{"id":3747,"date":"2017-09-08T20:56:13","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T17:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dknolte.com\/?p=3747"},"modified":"2017-09-13T02:46:49","modified_gmt":"2017-09-12T23:46:49","slug":"chequeno-and-bulldog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dknolte.com\/?p=3747","title":{"rendered":"Chequeno and Bulldog"},"content":{"rendered":"

In<\/strong> the places I work, I deal a lot with the Facility people.\u00a0 These are the Electricians, Carpenters, Plumbers and Laborers at the Embassy\/Consulates.\u00a0 Same as here in Sao Paulo.\u00a0 I find these people much more enjoyable than the stuffy and arrogant officers I deal with.<\/p>\n

We have already discussed the diminutive electrician named Francisco, who has the nickname Chequeno<\/em>.\u00a0 He is so wanting to help me, that if he sees me walking with tools he will follow to see if he can assist.\u00a0 A few weeks ago I had to crawl down into a manhole to cut and retrieve a cable.\u00a0 I asked him to help me because he knew where all the manholes are and how they connect.\u00a0 After we got the cover open he started to crawl down inside.\u00a0 The manhole had a sewer line that ran through it that was cracked and had some sewage in the hole.\u00a0 I wasn’t just about to let him get down in that, so I stopped him.<\/p>\n

No, my Friend.\u00a0 I will go down.<\/p>\n

No no no. I go, my Friend. I go!<\/em><\/p>\n

No! You stay here, my Friend.<\/p>\n

No No No!\u00a0 Please please …<\/em><\/p>\n

So, I had to pull rank on him.\u00a0 “Francisco, I am your boss.\u00a0 I will go”, as I started to lower myself down.\u00a0 (I’m not really his boss)<\/p>\n

At this point, he became very agitated.\u00a0 “Oh my gosh!\u00a0\u00a0 Oh my gosh!\u00a0\u00a0 Oh my gosh!\u00a0 Oh no, my Friend!\u00a0 Please, please … I go!\u00a0 I go!”<\/em><\/p>\n

As I mentioned before, he is the nervous sort, always moving.\u00a0 Usually twitching his shoulders or adjusting his pants.\u00a0 So, when he grasped the horror that I would be the one going down in the hole, he was in total despair.\u00a0 I thought he was going to rend his garments and cover himself with sackcloth and ashes.<\/p>\n

I did what I had to do and pulled myself out of the manhole as he chastised me for not letting him be the one to crawl down into the sewer laden manhole.\u00a0 As a consolation, I let him pull the heavy cast iron cover back over the hole by himself.<\/p>\n

Now …. Bulldog.<\/p>\n

Bulldog’s real name is Rogerio, which translates as Roger<\/em> to us.\u00a0 To pronounce it correctly, the “R” is spoken as “Ha”.\u00a0 So, the pronunciation would be \u201cHa-jario.\u201d\u00a0 I started calling him Bulldog because of his stance.\u00a0 Imagine a bulldog standing on its hind legs, but with a happy face.\u00a0 \u2026 and clothes; \u00a0but also, I couldn\u2019t remember his name.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think he knew what I was saying until someone pointed out that Bulldog<\/em> translated to Portuguese is Bulldog<\/em>.<\/p>\n

He is a mechanic.\u00a0 Much like Chequeno but with more weight and no twitching.\u00a0 And like Chequeno, he wants to do everything for me.\u00a0 He calls me Meester<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Once a month I have to do pre-maintenance on the Delta barriers.\u00a0 These are big gates that will stop a 30,000-lb. truck traveling at 50 mph.\u00a0 Mostly it\u2019s simply lubricating everything and Bulldog does that very well.\u00a0 To the point, I have to say, \u201cBulldog, n\u00f3s terminamos.\u00a0 (we are finished)\u00a0 And he will say, Okay Meester,<\/em> but he still adds one more squirt of grease to the gate.<\/p>\n

When I get a chance, I will tell him my 900-year-old mother wants a picture of him, and will post it for you.\u00a0 It has worked with everyone else.\u00a0 Until then, kick butt and head to the next adventure.<\/p>\n

D.<\/p>\n

Oh wait.\u00a0 One more thing.\u00a0 My body, at this point does not want me to eat anymore beans.\u00a0 Every time I have even a moderate helping of beans, I get cramps in my upper belly immediately.\u00a0 Hopefully, my belly will soon forget and I can indulge in another one of my gourmet masterpieces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the places I work, I deal a lot with the Facility people.\u00a0 These are the Electricians, Carpenters, Plumbers and …<\/p>\n

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