parents whose love and generosity of spirit was in inverse proportion to their financial means and imbued my existence with the right priorities: tolerance, compassion, empathy and an unquenchable thirst for wisdom and justice.

That my families, American and Brazilian are very special, and that the Brazilian side has embraced me as one of their own.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Erotides José Esteves de Oliveira

When I first spoke with my father-in-law, he was in Governador Valadares and I was in Manhattan, but the distances were bridged by our love for his daughter. My Portuguese seventeen years ago was pretty weak, but we managed to chat briefly.

I was understandably nervous at the time: Mércia was his oldest daughter and his only daughter among five sons until her sister was born when she was nearly thirteen. Her brother who lives in New Jersey had filled me with stories about how tough her father was, but when we first met face-to-face a year later, I extended my hand to my father-in-law and he pulled me into a firm abraço: handshakes are for strangers; hugs are for family. Further evidence of his gentle heart manifested itself at our wedding ceremony when I saw him dabbing tears from his eyes.

I believe that the thing I loved the most about him was his sense of humor: gently ribald with a laugh that belied his often gruff exterior. One year for Christmas I gave him a bubble maker that consisted of a man bent at the waist with his pants around his ankles as the bubbles wand passed slowly over his ass, the delicate release of the bubbles serenaded in counterpoint with the eerily authentic and loud fart sounds. To say he loved it would be to grossly understate things. At New Years' Eve that year in Itaipé, Minas Gerais, my mother-in-law's hometown when the clock struck midnight he raised the bubble machine high over his head, much like the Lawrence Welk Show as if produced by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

Nothing moved me more than my first ever contact with him when Mércia passed me a note from him in the mail. I don't remember much of what he wrote except for the last three words as they were in English: "I love you."

Eu te amo também, sogro. Vou sentir sua falta por resto da minha vida.

Rest in peace.

Seventeen Years On

You gave us a bit of a scare two months ago, Mercia when we got the diagnosis, but Wednesday of this week, it appears that everything has been resolved.

Seeing you in that hospital bed so weak, weary and in pain broke my heart. I never doubted the strength of your will, despite your fears and my own worries, but we have surmounted this latest hurdle and despite all the numerous odds not in our favor, we have managed for seventeen years as of today to forge this immutable bond, this miraculous melding of our hearts and lives.

There is no greater joy for me, no more gratifying part of my life than to know that you draw breath, that your heart beats, that your lustrous smile infuses my existence with its glorious radiance and that you exist. I have been blessed beyond measure and enriched beyond mere words to have you in my life.

Happy anniversary!

A Belated Birthday Wish

On our last day in Lisbon, Mércia and I were on the subway and noticed the following ad, donated by the Lisbon Metro system as part of their social responsibility program:

The first set of photos shows the prison photo of Carlos Coutinho, an opponent of the dictatorship in Portugal and a vigorous opponent of Portugals's brutal and wasteful wars in Africa in the 1960's and '70's. The caption on the first set of photos says ""These photos exist courtesy of organizations such as PIDE," the secret police of the brutal 61 year Portuguese dictatorship. PIDE's cruelty was so brutal, residents would often hear the screams of victims being tortured as PIDE's headquarters were in the heart of the densely populated Chiado district.

The second set of photos shows Coutinho in a recent photo with the "These [photos] courtesy of organizations such as Amnesty International. Saturday was Amnesty International's 50th Anniversary and it is especially appropriate that it be recognized in Portugal. Peter Benenson, the founder of AI was inspired to develop the organization when he read about two Portuguese students arrested for making a toast to liberty.

Let us all drink a toast to liberty and toast the day when there are no organizations such as PIDE and no need for organizations such as Amnesty International.

Recommended reading - Stiglitz on income inequality & Bator on the "debt crisis" hysterics

Nobel Prize winner & former chief economist for the World Bank Joe Stiglitz has a great piece up at Vanity Fair, no less, on how growing income inequality in the US destroys the social fabric - DanO referenced this as well in his good post below, but I wanted to call specific attention to recommending the entire piece.And I also want to recommend Harvard political economist and former consultant to LBJ and to the Treasury Dept, Francis Bator's  commentary at the Financial Times,  stating flat out "There is no US federal debt crisis (as distinct from a governance crisis and tax-phobia crisis.)"   Here & here.  

Oh, and in that vein I'll also flag some great news: In 2010, CEO pay went up 27%, while worker pay went up 2%.  Things are looking good!

Amen

Hat tip to Marc Cooper.

Who Cares Part II?

Why do we concern ourselves with these people? Didn't we fight a war to rid ourselves of their rule?

They're dinosaurs and little else.

Who Cares

Dear God, when will this family's fifteen minutes finally end?!?!?!