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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Another day in paradise

Today I woke up to my 5 year old son shouting “Where’s my flashlight!?”
It was 6 AM and since it’s been cloudy and raining for over a week, it was pitch black at that time.
We got my son to our bed for some more sleep, and I handed my brother another LED light for when he woke up.

He’s staying here for a few days and he’s sleeping in my son’s room.

Once we got up, I turned on the emergency light in the kitchen so we could all have breakfast.
Half way through, power comes back on and we manage to catch a bit of news:
There’s fuel and food shortage, food is expected to go up another 30%-50%. There’s also a bonus: The Roca train is “delayed”… the one I take to work…perfect.

I talk with my brother and since he’s going downtown too, I decide to wait a few minutes and go along with him in his rental car ( rented the cheapest crap, both to save money and to go unnoticed)

As we get into the car, I notice he has almost no fuel left.
“ Don’t worry bro, will go to the gas station before we go”
“Haven’t you heard?” I say “ There’s no fuel. They said on the news this morning that most gas stations are already dry. You should never let it drop below ½ a tank. These things happen all the time here.”
After a couple of stations with “NO gas” sings, we decide to go in the opposite direction from the heavy morning traffic, away from the city rather than towards it, and we soon find a Shell station with gas.

My brother brings out his golden Mastercard and his European ID.
As I pull 50 bucks I explain,” I got it bro, they don’t accept credit card”. I look at the clerk at the pump to confirm “ Do you?”
“Nope, sorry” He says. “ Only cash”

Traffic is hell driving towards down town Buenos Aries, and my brother wants to drive fast on the slow lane, next to the sidewalk.
“ Don’t do that” I explain. “There’s a reason why there’s little cars on this lane. It’s full of junk and debris. Also full of nails dropped by the tire repair guys trying to make a buck or two fixing punctured tires”

After a while my brother notices “In Spain I just pick a lane and stay there driving calmly”
“Over here; first, there ARE no visible lanes, and second, this avenue is so full of holes, I have to worry about avoiding the cars and the holes on the street at the same time!”
He’s been away for two years, so I guess he forgot what it’s like.

At night, we had dinner ( made some homemade pizza) my wife and son, along with my brother and my two nephews.

He was going to take them back to his ex wife’s home. Before going out he asks. ”It’s pretty scary out there. How about giving me a gun?”
“Sure dude”
I handed him the Colt 38 Detective Special I’ve been handing him since he got here-He hasn’t shot a single round in may years, so I wasn’t confident about him handling an auto-

A couple hours ago he walked back in “Man, the streets are empty, very little street lights working. And the faces of the few ones out there…”

When he asked today, as we drove towards downtown, how do you get used to the food shortages, the lack of fuel, the prices, the crime.
I just told him “Bro, you’ve been away too long”


FerFAL

9 comments:

Ryan said...

Good to see the post! I wish u would post more often though because the info has so much value. U are where our nation could be going. I am bummed to hear things in Argentina aren't going well (guess that is relative). It seems that ur brother needs to adapt to modern times in Argentina and that u should take him to the range.

For those with minimal or rusty firearms experience the wheelgun is golden. Point and squeeze.

Anonymous said...

Ferfal.

Great to see your posts!

What type of emergency light do you use in your kitchen?

ATB!
Lee

FerFAL said...

It's one of those that go on automatically, has 5 hours worth of batteries that recharge on their own when there's power.

It uses a regualr fluorecent light tube. It gives good enough light to eat a bit more "normal", wash the dishes if there's enough water, and send the kids to bed.
Power goes down ratehr often here, so this is a nice adition that costs just a few bucks.

Besides, anyone with a screwdriver an minial electric skills can install a few in a home, and forget about the light problem when power goes down.

Of course, this is just another "layer", you still need several LED lights, a couple LED head lamps, and a genny if possible, along with some fuel. ( for the genny and car)

FerFAL

FerFAL said...

Hi Theotherryan, wish I had more time to post more too ;)

My brother just came for a few days, he’s back in Spain now.

Revolvers are very nice when you need to hand someone a weapon (CAREFUL! Someone that at least had some basic firearm’s safety training! which my brother had)

FerFAL

Ryan said...

FerFal, It was the people with a basic understanding who haven't kept up on their training that I was speaking of also.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. I just got linked here through Glocktalk and I printed off the whole thing. What I've read so far is great stuff. Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

FerFAL, your earlier postings and now your blog are invaluable. I have used them in class (university) as an illustration that our sense of invulnerability is an illusion. Have you been able to pull together any community, any sustainable resources, or are you all dependent on what you can get from central sources (e.g. "the man")?
Thanks! Cliffswallow

Anonymous said...

FerFal,

Glad to hear that you are able to own firearms there in Argentina. And glad that you realize the importance of being able to defend yourself and your family, with lethal force if need be.

To many people here in the states think they are not responsible for their own safety, that the police will save the day. Unfortunately it is an expensive lesson to learn that this is not the case.

I visited BA a few years ago, didn't spend too much time there but I'm sad to hear things are still rough there. I hope things will turn around soon for your beautiful country.

Take care and stay safe!
Deus Vult

Anonymous said...

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