Version 2.041

It is past midnight, so I hope not to fall asleep before finishing. I arrived at my neighbor's house around 6:20PM for dinner and ended up leaving about four hours later. The jalapeño poppers were actually called Texas popsicles and had a slightly different recipe: the jalapeños are cleaned of there seeds and stuffed with brisket, cream cheese, and sharp cheddar cheese, then they are wrapped with bacon and grilled. I had forgotten about the brisket yesterday. There was also grilled corn on the cob, but it had been soaked in beer, so I could not have any, as beer is not gluten-free.

There were also two other guests for dinner, a couple who has sold their house in the neighborhood -- closing day is Monday --, but will be staying until October, since the buyers are locked up in a lease until then, and these neighbors are still having their new home built. They will be downsizing into a less than 600 sqft house from a house that is over 3800 sqft.

Although I have never spent that much time with both couples, they all seem to be very nice people. The wife who is leaving is a masseuse, so I may procure her services before she leaves. She asked me to speak Portuguese for her and thought it lovely when she heard me. Her husband was also very pleasant. When I mentioned that I was from Portugal, he said that the pizza oven of the house they were about to sell had been made in Portugal and that the insulation was cork. Then he said that Portugal was the largest cork producer in the world and explained how one harvests it.

Yesterday, when I was at my other neighbor's, another neighbor had visited (I know, I have too many neighbors) and he made sure he mentioned that his dinner plates were made in Portugal. So were some of mine, I replied. It is such a striking contrast to hear Americans go out of their way to point out these positive things about Portugal, at the same time that on Facebook, I see so many Portuguese people denigrate Americans because of Trump and racism.

I truly think that racism could be on the way out though. If we go back a century, it was to see European immigrants being discriminated against, for example signs that said No Irish Need Apply were rather common. Now, it is hardly noticeable. Racism against black people will get to that point too; that's why people are protesting. It will not happen overnight, but the side of good shall prevail.