Bangkok to Brazil

Garrincha steals the show....

From the beginning you told me you were passionate about football. And you have been telling me many times how you grew up playing it and yes, about how well you play. I sometimes wondered to myself if all of this was just talk on your part but humored you and just listened to your stories without commenting much. Then while you were visiting me here in Bangkok, an Italian friend of mine invited you to join him to play with his team one evening. So we went together and I sat discreetly up on a platform above the field out of view to watch.  I have to admit I was very impressed. You may have been the oldest one playing that evening but you were by far the best, scoring many goals. I even stopped counting at some point!  I was really proud of you dear and just smiled to myself and thought 'That's my man'. It was a fun evening and I would happily watch you play many more times and hope to have the chance in the future.

I am not much of a sports fan but football is nice and full of drama and I will get into the spirit of it for the upcoming games when I am in Brazil for the World Cup event and experience first hand the nation-wide mania that is football addiction in your country. It is really exciting and I will be rooting for your team and your country and hoping that Brazil will steal the show. How exciting it will be if Brazil wins!

I like when you tell me stories about the great Pelé in his heyday and especially of the rise and fall of Garrincha. What an amazing tale his is: born with a twisted leg, one shorter than the other, he went on to become one of the best footballers of all time. It is a pity he had such a sad end to his life, suffering from alcohol addiction, broke and abandoned by friends and lovers after all of his excesses. I read he had many children with his wife and mistresses but that the love of his life was a woman called Elza Soares, a samba singer of great talent who grew up in the slums of Rio. I found this photo of them together looking young and attractive, in happier days before their eventual parting due to his alcoholism.

I have started to read and research about Brazil. It seems a country with a great and colorful history and culture which I am keen to discover. Learning about it from you and experiencing it at your side will be a beautiful life adventure and one I was not expecting. Life is funny this way. We never know what is in store for us. I am grateful for the nice and unexpected things you have brought into my life since we met. Let's take care always to appreciate one another. I will do my best.