CFL Doubleheader Excellence

 The plans have been made for some epic CFL Doubleheader Excellence in October. Kevin and I are driving west - and Andy and Heidi are driving east - and we're meeting in the middle. We're catching the Stampeders and Tiger-Cats game in Hamilton on Friday 18 October and then the REDBLACKS and Argonauts game in Toronto on Saturday 19 October. Noted betting expert Mike Kelly has set the Over/Under number of TimBits consumed over the weekend at 108. I'm betting Over for me alone.

A picture from our last trip to Hamilton, pre-COVID. Hopefully we can park in the same guy's front yard.

Closing In

A couple days ago I received this photo from the Boy. He's out in Colorado with a group of friends, celebrating his bachelor's party (the wedding is in a month!). This is the best kind of bachelor's party - off in the mountains with your friends.

I could not be happier for him - or prouder of him.

Second Anniversary

 Tuesday the 23rd was our second anniversary, which doesn't seem possible, because it can't possibly be two years already, and it also seems that we've known each other forever. Janet's love and support is such an extraordinary blessing.

We were hoping to go back to J.Morgan's, where we had our first date, and which is our usual special event location, but since the flood they can't seem to get back in business with any regularity. Still, Sarducci's is a worthy backup.

A pictur5e that our dear friend Marcelle sent along on our anniversary. I think we both deserve to be this happy.

Pensar em Deus

 Pensar em Deus e desobedecer a Deus,

Porque Deus quis que o nao conhecessemos,

Por isso se nos nao mostrou . . .

To think about God is to disobey God,

Since God wanted us not to know him,

Which is why he didn't reveal himself to us . . .

Let's be simple and calm,

Like the trees and streams,

And God will love us, making us 

Us even as the trees are trees 

And the streams are streams, 

And will give us greenness in the spring, which is its season,

And a river to go to when we end . . .

And he'll give us nothing more, since to give us more would make us less us.

Alberto Caeiro (Fernando Pessoa)

Fernando Pessoa is perpetually surprising, and not simply because he often spoke through his heteronyms. Of his three main poetic heteronyms, Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis, and Alvaro de Campos, it is Caeiro who holds a special place. In fact, the other heteronyms, including Pessoa, referred to Caeiro as "the master." His is the more pastural vision, but also the most spiritual. The line, "To think about God is to disobey God," has quickly become one of my all-time favorite literary expressions (and I suspect will find its way onto my tombstone, probably in the original Portuguese). In a way, it reminds me of one of my favorite lines from the the Qur'an: "Remember your Lord humbly and in awe." That line, from the end of the seventh surah, expresses a simpler and quieter view of how one should address the divine. If anything, Pessoa's poetic admonition is even more stripped down. God is beyond rational thought, and can't be limited by it. 

Igreja de Sao Roque

 And here's another picture from last summer. On our last full day in Lisbon Janet had run off to catch up with a friend, leaving me to explore. I don't know how many pictures of beautiful churches or temples or mosques I've posted on this blog, but, nevertheless, here's another one. This was also just up the hill from our usual haunts in the Baixa Chiado.

Sao Roque is the patron saint of dogs, invalids, falsely accused people, and bachelors, among other things, so he seems generally to be a good fit for me.

I especially love the unique ceiling.

Penso Mas Nao Existo

 And this is just up the hill from the scene captured in the last post. Clearly, I need to spend time at a place with the title Penso Ms Nao Existo (I think but I don't exist).

Although, truthfully, for me, it might be more appropriate to stay at a place entitled Existo Mas Nao Penso.

Hotel Borges Chiado and Environs

 This is actually a picture that I snapped last summer (at this exact moment last year we were in Portugal - sigh). This is the front of the Hotel Borges Chiado, where we've taken to staying on our trips to Lisbon. The hotel itself is pretty solid, although the main reason is, as they say, location location location. It's right in the heart of the Baixa Chiado, which means that it's right down the hill from the Briarro Alto. Consequently, it cane be touristy, but there's also a real happy buzz there, complete with nice places to grab a meal and two great bookstores.

To the right is the Café Benard, where I would usually sit and write in the morning, milking lattes and snacks before Janet would come down and join me for lunch. Further up the hill on the left is the Café Brasileira, one of Poessoa's favorite haunts (of which I've already raved about much too often on this blog).