Real hangmen

I took the kids to have lunch at SuperVegetariano. They meowed, "but eating only leaves?" and I said vegetarian food shall not live by leaves alone.
"Are you vegetarian?", inquired Panotti.
"No, but I like the food here a lot."
Mr. Costa had driven us downtown to João Pessoa Avenue; he said he'd be back in one hour. The Rosary Church of Black Men's bell started tolling. Twelve strikes. No better time to have lunch. They invaded the restaurant in that typical rhino style stampede. They soon got their dishes ready and filled them with everything they thought tasted good.
At the table, they commented it was not what they had expected and eventually liked most of what they had eaten. What they enjoyed a lot was the fact they could fill and empty their glasses anytime.
The talk was about many different issues, especially, of course, wrestling. I commented I had gotten in touch with an American webmistress from Philadelphia, through e-mail. She had two sons wrestling and we were talking a lot about her sons and the five.
"About us?", asked Morales, frowning, "what have you said about us?"
"We have commented a lot about the way you see wrestling. She couldn't believe it when she heard about what happened at the mall. Said she wouldn't know what to do in such a situation if she were me."
"Well, you probably wouldn't like it if one of them opened your blouse and poured Coca-Cola inside, because it was exactly what they were about to do, the glass was already positioned. You didn't see it but we did", replied Galhardo staring at me.
"We didn't get at anyone, Miss Grisam, not even messed with the guys", added Morales, "but what a nice figure they'd have cut if we hadn't held them."
Zangrandi pondered, "but it's true what the Americans say, most of the wrestlers in our region are real hangmen", he said, "we can't just complain about bad reputation."
The others looked at him, including Figueira. And he said, "well I'm trying to learn more. Now I don't know if I want to do it for the blows I got in the past. I enjoy this madness though I know it's not what we would choose to do."
I said we talked a lot about Figueira and the American seemed concerned and disturbed by learning what happened to my arm when I first met him to talk. Figueira looked down and said he was sorry. Then, curious, he asked what exactly she had said. I said she and her son thought the description sounded a lot like World Wrestling Entertainment. Figueira's eyes glittered. He said, "I can't deny I like Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold... but I know it has nothing to do with what we are doing."
I was trying to remember something. The second name hit me.
"Now it was the name she told me her son commented you acted like, Stone Cold."
Figueira's eyes glittered some more.
"Ah, the kid knows a lot about it... what's his name?"
I said it was Roland and his mother's name was Martha.
"Aw, then Roland is really cool it was nice of him to compare me to Stone Cold, he has good taste. I don't need to mention Hogan", closed Figueira, satisfied.
"Don't you think it's risky to comment about us on the net?", queried Panotti. Morales nodded at the question.
"I have the same doubt", he said.
"She's really nice, believe me. But you are more than a cultural shock. You are a cultural earthquake. I don't see what damage simple talk can do."
"Gee, it's not because of the Americans. Nice of them to be concerned, but..."
Panotti told me he asked me about it because he really wanted to know, not in order to question my intentions. Said he thought there was no problem. But he would always worry about something. I see the hacker-shaped paranoia has reached not only me in this region. I think his concern matches what he told me when we left the mall that day. Galhardo had already finished his second dish and threatened to fetch one more. Figueira and Zangrandi just chewed and looked like they were trying to understand our debate.

Oh woofer upon the mat | A call to fight

Radio Universal: The Making Of A Thousand Gods.