I had no meetings planned for the day. Instead, my wife had two not—pleasant but necessary appointments: with the eye doctor and the dentist.
It didn't help that I didn't have any meetings scheduled because it was as if I did. I always accompany my wife to such appointments.
I have appreciated these kinds of meetings, and here I am not referring to the health benefits, now my wife's. I'm talking about my benefits because I can walk around parts of the city I don't usually see.
The best and most expensive doctors are in the city center. I walked a few streets near Mitropolis, Romania's religious center. Mitropolis sits on a hill, a little bump. It is an anomaly in a city grown on a plain.
I walked the streets looking for notable buildings and flowering trees at the best time of spring.
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A walk on quiet streets without many cars is a pleasure brought by calm and tranquility. Discovering beautiful things completes the joy. A blooming magnolia is not to be missed at this time of year.
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For a while, I watched a lady walking her dog, and my gaze stopped on a big poster that reminded me that there will soon be presidential elections in Romania, a "good" opportunity for us all to stress.
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Because I didn't have a chosen route for the walk, I started following the lady with the dog, who lived in that area and knew the best places.
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Thus, I reached the narrowest staircase in the city, where I found a place between two houses to sneak up to the upper plateau, where the Patriarchate is.
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It was just a walk, without thinking about where I would end up or imagining that it would be anything special. And yet, something made it not so, not a place as much as an event.
Once we arrived at the Patriarchate, I saw something unusual: a group of people waiting for something to happen, something I couldn't understand.
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When I first noticed the faces and appearance of those people, I realized that they were poor people, some even homeless.
The photo below moved. I have kept it because it well suggests the movement and impatience of those people.
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Then, at a signal, the group started moving; people got agitated and gathered on a sidewalk.
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I still didn't understand what was going on until I saw a well-known and controversial figure approaching from the Patriarchate.
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That's how I met for the first time a senator of Romania, a billionaire, owner of vast pieces of suitable land for construction, but also the owner of the best soccer team, FCSB, which, under the name of Steaua, won the European Champions Cup, beating FC Barcelona (this happened in the last century).
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Senator George Becali is an Orthodox Christian and very religious. He lives surrounded by monks, builds churches, helps the community on Mount Athos, and is used to giving money to the poor. Notice he has something in his left hand—You guessed it! Money!
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Without my having expressly framed it, this photo expresses the extremes of Romanian society today. On the left, you can see the senator's limousine, a Rolls-Royce, and on the right, the poor people, with a Becali sharing a sliver of his wealth.
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Slowly, Mr. Becali pleased everyone without exhausting all the money in his hand...
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People scattered around, happy to have something to spend, each according to their needs and desires. I said "happy," as I wrote this, I realized I was wrong. There was too little to be happy, especially since people, in general, always want more.
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After the people left, the senator left too!
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Even though I am on "the side of the people", I insisted more on the senator leaving, who drives his limousine, because it is more spectacular.
In conclusion, George Becali is not necessarily on the right side of things, but he is one of the few who does charitable deeds in the open and the dark. He is a colorful character who never goes unnoticed.
I have one regret about this meeting. I would have liked to have exchanged a few words with the senator, but I was afraid he would think I wanted to take his money, so I didn't approach him.
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During all this time, the Patriarchal Cathedral witnessed this event, to which I was also a more insignificant witness.
*I always start with photos when I want to write a blog. Photos remind me of places, events, and feelings that turn into words.
Since we all love photography, let’s explore the captivating details captured in these photos!#
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A wise saying goes that a photograph is worth a thousand words, but I don't think so.. It depends on the viewer.
