You Can Fight City Hall...

Small trash victories...

Two weeks ago, I updated you on our trash saga. (If you are new or have no clue what I am referring to, please read this post first.) You may recall that all my Portuguese neighbors thought I was crazy to try to buck the system. Well, I am here to tell you, they were wrong….kind of.

Pratico o meu Discurso

We returned from our shortened road trip Sunday at noon. I went straight to my laptop and typed out in large print¹ what I wanted to say to the Presidente da Câmara when we met at 8:30 the next morning. There were several words I knew would cause me difficulty. For these, I spelled the word properly, and then immediately below it, was my attempt at a phonetic spelling in blue. E.G.:

Segunda, os proprietários de casas e lojas precisam de mais estacionamento…

prOprEatÁrios estacEonamento

Second, the home and store owners need more parking…

I also printed out a photo of the underground cans near the door where the priest distributes food to the poor, photos of the building we purchased and how it looks today, alternate locations within 1 block of the proposed spot, and a photo of trash left beside cans because they are too large for the opening. I practiced with Ana from the gelato shop for over an hour Sunday afternoon (between customers).

Alvaro Palma de Araújo …. the Presidente da Câmara

The Meeting

I met Ana (the gelato shop owner) and Ana (the linen/wine store owner) at 8:25 on our corner. We walked to the câmara and the meeting started right on time. The mayor (a former school teacher) is a good-looking guy, and very charming. I started my speech…first apologizing for my poor Portuguese … explaining I had four concerns … and then launched into the first one: “… não respeita a santidade e a missão da igreja” (not respecting the sanctity and the mission of the church).

Next to the church garage and door, directly across the street from our front door.

He stopped me when I was just getting on a roll … he spoke slowly and clearly for my benefit. “Sim, encontrei-me com o padre. Estou de acordo. Vamos tirar os caixotes do lixo.” (“Yes, I have met with the priest. I agree. We will take the trash cans out.”)² I excitedly suggested he move them one block west, showing him the photos below.

Option 1: No homes, across from the back of the GNR.

Or, one block north.

Option 2, directly behind our house.

He explained the cans in the image immediately above were being removed because this is a historical square. I said, well we live in the historic zone. He said that this was more historic. I didn’t understand why and I am not sure why Option 1 wasn’t an option. But he explained that the cans would be moved on our block at the westernmost point.

I said, “Os meus vizinhos não vão ficar contentes.” (My neighbors will not be happy.) He nodded and explained that someone will be unhappy wherever we place them.

Trash that doesn’t fit. I snapped this photo Sunday afternoon.

Por Favor, Continue

He asked me to continue. As I had not rehearsed the next bit, I turned to Miguel and asked him to interpret what I was about to say. “Please tell the mayor I was a salesperson for 30 years. I learned when the customer says yes, to stop selling.” Miguel laughed. The mayor laughed. But he insisted on seeing the photos.

I showed him the building we bought and how it looks today. I showed him the photo of the cans with trash on either side of it. He asked when the picture was taken. I explained it was taken yesterday. He shook his head. I learned there is a phone number on our water bill to request the pick up of large trash items. Water bill? Seems like a strange place. “Seems like it should be next to the bins.” He said, “Sim. Eu também penso assim.” (Yes, I think so too.)

I then turned to the Engineer we had met with the prior week and asked when work would begin and how long he expected it to take. His answer: next week and one week. I reminded him it had taken 3 weeks to dig up part of the street, move the water, and install 2 trash containers. He repeated…one week. I said, “Não, um mês.”³

From The Guardian, “Trump 100 days: delusions of monarchy coupled with fundamental ineptitude”

100 Days

Oddly enough I am sending you this on the 100th day Donald Trump has occupied the White House. May it be a call to all of us to continue the resistance. To point out his ineptitude (and horrendous decorating taste). To decry his cruelty. To demand the courts uphold the Constitution. To demand Congress actually do their job. To plead with our representatives to recognize his criminal acts in office. I implore you to keep showing up if you are in the US. And for those Americans living abroad, it is never too late to speak up and it is always your right. Democrats Abroad just offered a workshop on how to contact your US representatives. If you don’t want to watch the replay, you can quickly review the slides here. Finally, consider using the app 5 Calls, available both for Apple and Android phones, it provides contact numbers and scripts by topic.

A resistência não é inútil, esperamos, rezamos…cuide de si,

Nanc

If You Need Encouragement: Listen to this podcast from the New York Times, “Americans to Trump: You have gone too far”, results of the first Times/Siena poll.

By the Way: The last thing the mayor told me was that as legal residents we are permitted to vote in local (municipal) elections. I didn’t know that!

1. Remember, I am 71 years old.

2. Note: I take no credit for the change in plans. The priest, as our attorney suggested, held all the cards and played them perfectly.

3. We repeated our debate: one week … one month. Perhaps we should all offer completion dates and bet on it. (Like a football pool … did I mention my Eagles 🦅won the Superbowl this year? I am on a roll….)