My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

Once a year, our family took a vacation to Ponta Garça. It was a
big Once deal, a year, and our my family mother took would a vacation take days to to Ponta plan Garça. and prepare It was for a
big
the trip.
deal,
In
and
those
my
days,
mother
very
would
few
take
people
days
took
to
vacations
plan and prepare
away from
for
the where trip. they In lived. those days, very few people took vacations away from
where they lived.
We drove to our vacation home in my father’s old Model T Ford.
To We start drove the to car our my vacation father home used a in crank my father’s start handle old Model that would T Ford. be
To
inserted
start
in
the
a
car
hole
my
through
father
the
used
grill
a crank
area in
start
front
handle
of the
that
car.
would
And,
be
of
inserted course, we in a had hole to through stop several the grill times area along in front the way of the to car. put water And, of in
course,
the radiator
we had
to cool
to stop
the
several
engine.
times
We always
along the
had
way
to carry
to put
a few
water
jugs
in
the of water, radiator even to cool though the the engine. trip was We only always thirty-three had to carry kilometers. a few jugs If
of
we
water,
didn’t
even
have
though
the water,
the trip
the
was
car would
only thirty-three
stall and wouldn’t
kilometers.
climb
If
we up the didn’t hills have even the in water, first gear. the car Those would old stall model and cars wouldn’t did not climb have
up
fuel
the
pumps,
hills even
so sometimes
in first gear.
going
Those
up
old
the
model
incline
cars
of a
did
hill
not
would
have
fuel make pumps, the car so go sometimes backwards going because up the the gasoline incline didn’t of a hill reach would the
make
engine.
the
My
car
father
go backwards
would have
because
to let the
the
car
gasoline
roll down
didn’t
to the
reach
bottom
the
engine. of the hill. My father Then he would would have get to out let of the the car car roll and down use to the the crank bottom to
of
start
the
the
hill.
car
Then
again,
he
this
would
time
get
pressing
out of the
down
car
on
and
the
use
accelerator
the crank
so
to
start the car the could car again, climb steadily this time to pressing the top of down the hill. on the accelerator so
the car could climb steadily to the top of the hill.
Our family stayed in a large country house on a farm that belonged
Our to my family father’s stayed great in uncle a large who country was a house very on tall, a farm educated that belonged man. Tio
to
José
my
Leite
father’s
was
great
well
uncle
respected
who
in
was
his
a very
village.
tall,
At
educated
night using
man. Tio
the
José light Leite from a was petroleum well respected lamp, because in his village. there was At no night electricity, using the he
light from a petroleum lamp, because there was no electricity, he
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