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Yesterday, I had a couple of meetings with potential customers in the Western Algarve, about one and a half hours drive away from where I live. The meetings went well, and afterwards, as I mostly do when I am in the region, I take some time off, and enjoy the beautiful landscape and the neighbourhood. As I hadn’t been there in more than a year, I took the liberty to drive all the way to the most southwestern part of Europe, Cabo São Vicente, Cape Saint Vincent.

Approximately six kilometers from the village of Sagres, the cape is a landmark for a ship traveling to or from the Mediterranean. The cliffs rise nearly vertically from the Atlantic to a height of 75 meters. When I am over there, I always wonder how people in former centuries must have experienced that place.

Cabo São Vicente was already sacred ground in ancient times, and the ancient Greeks called it “Land of Serpents” and dedicated here a temple to Heracles. The Romans called it Promontorium Sacrum (or Holy Promontory). They considered it a magical place where the sunset was much larger than anywhere else. They believed the sun sank here hissing into the ocean, marking the edge of their world.

All one can see is the almighty Atlantic Ocean, with Africa somewhere in the south, South America somewhere in the southwest and Noth America somewhere in the west. The costline goes into two directions, either north (ending up in Nothern Europe, or east, all the way to Turkey. You can even have the “last sausage before America” over here.

Afterwards, I made a stop in Burgau, located about ten minutes west from Lagos. Burgau is a very peaceful, unspoilt and friendly little fisherman’s village where everyone, no matter the age of interests feels great. I took a quick lunch over there, before returning to my office and do the necessary things a man has got to do.

Oviously, I took some pictures.

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Early this morning, I saw a clip on Youtube. My business partner, Jerry has made a record. He’s got a great voice, and apparently got some ambitions to become active in the show business. There’s no business like show business! If you want to book him for a concert, just drop me a line, I might be able to get you a great deal! I hope you’ll like his voice!

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It happened earlier today, around lunchtime. I had just parked my car on the carpark of the Faro Shopping Center, when I received a phonecall from one of my suppliers of safes. While talking on the phone, still sitting in my car, I noticed a middle aged man, sitting in his big Mercedes, reading his journal. All of a sudden, his wife showed up with a shopping cart full of stuff. The man didn’t even bother to get out of his car to help his wife load the groceries and other things into the trunk of his car. The only help he offered was pushing a button somewhere on the dashboard of his car, opening the trunk automatically. When all the goods were inside the car, he got out of it, and walked together with his wife back into the shopping mall. As soon as I finished my phonecall, I went to the restaurants area, and saw the couple again. His wife was bringing two trays with food to the table where this man had sat down. Watching this whole scene, I couldn’t help but thinking of an e-mail I received a couple of days ago from a very special friend of mine. Here it goes…

Subject: As Women Get Older

Dear Friends,

It’s important for us men to remember that, as women grow older, it becomes harder for them to maintain the same quality of housekeeping as when they were younger. When you begin to notice this, try not to yell at them.  Some are oversensitive, and there’s nothing worse than an oversensitive woman.

Let me tell you how I handled the situation with my wife, Amy.

When I retired a few years ago, it became necessary for Amy to get a full-time job along with her part-time job, both for extra income and for the health benefits that we needed. Shortly after she started working, I noticed she was beginning to show her age.

I usually get home from the golf club about the same time she gets home from work. Although she knows how hungry I am, she almost always says she has to rest for half an hour or so before she starts dinner.  I don’t yell at her. Instead, I tell her to take her time and just wake me when she gets dinner on the table.

I generally have lunch in the Men’s Grill at the club, so eating out is not a practicable alternative. Besides, I’m ready for some home-cooked grub when I hit that door.

She used to do the dishes as soon as we finished eating.  But now it’s not unusual for the dishes to sit on the table for several hours after dinner.  I do what I can, by diplomatically reminding her several times each evening that ‘they won’t clean themselves.’ I know she really appreciates this, as it does seem to motivate her to get them done before she goes to bed.

Another symptom of aging, I think, is complaining. For example, she’ll say that it’s difficult for her to find time to pay the monthly bills during her lunch hour. But, boys… we take’em for better or worse, so I just smile and offer encouragement. I tell her to stretch it out over two or even three days. That way she won’t have to rush so much.

I also remind her that missing lunch completely now and then wouldn’t hurt her (if you know what I mean). I like to think tact is one of my stronger points.

And when doing simple jobs, she seems to think she needs more rest periods. For instance, she had to take a break when she was only half-finished mowing the yard.  I try not to make a scene. I’m a fair man. I tell her to fix herself a nice, big, cold glass of freshly squeezed lemonade and just sit for awhile. And, as long as she is making one for herself, she may as well make one for me. I know, I know…. I probably look like a saint by the way I support Amy.

I’m not saying that showing this much consideration is easy. Many men will find it difficult.  Some will find it impossible and nobody knows better than I do how frustrating women get as they get older.

However guys, even if you just start using a little more tact and a little less criticism of your aging wife due to this article, I’ll consider that by writing it, it was well worthwhile. After all, we are put on this earth to help each other. Good luck.

Signed,

Bill

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Bill died suddenly on April 15 of a perforated rectum.

The police report says he was found with a Calloway extra-long 50-inch Big Bertha Driver II golf club jammed up his rear end, with barely 5 inches of grip left showing, and a sledgehammer laying nearby.

His wife Amy was arrested and charged with murder.

The all-woman jury took only 15 minutes to find her Not Guilty. They accepted her defense that Bill, somehow, without looking, accidentally sat down on his golf club.

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In life, one doesn’t have a lot of friends. Maybe a lot of acquaintances, but not a whole bunch of friends. I’ve had a whole lot of “friends” in my past that, for one or the other reason when things went a bit backwards in my personal life, all of a sudden stopped being a friend. I honestly believe that these kind of people who stop being a friend, have never been a friend in the first place. It’s as simple as that.

Fortunately, there are still some exceptions. One of my close friends is Bruno. He’s a Belgian just like me, and we met somewhere in the early days of 1993. So we’ve known each other for more than sixteen years right now. I remember that, when I was having a heart-attack three years ago, he was living in South Africa at that time. As soon as he found out that I had some serious health challenges, he jumped on a plane, and flew all the way from Johannesburg to Lisbon and the Algarve to come and visit me! I will never forget what that meant to me at that time.

Bruno has moved back to Spain a couple of years ago, and is now living some 800 kilometres away from me. Every now and then, we visit each other and during long walks through the Spanish nature, we brainstorm together on how we could change the world. I come to think of it, it’ll be one year this weekend since my last visit to him, so one of these upcoming weeks, I’ll jump in my car and go and visit him again.

Since 1993, Bruno has been studying everything about dogs. I have had a couple of wonderful dogs when I was still living in Belgium, and during those days, he helped me understand my dogs. I don’t know anybody else who knows that much about dogs but Bruno. Since he returned from South Africa, he has an “e-mail training course”, and through the internet, he helps hundreds of dog owners around the world on many topics about how to have a better relationship with their dog.

A couple of days ago, Bruno sent me an e-mail, and I like to share the content with you. Here it goes:

Hi Gino,

Today I want to talk to you about the most powerful dog in the world.

It is not a Mastin de Leon, a Rottweiler, a Newfoundlander, a Dogo Napolitano or a Saint Bernard. Most of them are mere gentle giants.

Let me unveil to you the secret about the most powerful dog in the world.

Because of our thirst for gossip we are addicted to stories about famous people. The media are more than willing to feed us with a never ending stream of so-called news about the rich and famous.

Our gossip society is very interested in all the details of the private lives of famous people. The more trivial, sordid, debased, sensational or shocking these details are the more we love it.

American presidents are famous people.

We see them every day on the evening news when they are performing a ritual. A few examples of these ritualized shows are: walking to a car/plane/helicopter; stepping out of a car/plane/helicopter, speaking during a press conference, shaking hands, waving at crowds and showing of their dogs.

Do you remember Lyndon Johnson and what he did to the Vietnamese people?

Do you think he did not want to be re-elected because of the war in Vietnam? I will tell you the shocking truth. One day he was shown on the telly lifting up his small dog by its ears. Americans were so scandalized by the cruelty of their president that he immediately stepped down.

Since then American presidents do not pick up their dogs anymore by their ears.

At least not in public.

I do remember the Clintons just like I do remember the Flintstones. Sometimes I liked the Clintons better than the Flintstones, especially when Bill Clinton was saying things like: I did not have sex with that woman.

But Bill and Hilary also had a dog. As far as I remember it was a chocolate coloured Labrador. Many times I saw Bill walking over the lawn of the White House. When he was not having sex with that woman he was certainly being pulled along by his dog.

I loved it.

It was magnificent.

Here we had someone called the most powerful man in the world and his dog pulled him along.

This must be one of the best kept secrets in world history.

I am now going to announce it publicly for the first time.
The most powerful man in the world was pulled along by a Labrador weighing 32 kg. The man thought he was in charge. But he was wrong.
We know that if a dog pulls a person along, the person is obviously the follower and the dog is clearly the leader.

Bill never knew the truth about his position.
His dog did.

Now you know it also.

Bill was not in charge.

His dog was.

The other day I read an article in the Spanish paper El Pais {The Country} about the dog of the Obama family.

I haven’t seen brother Barack walking his dog but chances are that his Cao de Agua Portuguès {Portuguese water dog} will become the most powerful dog in the world.

Drop me a line if you see a picture of that dog pulling along his president.
What could this mean for us and the future of our planet?

It means there is still hope for humanity when this dog takes charge.

We know that dogs are not as intelligent as human beings.

They never go to war, never lie, cheat, pretend, blame, moan, criticize, judge or condemn.

Yes there is hope for humanity.

Kindest regards from Brunothedoglistener

Well-educated dogs are obedient dogs.
Obedient dogs are happy dogs.
Happy dogs have happy owners.

www.brunodogs.com

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I have had them oh so many times in my life. I had a lot of them in Belgium in the early days of my professional career when I was selling pots and pans from door to door. I had them in France, in Germany (though very rare with German people), the Netherlands, and all over the United Kingdom and Ireland. And I have had a whole bunch of them in Portugal. Especially in this beautiful country where I am currently living. The “secret meetings”. I had one yesterday as well! Let me explain what I am writing about.

The day before yesterday, I received a phonecall from some Portuguese guy. He was a little bit in panic, and told me his business had been robbed the night before. The thieves had destroyed his safe, and he needed a new one urgently, in order to replace the broken one. I asked him the necessary questions to find out what kind of safe he really needed, but obviously, he didn’t have any idea of the different possibilities in that market area. I proposed to send him my best offer by e-mail, but that was not good enough! He insisted on having an appointment with me, so he could then immediately decide to buy a new “Gifoa-safe” of outstanding quality! Hey, I never say no to a business opportunity, so I agreed to go and see the guy yesterday, which was a Saturday. The only problem was… this guy was calling from a place close to Coimbra, a 500 kilometer drive for me (one way!).

So I woke up in the middle of the night (well, it was still dark outside), and drove the distance. It was pretty foggy along the motorway to Lisbon, and the rest of the road was driven in pooring rain. I was, as always, on time on the appointment. Guess what? I was the only one. My prospect was not there! I called him several times, and he finally answered my fifth or sixth phonecall. Telling me he had already found another solution, and the appointment was not necessary anymore! This Portuguese son of a bitch didn’t even have the decency to cancel our rendez-vous.

This is what I call a “secret meeting”. One drives a lot of kilometers, spends a lot of money on gas and tollway, invests a lot of time (which is also money of course!), and then the other party does not show up. It happens. It’s part of business. It’s part of the game. So I never swear about them, I just accept this fact and move on. I am not proud of it, and normally, I don’t tell anyone…

I only hope that the robbers who robbed him last Thursday night are reading this blog. If this is the case, hey guys, please do go and rob the bastard again! If he then needs a real good solution and yet another safe, I will invite him to come to my showroom in the Algarve, so he can drive the distance this time!

Fortunately, I have already made friends all over Portugal. So I spent some quality time with them yesterday afternoon, had a nice lunch and dinner with them, and went to bed early last night in my hotel room. There used to be a time that I would have returned home immediately, but I don’t do that anymore. Driving 500 kilometers on a Saturday is fair enough. So I only returned back home this afternoon.

Early this morning, I took the opportunity of visiting the old part of Coimbra, and walked around the narrow and ancient little streets, up and down a whole lot of stairs, as the city has been built on a steep hill. I enjoyed every second of it. Obviously, I had taken my camera with me, and the pictures below are the result of that walk.

Oh, and by the way, last Thursday I celebrated my birthday. I don’t feel any difference at all right now. I still feel 18, but now I have to add a full 31 years of experience to that! Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy some of my pictures of Coimbra.

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Millions of people have watched her on YouTube during the last few days. The worldpress is at her doorstep to get an interview, and many, many people (including myself) got tears in their eyes when they saw her perform in “Britain’s Got Talent” a couple of days ago. Everybody who was in the civilised world during this month knows that I am talking about Susan Boyle, a 47-year old British housewife who surprised the world with her voice. Just as a reminder: Boyle was singing one of the super songs from the musical “Les Misérables” (one of my favourite musicles that I have seen a couple of times live) and she received a standing ovation from the jury while she was still halfway the song. I Dreamed a Dream was the title of the song. She was immediately sent to the next round with the biggest “YES” the jury ever voted!

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Yesterday I came back to Belgium. Flying Ryanair, the low cost airline that is ALWAYS on time. I’ve taken hundreds of planes in my life, of which many from Ryanair. I must admit, the Ryanair flights are ALWAYS on time. I can only remember one flight that was delayed. Having started with one plane many years ago, they have become one of the major players on the European market nowadays. So, thanks to companies like Ryanair, Europe has become a village. The world as well obviously.

Anyway, I am having a busy schedule while being over here. Today I need to see some business associates, and will do the same things on Monday and Tuesday. Yesterday, my parents were celibrating their 50th wedding anniversary and are organising a big family party, and being their eldest and most beautiful son, I must attend that party of course!

And on Sunday, it’s cycling day! The “Ronde van Vlaanderen” - Tour of Flanders, a cycle race for professionals is being organised. If you are not from this part of the world, you will not be able to understand the popularity of this race. What the Superbowl is for the Americans, the “Ronde van Vlaanderen” is for Belgians. I am already looking forward to this year’s race.

A couple of days ago, I found the clip below through one of my Belgian friends. It put a smile of my face, so I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did when I saw it for the very first time, despite the fact that it is an “oldie”.

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