Sunday, September 28, 2008

family

Is funny to be a parent.
Have things in this life that make us view the world and ourselves in a different way. I'm a father of 5. Two biological and 3 step daughters that their preferred pastime is drive me crazy.
Reminds me when I was 16 or so, and my dad, so angry with me (I don't remember if were my grades, my attitude or my friends) he looked at me straight in the eyes and said: "My revenge is to know that one day you will become a father!"
I don't know if this was a curse or a warning, I prefer to think as the second. I had my not so good grades till my high school after my exams to go to college (Brazilians call it vestibular) my student life changed for good. My friends, well, we are in touch till now, writers, journalists, therapists, and so on... about my attitude, well I'm just like my dad today, and I think that I ever was, maybe the old man could not deal with his not so "Mini Me", but the curse worked good. Being a father is something painfully marvelous, we see that little thing just blimp in a ultrasound device, grow and become part of you, take your nights your moments when you are thinking one thing and because he or she have fever or cough, see your plans going to the drain, but all this cost have a gift. Last year, my oldest daughter graduated in college, now she is a certified art teacher in California State. I remember when I was doing my Master Degree and I used to bring her at night to my classes, where she used to play alone till sleep in a corner of my class, or my teachers playing with her, my colleges seeing a future for her in arts, design or advertising (the areas that I was studding), is funny that she choose arts, as her profession, but that is life, maybe it runs in the family as the lawyers and militaries.
But the more interesting is that Lina, my step daughter, has the same attitude, grades and friends, and I control myself, seing in her so much of me, saying the same thing that my dad used to say to me.

Family

Is funny to be a parent.
Have things in this life that make us view the world and ourselves in a different way. I'm a father of 5. Two biological and 3 step daughters that their preferred pastime is drive me crazy. 
Reminds me when I was 16 or so, and my dad, so angry with me (I don't remember if were my grades, my attitude or my friends) he looked at me straight in the eyes and said: "My revenge is to know that one day you will become a father!"
I don't know if this was a curse or a warning, I prefer to think as the second. I had my not so good grades till my high school after my exams to go to college (Brazilians call it vestibular) my student life changed for good. My friends, well, we are in touch till now, writers, journalists, therapists, and so on... about my attitude, well I'm just like my dad today, and I think that I ever was, maybe the old man could not deal with his not so "Mini Me", but the curse worked good. Being a father is something painfully marvelous, we see that little thing just blimp in a ultrasound device, grow and become part of you, take your nights your moments when you are thinking one thing and because he or she have fever or cough, see your plans going to the drain, but all this cost have a gift. Last year, my oldest daughter graduated in college, now she is a certified art teacher in California State. I remember when I was doing my Master Degree and I used to bring her at night to my classes, where she used to play alone till sleep in a corner of my class, or my teachers playing with her, my colleges seeing a future for her in arts, design or advertising (the areas that I was studding), is funny that she choose arts, as her profession, but that is life, maybe it runs in the family as the lawyers and militaries.
But the more interesting is that Lina, my step daughter, has the same attitude, grades and friends, and I control myself, seing in her so much of me, saying the same thing that my dad used to say to me.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Aniversário- Birthday

Ok, a coisa me pegou meio que desprevenido, tenho um grupo de amigos do colegial, de milnovecentos e canequinha, sabe aquela turma de amigos que você na adolescência sonhava em ver pelas costas, mas que no dia seguinte que você entra na faculdade já está morrendo de saudades? Ok, desculpem mas sou assim mesmo, descompensado por natureza.


Hoje nos falamos diariamente pela internet, meu almoços são em frente ao Mac do trabalho para poder ler as últimas fofocas.


Acho que isso nos trás de volta alguma coisa da nossa juventude, não sei bem, não me sinto mais jovem quando leio as mensagens deles, mas me sinto muito mais feliz, amizade é coisa contagiosa, é resfriado benéefico que nos enfraquece na saudade e nos fortalece na presença.


Mas voltando aos e-mails São Bentistas, esse grupo de jovens senhores, hoje empresários, escritores ou designeres como o imbecil que vos escreve, achou de colocar uma análise nas datas dos nossos aniversários, correu os mais valiosos dados de informação inutil, daquelas que não conseguimos saber qual a importância, mas que torna-se tão prestimosa para nós. Um dos nossos mais queridos amigos por exemplo faz aniversário justo no dia 9 de janeiro, mas que se comemora em 9 de janeiro? O aniversário de Richard (Dick) Nixon, e Joan Baez, quer coisa mais controversa?


Lembro agora que meu pai nasceu em 16 de Dezembro, grande coisa, para mim era, pois é também o aniversário de Ludvig Van Bethoven, de quem adoro até hoje ouvir sua música.


Mas deixando Bethoven de lado, o mais cômico ficou para o meu lado, meu aniversário é no dia 2 de Novembro, é isso mesmo, para os latinos que estiverem lendo esse blog sabe muito bem o que o 2 de Novembro significa, não é uma data para ser marcada com um "Xix" no calendário, mas com uma cruz, isso mesmo, nascí no dia 2 de Novembro de 1957, um sábado de sol na cidade do Recife, meu pai queria que eu nascesse em São Paulo, terra de gente séria e trabalhadora, minha mãe, que nascesse na Bahia, terra dos nossos ancestrais, mas de acordo com meu pai, "Baiano só não morre de preguiça por que preguiça não mata." Assim acabei nascendo em Pernambuco, terra de gente trabalhadora, desconfiada e temperramento para lá de alterado (quem passou por Recife, sabe do que eu estou falando), desse saba do crioulo doido fiquei sendo eu assim, com um pé em cada canto, como bom descendente de judeus sefaraditas, meio errante e sem terra definida, nascido no dia dos mortos, junto com justto quem? Maria Antonieta, rainha da França, quer melhor dupla?


E dessa forma sigo então pela vida, paulista de criação, baiano nas veias, recifense de nascimento, Estadunidense por opção.


Mas o mais interessante de tudo é como se pode celebrar a vida em que se lembra da morte. minhas festas de aniversário nunca foram no dia 2, sempre um dia antes ou um dia depois, mesmo minha família sendo Mórmon, achavamos melhor não cutucar o lado católico.


Meu tio Wellington Meyer, cristão novo de quatro costados, católico fervoroso sempre lembrava-se do meu aniversário, durante a missa ele resava uma Ave Maria para o sobrinho.


Acho que isso também explica muitas coisas que aconteceram comigo, minha admiração por Zé do Caixão, pelo Drácula de Christopher Lee e Bela Lugozi, ou mesmo pelos soturnos contos de Edgar Alan Poe e os poemas de Augusto dos Anjos.


Dizem os que acreditam em astrologia que seu aniversário dita a pessoa que você vai ser, sim, talvez estejam certos, errante e descabeçado, vivo admirando o mundo dos mortos, sou fascinado pelo dia que nasci justmamente por ser... o dia dos mortos.


Meu signo é o escorpião, animal venenoso ligado à morte lenta e dolorosa, meu guarda roupas tem a mais versátil seleção de roupas pretas que alguém pode usar, entretanto aqueles que me conheém sabem o quanto adoro uma boa piada ou alguma aventura mais risonha.


Agora, após colocar todas essas coisas na tela, me pergunto, o quanto tudo isso me afetou e afeta? Meu prazer em não ter lugar fixo, em trabalhar com arte comercial apesar de sonhar em pintar telas e fazer grandes ilustrações, em ser feliz no meu exilio, morrendo de saudades da minha terra, mas morrendo de preguiça de comprar uma passagem, amigo distante de colegas tão intimos.


Talvez os astrólogos tenham razão, ao nascer fui picado por um escorpião judeu, que me fez errante, e errante me acheguei nos braços de uma guerreira celta, cheia de fogo vicking, me perdi no mundo e perdido me achei, assim, não fica de todo compicado comemorarr meu nascimento justo no dia dos mortos.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Me and Mr. Neeleman

It 27 years ago today, I was in Olinda, sick had food poison and I was in my father's friend house, when Neeleman and Parrela appeared in front door, a little detail is necessary, I was a Mormon missionary at that time, Elder Santana, doing my two years (believe r not, it was one of the best times of my life, believe or not), well, Neeleman was that funny guy, always with that smille on his face, and always saying how nice was doing his mission in the country where he was born.
Neeleman's parents are Americans and David Neeleman was born in Sampa (São Paulo city), I think that when he was 3 or 5 went with his family to US, but according him, always kept some kind of contact with Brazil.
Believe me, I'm serious, during his mission he used to be so proud to say that he was born in Brazil, even with his strong American accent. Not that fake proud, but something... ok, I saw tears in his eyes when we were signing the Brazilian National Anthem, and I used to ask my self why? Brazil was something that used to be a shame for me, we lived for more than 18 years in a most stupid corrupt and hypocrite dictatorial military government you can imagine, let me give you one idea; imagine Sadam Hussein, with George W. Bush speech. Well, that was our president, a moron with an attitude! I was sick and tired to see children digging in the garbage to get something to eeat, and to be honest, I would change my citizenship with a smile in my face.
Neeleman told me that he would do something for that country, once I asked him, what, he told me that he did not know, but would do something.
Well, after so many years, he went down there, and now he is starting one air company, well, David Neeleman is famous for his company here, Jet Blue, and obvious, all the jokes people used to make.
Sometimes looks weird, how success could be fallowed by so many criticism! In a time when so many companies are breaking or bankrupting, Jet Blue is an example of efficiency and quality with low fares, well, mistakes happens in any part of life, everybody can do mistakes, is part of learning, and now I get so many people talking about him and his company.
Sometimes I ask myself about the big companies of the past, Panam (Pan American), Braniff, and many others…
Success could be painful, one thing that Neeleman certainly knows, and I don’t think that he cares about it.
I didn’t see him since I finished my missionary work and I don’t know if he would remember me or not, is not my business, but I can admire him to keep his promise. He said that one day he would go to Brazil and do something for the country of his birth, and he did it!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

My First Message



Ok, today I decided to start blogging, not an easy task, and since I'm sick, at home, well, let's do something that I was planning for a long, long time.


My inspiration to start to make a blog came from my old friend, actor, musician, philosopher, artist and bon vivant, Ayres Marques Pinto, Brazilian like me, living in a self exile like me, but he choose the fashonable Italy as I decided to became the typical Yankee, living in Minnesota, with the typical American wife and a big bunch of kids, but I like this life, believe or not, big families make your life pretty wild and full of adventures. With two kids living in California, one going to college, and other graduated and getting married, two down, three to go. Makes our lives a kind of nice and amazing!

Sure art is something that runs in this family, once that I'm a graphic designer, my wife is developing her jewelry design skills, after a year and so of classes, my oldest daughter with a degree in arts, my son going to photography (I guess), the next one wants to study fashion design, maybe in Europe, let's see what will happen.

This is just one introduction to my future works, sure will have a lot of things about art, and other stuffs that runs over here.

You are welcome to make comments