Festa Junina at abel and mapel

With great surprise, we received
an invitation for a gathering
In the form of words that were strung Together carefully,
arriving at our inboxes on
Quinta feira precisely,
with a notification: ‘You have got mail’.

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With much casualness we would make a mental note of the date and time and store the 0s and 1s in our grey cells,
in the tiniest recesses of our minds and bring them to our fore without fail on the prescribed date.
We would again knock at the doors of abel and mapel on 25 Junilho
At midday to be exact;

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Finest meats produced from the sirloins of cows that once grazed in the foothills of the Andes Mountains,
Daubed with cheese procured from the farmyard of our dear Padre Carvalho in ‘Ouro Preto’ in the luxurious state of Minas Gerais,
Combined with a generous dash of salt from the ‘Dead Sea‘ that was purchased in Barao Ervas in Avendia Santa Izabel,
With a lavish sprinkle of olive oil from the exotic olive orchards of Pedro Pereira from Algarve,

Would all sit indelibly on a metal grill, with charcoal obtained from the mines in South Africa that gives rise to a distinctive flavour of caramelised honey when doused with melted butter and country spirits and cooked to our heart’s content.

The crowds walking in an otherwise still air on a cold afternoon in June, would hastily search for the irresistible aroma of burnt meat in the by lanes of Barao Geraldo.

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After a sumptuous meal, with meat passed around by Senhor Abel, the grill master, Darkness would descend.
Ladies would gather around and share the gossips from here and there, whilst men, the way they are, would go for a fag or a shot of cachaça from Usina 51. It is a cold day and elevated spirits and smoke rings are a welcome trait for once.

ÞÞÞ

The Sun eventually sets and sinks under the horizon; after a few minutes or so, the Sun’s little children: the minuscule stars, peek from the clouds and twinkle and glimmer; try as they might, they succeed not to produce the warmth of their dear parent: the Sun.

ÞÞÞ

Here and there children would play chess on the giant chess boards in the quadrangle, together with grandma’s and grandpa’s. Tango music will commence, and couples (of same and mixed gender) dance to the tunes of Piazzolla or weep together when Stabat Mater is sung by one Julia Faulkner.

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Yet another gathering will pass and it will reiterate that festivals happen to mollify the sorrow and spread the joy.

After all delta.G = delta.H – T . Delta.S

delta.G is the net gain in happiness which depends on the difference in happiness states of the universe(delta.H), and the total number of people (T) who share their differential honest feelings (delta S).

• When delta G is > 0, the universe as a whole has not spread its happiness enough; T. delta S is very small; We need more people to share and be honest; We must yearn for this state ! We shall call this the new law of life.
• The universe is in equilibrium when there is no net increase or decrease in the state of happiness. delta G = 0.
• And when delta G < 0, more people share their feelings honestly that the net gain in happiness diminishes eventually and ultimately death remains the only option.

ÞÞÞ

We ought to read ‘The death of Sisyphus’ by Camus or Nick Hornby’s ‘A long way down’.

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So shall we aspire towards living a life where we can make delta G > 0 ?