Blame it on Rio

One of my favorite books of all time is “Stranger in a Strange Land” by Robert A. Heinlein. I have read this book probably once a year since I first read it shortly after the invention of the printing press. Like most speculative fiction it tells an improbable tale that allows us to see our humanness in a different way. In this case, it is the story of Valentine Michael Smith, born of human parents on Mars but raised in the way of the Martians when his parents die. When years later is repatriated to earth the story recounts his way of learning the ways of humanity and judging them under the constructs he learned from the Martians.
Written in 1961, the book became the guidebook for the baby boomers throughout the turbulent 60’s and ‘70s as it questioned everything from human sexuality to politics, from religion to mysticism. Some of my favorite quotes from the book are.

• There was one field in which man was unsurpassed; he showed unlimited ingenuity in devising bigger and more efficient ways to kill off, enslave, harass, and in all ways make an unbearable nuisance of himself to himself. Man was his own grimmest joke on himself. The very bedrock of humor was— “Man is the animal who laughs,”
• Thou art God’. It’s not a message of cheer and hope. It’s a defiance – and an unafraid, unabashed assumption of personal responsibility.”
• My dear, religion is a null area in the law. A church can do anything any organization can do—and has no restrictions. It pays no taxes, need not publish records, is effectively immune to search, inspection, or control—and a church is anything that calls itself a church. Attempts have been made to distinguish between ‘real’ religions entitled to immunities, and ‘cults.’ It can’t be done, short of establishing a state religion . . . a cure worse than the disease.”

One of the charms of the book is that we see the world through the eyes of an innocent. Someone who seeing the world afresh and with no indoctrination to the culture he finds himself living incumbent with the prejudices he brings from the society in which he was raised. And in many ways that is the way I feel when I am here in Brazil. I am a Stranger in a Strange Land here. After all:
• They have monkeys in trees instead of squirrels.
• Supermarkets are rugby scrums as opposed to more civilized social outings.
• Bureaucracy so dense that it would stop bullets.
• Farofa
To name just a few.
But it occurred to me, aren’t we all Strangers in a Strange Land these days. Covid 19 has turned our world upside down. Consider this:
• Seeing people, even those you know and love, from a distance closer than 6 feet instills fear not intimacy.
• Home delivery of food has become future planning instead of a spur of the moment decision.
• Working from home has become a sentence as opposed to being a blessing.
To name just a few.
And then of course is this President’s response to the threat of Covid 19. In the past, we could have expected a reasoned, scientific approach to encroaching dangers. These days watching the President of the United States is an out of body experience where I feel no longer connected to this reality. A Stranger in a Strange Land. Think about it.
• He tells people to maintain social distancing while being on a crowded stage where people are actually touching.
• He promotes gut feelings instead of science.
• He yells at reporters who ask him softball questions designed to reassure the American People.
• He puts political agenda over country.
But as Robert Heinlein wrote in Stranger.
“government is a living organism. Like every living thing its prime characteristic is a blind, unreasoned instinct to survive. You hit it, it will fight back.”
Or as Kurt Vonnegut said “And so it goes.”
But why am I talking about Robert A. Heinlein today? One of the ways I have been self medicating these past few weeks is doing something that I often do, re reading some of his books as not only are they written well but they bring me back to the simpler time of boyhood when days were far simpler. The other night I was on Amazon looking to download one of his books to my Kindle when a near miracle happened.
32 years after his death his estate is releasing a new novel titled “The Pursuit of the Pankera” a companion novel to “The Number of the Beast.”
Oh Joy! Something to wile away some of the quarantined time and will provide a break from Netflix brain. And reading a new novel by Robert Heinlein so long after I wept about his death definitely makes me feel like a Stranger in a Strange Land.

Over the course of this past weekend, one song has been on repeat.
Should I stay or should I go now? (tengo frío por los ojos)
If I go there will be trouble (si voy voy haber peligro)
And if I stay it wil be double (si me quedo sera el doble)
So ya gotta let me know me you had to decide
Should I stay or should I go?
While I prefer London calling, Should I stay or should I go was far more appropriate. The current situation is this. I have a reservation to come home on March 27th on a nonstop flight from Rio De Janiero to JFK. And make no mistake about it. I want very much to be on that flight.
Not only do I not fully believe that the health care system here is going to be able to bear up under the onslaught of this virus. While the disease is in incipient stage and weather conditions will slow down the spread of the virus if the Favella’s catch the disease the hospitals will be overrun and adequate health care will be impossible to come by. While the situation in the US, specifically NY or NJ is not perfect it does seem that our governor/s have taken adequate action to flatten the curve. And, my health care providers are there as well.
There are other minor issues as well such as apartment, car, and Rosie that worry me as well. An extended stay away from them can prove problematic and in the case of Princess Couch not without expense.
The challenge here is that Elaine does not want to leave. And who can blame her.
She feels that when are fairly secure in our home here. We are surrounded by two walls and the only interaction we have is with our housekeeper/cook and outside man. We have reduced their hours to 3 days a week and that will likely drop to two as they travel here by mass transportation and we feel they are putting us and them at risk with their commute. We have now asked them to come via car, which we pay for to limit their and our exposure to the virus. They will also do our grocery shopping for us and we will all maintain social distancing when they come.
While this could be considered exploitive in some ways it manages everybody’s risks and make sure they have a steady income. Or perhaps I am fooling myself.
She feels that going to the airport and getting on an airplane is risky. She is certainly has good reasons for her concern. Anywhere you go where you will be with people puts you at risk. And the longer you wait the more like this concerned is justified.
Additionally, she is not confident that the US will accept a foreign national on a tourist visa into the country. I appreciate this concern as the current administration has shown little or no compassion when it comes to people entering the country. I have sent a note off to the consulate attempting to get them to respond to our unique situation (married 7 years no permanent visa or green card) but have not heard back from them as of yet.

I could certainly leave, and Elaine could stay but that is not a great option for a number of reasons.
First, we are married. We should be together at a time of crisis. Neither of us wants to be alone at this time. I would feel awful should I leave and something happened to her and powerless to help. I would like I was abrogating my vow to protect her.
Both of us, at various times, have our moments of courage and moments of fear. We live in uncharted waters but together we buoy each other.
When I begin to fear, and wish to flee, I think of Pop’s uncle who when learning his wife was being sent to a camp jumped on the transport so she would not be alone. I don’t think I have that type of courage but staying right now is my only option as they have just now cancelled all flights on AA until May 10.
I guess I could find a way home via several different ways. But that seems like a bad risk. And, it would be bad form.
So what Elaine and I have decided is that I am going to stay until AA starts flying home again. As of now I have a reservation that puts me back in Newark on May 10. We hope that this keeps us safe but at least we will be together. We also hope that at this time we will have worked through her visa status.
I still have to make arrangements for Rosie, car, and apartment but that is relatively simple.
I miss my family and friends. Perhaps we can Zoom.

Today bloomed hot and overcast here in the garden of the Devils Rock.
While I am a fan of sunshine I was happy for the break from the tropical sun as the temperatures here in Rio have been in the high 90’s and the humidity off the scale. For those of my friends who are suffering the last dregs of winter that might sound wonderful but for this lad of Northern European extraction it is difficult to manage. I can after all perspire in a snowstorm. Ask any of my friends from Syracuse. Yesterdays, walk at mid morning with the bright sunshine and the humidity of a steam bath nearly did me in so the idea of being able to walk with the relief of cloud cover seemed like a blessing to me today.
Instead of listening to my book or music, I decided that I wanted to walk in silence. I think this was a reaction to the near constant flow of information that I have been streaming while here in our Brazilian home. Not only do I stream CNN, the BBC and other English language media but Elaine is prone to watch Globo and CNN Brazil and various news sources sent to her by her many friends. I don’t think it is racist to say the news always seems more dramatic in Portuguese especially when you only understand a few words.
I needed quiet. I needed it to listen to my own thoughts. To let them flow where they needed to go just like my instructor in meditation taught me so many years ago. Instead of a mantra the steady beat of one foot in front of another would allow me to focus my thoughts and give my consciousness a good cleansing. Preferably anti-viral.
So off I went in silence.
Not far from our home, there is another street in our community where a cobbled road leads up onto Pedre Da Gavea. It is steep, and the road itself due to a series of mudslides is a little difficult to navigate. But it is good for getting the heart rate going up I went. About 500 meters up the road, just at the point where my lungs where showing that I had good capacity and my legs letting me know that I was fool hardy for beginning this climb my mind turned to the concept of leadership.
This could have been because of a conversation that Elaine and I were having the other day when I mentioned Franklin Roosevelt’s famous quote “The only think we have to fear is fear itself.”
Or it could have been because of the book I had just finished about Winston Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister when he faced some of the most daunting leadership challenges one can imagine. Fighting a war with no allies, his country under siege by aerial bombing on a daily and horrific scale, he managed to lead and inspire his people.
He did so through words “Never have so many owed so much to so few.” Or “We will go to the end. We will fight in France. We will fight in the seas and oceans, we will fight with increasing confidence and growing strength in the air, we will defend our island, whatever the cost. We will fight on the beaches , we will fight on the landing grounds, we will fight on the fields and on the streets, we will fight on the hills; we will never surrender.”
More than words (thanks Extreme) he led his people by his actions. He would often go to the sites of the raids and see the areas of destruction and death with his own eyes often crying and in doing so letting his fellow Brits know he was with them and felt their pain.
Whatever the source of my thoughts on leadership it did make me wonder about the leadership that is being demonstrated in our country today. I woke up to a Facebook and newsfeed full of stories about American Senators (and perhaps Presidents) selling off stocks after being given secure briefings on the upcoming Corona virus and making millions on the deal. It reminded me of another great leaders quote on war profiteering. Abraham Lincoln once said “ Congressmen who willfully take action during wartime that damages morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hung”
To quote The Bard “What he said.”
This of course led me to thinking about the current occupant of the White House who has shown none of the great attributes of a good leader during this crisis. He has managed to blame Obama, The Chinese, and others instead of saying what good leaders would have which would rally people together to fight for a common good. He turned it to a way to punish people who dared to detract from him. He made this personal instead of making it about the country and the people he was elected to serve. (He works for us, not the other way around.)
A perfect example of his inability to rise to the mantle of leadership came at today’s news conference. He was asked by an NBC reporter “What would you like to say to the millions of people who are afraid because of the Covid 19 virus.” He could have asked people to come together. To support their neighbors. Their community. Their country. That no one in this country is truly alone. We can get through this if we only come together. He chose not to do this. Instead he decided to lambast the reporter about what a terrible reporter he was and what an awful network he worked for.
I hope that anyone who saw this realized this man who has portrayed himself as a great leader is a failure at that most important part of his job. Leading.
As watching Fox news often does for me at the gym, thinking about Donald Trump and his abject failure as a leader and a man provided the fuel I needed to reach the top of the hill. Sweaty and breathing hard I thought of something I had posted in passing yesterday.
Keep Calm and wash your hands…of this administration.

The neighborhood in which we live in Rio De Janiero is named Itanhanga. The community in which we live is called Jardim de Itanhanga. The word Itanhanga in the indigenous language of Tupiguarnane means Devils Stone.

There is a good reason that our neighborhood and community have this title. It is an 842 m ( 2762 ft) granite dome. It is among the highest mountains of the world along the Ocean shores. It dominates the area and is visible from virtually everywhere in Rio. In 1501 the Portuguese explorer Gaspar de Lemos named it Pedra da Gavea meaning Crow’s nest of stone as he thought the peak of the mountain look similar to the observation platform on his ship.

The reason I bring this up is that the mountain is the constant companion on my daily walks throughout the neighborhood. I have initiated these daily walks as I have a near pathological need to exercise and the places here where I normally would scratch that itch are a gym, that seems to me like a sure fire place to catch the virus, and the path that runs along the Praia (beach) but that too seemed a little dangerous from a social distancing point of view.

So I walk. I walk to relieve the stress. I walk to feel like I am doing something positive for myself. I walk for the Vitamin D. But mostly I walk because it provides me time to think. Even when it feels like 100 F as it did today, and thinking is more of a challenge.
One of my continuous thoughts over the last few days has been how fortunate we are to live here. In this community most of us live behind two walls. The walls that guard the perimeter of our community and the three-meter walls, often with barbed wire or electrified tops, that surround our homes. We are secure and protected and mostly feel safe but it makes for very light foot traffic. In an hour walk I saw 9 other people including two guards. But today it also struck me that the two walls could also be considered metaphorically . Aren’t we all living behind at least two walls these days. The first wall being the normal wall we set up in our lives to protect us from heartache, disappointment, intolerance and all the things that normally plague our lives. And now we have a second wall. The one we use to keep Covid-19 away from us and our families. The social distancing. The handwashing. Prayers.
During my walk the mountain followed me. No I don’t claim to be Mohammed. But it is hard to avoid the mountain as it is large and viewable from every street in our community. But today it was lacking a few of its normal elements. Normally you can see technical climbers on its rock face. Today there were none. On most days there are hikers easily seen on the exposed trails. I didn’t see any today. Sometimes we even see hang gliders circling near the “Gavea.” Only the birds soared near the mountain today.
Whimsically, it made me wonder what the mountain had seen of man in the past. I wondered what it made of our short lives and the crisis’s that seem to follow us where ever we go. Our frantic efforts to solve the problems that we have created for ourselves. I wished I could ask the mountain’s advice. What did it see from its Crows Nest that would help us navigate these difficult waters.
For a moment, I thought I could hear the mountain talking to me before I realized that it was just an army helicopter passing over me. So I turned to my Audible book because I was really thinking too much. Harlan Coban’s newest “The Boy From The Woods.” Pure escapism especially for a boy from New Jersey who kinda misses his home.

I would love to say that I slept well that night. I would also love to say that I was a multi millionaire with a  sure fire way to end the pandemic within hours. But I could say neither. Instead as I often do when it is late and sleep has either come and gone or not come at all I sweat my challenges and problems.

This particular night I had enough to keep me busy.

Getting back to the USA was important. While I have no confidence in Donald Trump and his ability to handle any crisis, let alone one as big as this, I have more confidence in our health care system than the one in Brazil. In Brazil I have no Dr’s although Elaine’s sister and brother in law are both physicians. At home I had a fleet of Dr’s who knew me and I felt comfortable with. But medical care was only part of it. I had prepared for this at home. I had enough food and water to last 30 days without leaving the house. I had enough toilet paper to last  a single man a century and a married man a month.

In Brazil we had challenges. The water system in our part of Rio had been having problems for months. Cedae was sending water to the homes that smelled and tasted funny and as a result we were buying bottled water and I was not sure of the length of supply. Our food supply was limited. We did not have emergency rations or anything close.

But further conversations with the folks at American Airlines produced only a limited success. I managed to get a seat on a flight to NYC on March 27th but was told by the kindly American Airlines agent that it was subject to change.

It made it clear that we had to prepare for the short and long haul and spent a good part of my sleepless hours thinking about the things that needed to get done in the coming day. When the thoughts became too fraught I turned to reading, my favorite way of defusing chains of thought. The book, “The Splendid and the Vile” by Erik Larsen was a good choice on my part. It reminded me that the British in 1940 and 41 had it far worse than I did right now and lived by the code “Stay calm and carry on.” A good credo for now although perhaps it should be “Stay calm and carry on after washing your hands.” It reminded me that calamity can be overcome and allowed me, after a time, to return to a world of dreams.

I woke early and while my wife was still in the land of nod I went to my computer and began the task of letting those who needed to know of my predicament. Sister, brother, Wonder Dog Studios to let them know they were going to have to board Rosie a little longer than anticipated.

I woke early and while my wife was still in the land of nod so I went to my computer and began the task of letting those who needed to know of my predicament. Sister, brother, Wonder Dog Studios where Rosie was having a spa holiday  to let them know that I didn’t quite know when I was going to be home but that I hoped for sooner as opposed to later. There were a few other outliers but before too long Elaine called me to breakfast.

She too had spent a restless night. She too had spent time thinking about what needed to get done and over a Brazilian breakfast of papaya, bread, butter, honey, tapioca pancakes filled with farmers cheese and rich black coffee we decided on our plan of attack for the day.

First we would go to the Cambio and exchange dollars for Reals. Then to the bank for more cash. I am of the belief, as is Elaine, that in times of crisis relying too much on the banking system is probably unwise. Then we needed to go to the pharmacy. I wanted to buy some supplies such as Zinc supplements, mouthwash, and other odds and ends that might serve as a prophylatic for Covid-19 and finally the most daunting task of the day, the Super Mercado or Supermarket.

After leaving the gated community where I home is, we immediately noticed that traffic was somewhat lighter than in the past. The parking lot at St.Francis church where we normally parked our car was less than half full which was very unusual for Tuesday at 10AM. Normally it would have been packed. That doesn’t mean there were not people out and about. There were. But far fewer than normal and those we saw we gave wide berth to as social distancing was the watch word of the day.

I changed dollars at the Cambio. It did not take long and they had an ample supply of alcohol gel as I remembered that the filthiness of money makes toilet seem pristine. The pharmacy, surprisingly, had few customers and the shelves still stocked to capacity. We did our business quickly buying the supplies we needed and were out the door as quickly as possible. The bank and its ATM’s had a machine but the folks in line were using the machines that allowed deposits so I quickly got money from one of the units that was withdrawals only using only my knuckles to hit the keys. On the way back to the car a man, several meters in front of us, sneezed into the air without bothering to cover with out elbow or hand to block his effluvia. I was horrified and scared. When we got back to the car I insisted that we gel up before entering.

Brazilian supermarkets, or SuperMercados, are very different than those in the United States. It starts with the parking lots. Unlike in the US they charge you for parking. As a consequence, they make the spots in which you park so tiny that even skilled drivers need several moves to get into the tight spaces. The market we were going to, Guanabara on Avenue of the Americas, was no different and it took us a bit of time to find a space and park.

We had chosen Guanabara because it is gigantic, a city block by a city block, and the logic of the day was they were most likely to have the supplies we needed. We knew because of it size that it was likely to be very crowded but nothing prepared us for what we saw. At 11 am on a Tuesday the place was packed to the gills. It was impossible to maintain any social distance at all as the shoppers hurried through the massive aisles on hunt and gather missions dependent of their needs. Instead of a shopping experience it was more similar to a scrum in rugby. It was especially bad when the PA system would announce especially desired items such as disinfecting wipes when calm shoppers turned into piranhas thrown meet. Items like water were disappearing off the shelves as fast as they could be stocked and we felt lucky to get 4 6 liter bottles of spring water. We were there a long time trying to check off all the items on our list not only because the foot traffic but because the store was unfamiliar to us.

The most horrifying moment of our time at Guanabara was when Elaine asked a clerk where to find olive oil. The man, who been unpacking bottles of some detergent to put on the shelves, paused to think and to aid his recall lifted the bottle to his lips and then used it as a pointing device before putting it on the shelves.

The check out line lasted over an hour. Several of the people had multiple carts of supplies. One couple had three. The wait gave me time to think about this whole experience and how truly unnerving the times we were living in had become. How the world had gone a little mad and we were powerless to stop it. It made me wish that Hunter Thompson was still alive to write “Fear and Loathing at Guanabara.” It made me wish my parents were still alive to say the things that parents say to nervous children even when they are 756 months old.

Needless to say we were grateful that we made to the car in one piece and we gladly gelled up before entering the car.

Our ride home was unnerving in another way. Not only had traffic picked up but the buses that passed us were jammed to capacity. It made us realize that for many Carioca’s there was no such thing as social distancing. That life had to go on. That they needed to work to get paid and if that meant them exposing them to a virus that could make them very sick or kill them it was what they needed to do. The implications of what that meant for the future of this place scared us silly.

When we got home both of us were emotionally and physically exhausted but it didn’t prevent us from washing our hands for more than the recommended 20 seconds.

However, seeing the crowded buses stayed with us. It made Elaine realize the risk her two employees took coming to our home everyday. Each of them commuted via the BRT for over an hour, each way, every day. We discussed it and eventually Elaine decided that they needed to cut back their schedules from 5 days a week to 2 or 3. Hopefully it would limit their exposure and ours to the virus.

One of the emails I sent in the morning had been to the US Consulate in Rio. I wanted them to know I was here and stranded and asked for guidance. There response was less than helpful.

Dear sir,

All matters related to airlines or flights should be resolved with your airline directly.

Actions to take to stay safe:

• Consult the CDC website for the most up-to-date information.
• For the most recent information on what you can do to reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19 please see the CDC’s latest recommendations.
• Visit the COVID-19 crisis page on travel.state.gov for the latest information.
• Check with your airlines or cruise lines regarding any updated information about your travel plans and/or restrictions.
• Visit our Embassy webpage on COVID-19 for information on conditions in Brazil.
• Visit the Department of Homeland Security’s website on the latest travel restrictions to the United States.
In case of emergency:

U.S. Consulate General Rio de Janeiro
Av. Presidente Wilson, 147 Castelo
Rio de Janeiro, RJ — 20030-020
Entrance at Rua Santa Luzia
Phone: (21) 3823-2000
After-Hours Emergencies: (21) 3823-2029

Sincerely,
American Citizen Services
Consular Communications and Outreach
U.S. Consulate General | Rio de Janeiro
RPC

Needless to say I am less than reassured.

The original plan had been for Elaine, my beautiful Brazilian wife, to travel to our home in NJ to celebrate my birthday. We had hoped that she would be able to clear up her business in Rio before coming to the United States. However, man plans and god laughs. The apartment she owned and wanted to rent had issues. It had to be painted. A leak repaired. So it was decided that I would come to Rio to celebrate another trip around the sun.

I was not overwhelming happy about this turn of events. I would have preferred to stay at our home with our dog and not have to travel for 10 hours by plane with the Covid 19 being spit at me by random strangers. While not exactly a terrifying prospect it was certainly enough to give me pause. But if were not me, Elaine would had to run the gauntlet. And, I am, a more experienced traveler. So I went.

The trip down was relatively easy. I washed my hands every fifteen minutes and used hand sanitizer in between. A slight exaggeration but it certainly felt that way. My sense of panic was also held in check by the fact that the airports I traversed (Newark, Miami) were relatively empty, about 1/3 of normal, and that I was also bumped to business class. I was greatly relieved on my first flight when my seat mate broke out a wipe and cleaned her area just as I had done myself a few minutes previously. The second flight from Rio to Miami I was in my only little pod and as on the first flight nary a cough was heard. But there was a large amount of hand washing and sanitizing.

Rio was gorgeous, as usual, and hot, as befits the summer and it felt good to feel the heat and the sun. However driving home we past a number of favelas (institutional slums) that are scattered throughout Rio. They are densely populated with the working poor and I couldn’t help but think and express to Elaine that if Covid 19 happen to take root there it would be all over for the city. Frankly the thought of it made me shiver. Especially considering the sorry state of public health in Brazil and the institutional corruption that seems to take place in Brazil

We didn’t stay in Rio long. Just the night. Then we packed our car and drove south to the Costa Verde and Paraty our ultimate destination. It is a stunning drive through verdant mountains of tropical forests and amazing vistas of an azure ocean. It was easy to forget the world we had come from where the only news was of pandemic, global panic and markets falling to pieces.

And even though Paraty is a tourist destination it was relatively easy to avoid crowds as many were staying away. We could eat at restaurants and maintain social distancing. We could go on a boat tour by ourselves. We washed our hands and sanitized and felt relatively safe even when we went to the beach as very few ventured there. Any edge that was left on our worry was rounded off by cold beer and the local specialty of Cachaça.

Just before we left Elaine learned from one of her Whatsap groups that American Airlines had suspended  all flights from the US and Brazil. I checked on my AA app and told her friend must have heard it wrong as it was telling me we were leaving on time. Famous last words. At a rest stop where the rest rooms had no soap and hand sanitizer was employed instead my phone beeped letting me know that I needed to rebook my flight home as mine had been cancelled.

We finished our drive in comfortable silence. Both of us lost in the ramifications of my flight cancellation. What it meant globally regarding the pandemic. What it meant locally for Rio. Ultimately what it meant to us. At home in New Jersey I had been a stickler about preparedness since 9.11. We could literally go weeks without ever having to leave the house. But here in Rio, where shopping is far more likely to be a daily thing, we were not prepared.

I told Elaine that we did not need to decide right now but my vote was to abandon Brazil and fly back to US. She told me that she preferred to stay . She had things to do and bills to pay. I wanted to say to her that if she was sick or dead none of that would matter. But I held my tongue. There would be time, I thought wrongly, for that conversation.

When I arrived at our home in Barra de Tijuca I called American Airlines in the fervent hope that I could reschedule my flight and get Elaine booked as well. The very kind woman from American Airlines regretted to tell me the next flight I could book with them was May 7.

Oh shit.