Summer of 1980
PORTUGAL

 
This was my second return to Portugal,
the first time that all three kids went with us. 
This is the trip that, prior the to our departure to Boston,
we had an incident with the chlorine exploding as I was covering the pool. 
We spent five weeks in Portugal.
There are few good pictures from this trip,
and most of them are beginning to discolor. 
This was a very nice trip,
a special moment for me to return with my entire family. 
However, ... little did we know 
that we would be seeing my brother Jorge for the last time,
who passed away unexpectedly five weeks after our return home. 
His death was deeply felt by all of us, especially me. 
He is the one who was closest to me.
We grew up together sharing everything up to the point I came to the United States. 
My departure from Portugal was certainly a big loss to him. 
We had always been together, and during my teenage years in Lisbon,
my brother Jorge was my companion.
Wherever I went, Jorge always came with me.
We all felt a big loss, 
but no one more than my mother who was not only losing a son
(there can be no greater loss!), 
but she was also losing "o seu companheiro" (her companion). 

It is indeed with mixed feelings that I look at these pictures. 
They reflect happy days we spent together during this visit,
but also the last days in my brother's young life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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