Chesterton's Lid

I have several interesting observations about our lives here in Brazil. To be objective. I have several observations. The reader can assign what level of interesting they are.

To start, I just find this sign very amusing.

Directions for parking

It get's a bit better. The name of the restaurant for which this is the sign to the parking lot is Paradoxo de Fermi, in English, Fermi's Paradox. If you don't know why this is relevant, Fermi was a physicist who asked why haven't humans been contacted by alien intelligent species. It is a fascinating question and to follow Fermi's back of the napkin probability calculations, it does seem strange. But other physicists have proposed some possible explanations. I won't get into them, I just thought a bar called Fermi's Paradox including a sign to tell the flying saucers where to land is very fitting.

I've been doing some walks, just to explore the neighborhood. And I've noticed some lovely things, some differences in how things are done here, and some throwbacks. Let's start with loveliness. There are so many varieties of beautiful flowers here.

The birds of paradise are always cool in appearance

Pretty in pink?

I feel like this flower is sticking its tongue out at me. Rude!

Such little petals

Like a star but blood red

We had stars, why not the sun?

What about differences? Let's start with garbage. By this, I mean, how is the garbage collected? They don't have outdoor garbage cans. Instead, there are basekts along the road where you place your garbage bags. No lids, not a contained can. Just open space and the garbage collectors come and grab bag after bag rather than turning a can upside down.

We've seen similar things in other countries. I'm interested here in the different varieties of garbage holding appartuses or apparati. (What is the plural of apparatus. Why isn't that already the plural and a singular apparatus is an apparatu?)

This is the most common, raised basket on a pole (or mounted to the wall)

Here the garbage area is built into the fence, but hanging back toward the yard

Best of both worlds. Fold it in to the yard to place the garbage, fold it out for collection.

Here's another difference that amused us. We stopped at a McDonald's. We didn't want to eat, we wanted to check out the menu of the kiosk. We like to see what is different. You know how you have categories like Combos and Meals and Burgers and Beverages? Check out this category.

I got me some stomach hunger

The Stomach Hunger category seemed to have the exact same things in it as the Meals category, except in Stomach Hunger they all cost about three or four reals more. Side note: The currency here is the Brazilian real. That's not pronounced REEL, nor it is pronounce RAY-AL. It rhymes with RAY-AL, but the R isn't the English R sound. It is closer to the clearing your throat H sound that you find German or Hebrew. Maybe a bit like the French R, but harder than the one in French.

While exploring the kiosk, we looked at the sobremesas (the desserts). Check out this option.

Cat got your tongue? Well, payback's a dairy treat!

I was also surprised along one of my walks to find this.

Payphones still exist!

The hood covering it (which looks like a Super Mario World turtle shell) is probably great when its raining. But it is so low I would have to crouch to be on the phone.

Last, but not least, I need your input on this dilemma. Below is a photograph of the drawer that holds the silverware as well as serving and cooking and preparing utensils.

I'm getting to my quandary

Notice, you don't see the silverware. That's because it is in the tray at left and it is covered by a lid. The trouble is that the lid is a little bit annoying. It's not terrible, but when you want silverware, you have to lift the lid, slide it over, get your hand under it. Or you can take it off fully and then put it back on. When you've washed the silverware and want to put it away, same issue.

So I thought about just removing it permanently. Then I hesitated on that. Later, Alrica suggested we just remove it permanently. And I told her my hesitation. What if this is Chesteron's Lid?

If you don't know to what I am referring, then you're probably normal and I'm the one who isn't. But my reference is to Chesteron's Fence. G. K. Chesterton wrote a parable about two people walking in the woods. They come to a point where an old fence crosses the path, blocking them.

The more hot-headed of the two says, "What is this ridiculous fence doing here. Why would anyone put a fence across a path in the woods! I'm going to chop it down."

To this the more cold-headed of the two (and yes, I am sure it should be cool-headed, but I was going for extremes) replies, "If you don't know why it's here, then I will not let you chop it down. Go, do research, find out what its purpose was when it was built, and then, maybe I will let you chop it down."

The point Chesterton is making is that it is easy for us to look at something that currently exists, say it has no point, and dismantle it. But that way lies unintended consequences. Fences don't just grow in the woods. Someone had to put in time, effort, and money to build that fence. People don't do that without a good reason. Maybe the fence is the only thing keeping the village safe from the ghouls that live beyond the fence. It is also possible that the fence was built back in a day when cows pastured beyond it, but now there are no cows and it would be fine to get rid of it. Chesterton's point is that reform without knowing why a law, practice, tradition, or structure was placed is foolhardy. We should find out why the law, practice, tradition, or structure was first made. Then, if the reason is no longer valid, sure get rid of it. But until we know the reason, we shouldn't get rid of it.

I don't know why the lid is there. It takes effort to move it every time. So it seems there must be a reason. It could be something stupid like when the owners of this place bought the silverware tray, it came with a lid. So they figured why not use it. But it also could be to keep out the slugs.

Did I mention there are slugs. Alrica was the first to see them when she was awake in the middle of the night. I have also seen them near the kitchen sink. So maybe the lid keeps the slugs off the silverware. Note that the lid doesn't cover the serving utensils or the ones you would use to prepare your food. And, what is the real harm if a slug did touch something? I don't know.

I'm not even sure the slugs could get into the drawer. I'm just saying, it is possible that this lid has some positive purpose. Just moving it aside might negate whatever protection it provides. But it is just a tiny bit annoying every time I want a spoon. (Or a fork or knife.)

What do you think? To lid or not to lid? That is the question.