Abracadabra...one..two..three..it disappeared! Not to worry, its just money,again!

Thanks to so many of you who have sworn loyalty to continued reading of my blog at the risk of losing your first born.I hope that every day more and more will follow me in my walks through life in some far corner of this world.
As I am here in Buenos Aires until June, I think it only fair to write about my host country as tempting as it maybe to revert back into time to some wild nights in Maputo or lazy days in Rangoon(or if I am to be poltically correct in the eyes of the "politically correct" Burmese government, Yangon.)
Over the past few days, yet another mystery occured which is to be solved; full of surprises and unaswered questions!We are bombarded via newpapers, television and radio programs with all of the "available" details making it a topic that stirs great emotion amongst it citizens. Argentina is truly missing a Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes to delve into the background of these mysteries and  put all the clues together ultimately solving it. For those of you who dont know it already, I have my own little euphamisims about the three countries which played a vital role in my life having split my life amongst the three. In the future, I may refer to the "land of 1000 smiles" aka The Czech Republic. Why 1000 smiles? because of its some 10 million inhabitants, if there are 1000 smiling faces, it's comparable to winning the lottery. The "land of  liberty" refers to the USA. Need I explain why?
And most finally, the "land of 1000 surprises" is Argentina. Every day, we have new ones thrown at us somewhat like an Australian boomerang but just as the unique flying object from the land "down under", these surprises always come back to us and most often, like the careless thrower of the boomerang, hit us smack in the head leaving us a bit dizzy and bewildered. If you think I am joking, just walk down any street of this beautful city and you'll see what I mean.
Getting back to the "surprise" of the day, NOT OF THE WEEK AS THERE ARE TOO MANY TO CLASSIFY ONE AS "THE ONE" OF THE WEEK".
An official employee of the  Argentine government who is in charge of  physically tranferring cash from the treasury section which deals with such matters to the city's in-town airport, Jorge Newberry(aka Aeroparque) where the presidential airplane, Tango 01, is located, was attacked and robbed of 68,000USD and 17,000 Euros en route. The money was intended for expenses for our beloved president's upcoming journey to Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey.And to show the seriousness with which Cristina takes such trips, she made a self-proclaimed, unannounced stop en route to Kuwait in Luxor, Egypt so that her daughter, Florencia, her official companion in the trip, could see some more sights on her first Middle East adventure at the tax payer's expense.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ROBBERY AND THE MONEY?

Oh my God, was the poor official ambushed?or was it an attempted kidnapping?NO!!! The money,placed not an official presidential pouch or in an attache case, but rather merely thrown into a normal backpack, was taken from him as he approached his home's front door. HIS HOME???DOES HE LIVE AT ATHE AIRPORT??? Yes to the first question and no to the second. Accompanied by the official government driver and another official, he asked to be dropped off at his home rather than taking the money to the proper authorities at the airport because, as he was quoted by one newspaper, he didn't "trust" the authorities to whom he was to turn over the monies. He later confessed that he often did this rather than taking the  "expense"money directly to the airport. Ah, but here the plot thickens. Not only did he go home with all those colorful bills but he told the driver to let him off at the corner in order to avoid having him go around the block. I'm sure he was concerned about the extra gasoline money it would costs his "fellow"taxpayers. Such a thoughful chap!And low and behold,what happened? Between the corner and his home, he was attacked with the handle of a gun, by 2 unknown thugs and the money stolen from him as they fled away in broad daylight on a motorcycle waiting for them driving down the street against the traffic.

But now it's time for the frosting on the cake! THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME! The same scenario repeated itself only recently prior to the president's trip to Asia under very similar circumstances,however, that incident was not brought to the public's attention for "some" reason.And this most recent story was only leaked some 24 hours after the "facts" occurred.
Well, here in Argentina, in this "Argentina insolita" which means it can only happen here, it not only happens here but repeats itself time and time again.
It's very reasurring to know that certains things never change but sad to say, it also applies to many which should!
So what's the moral of this story? Well, there isn't one, but I'm sending Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner an email immediately to Kuwait telling her that I have a safe place to store her upcoming trip money and that I'll even take the bus to bring it home because I, too, want to save the taxpayers their hard earned contributions and  I, like the ever-so-faithful presidential official, don't trust the people to whom it is handed over.
Enjoy your weekend wherever you may be and think about using Western Union.
SES Steve..Esteban..Stefan