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| I will mention here Rita's brothers: Carlos Alberto and his proud wife Martina Carmel (who will have no heirs) AND "Jose William" - really Jose Guillermo, a rather dispassionate Dominican priest - in UTAH! Neither is an exemplary man in my book though; because both (even the priest man) seem to be clueless too regarding what "family" really means - and I am not talking about bearing kids at all here. I have no kids either; remember? (I sure can judge too; so do Jehovah's Witnesses, all the time - and speaking of which...) One man whose lineage is readily assured is Sal Miranda: he married the lady Rita Pimentel, who bore him three heirs. Partly because of him, his wife, mother-in-law, father-in-law and entire brood became Jehovah's Witnesses... From the Pimentel Patriarch to the current generation, we have seen dalliances that have led to the formation of several new branches for this CLAN: the PIMENTELS are thus joined by the REBELOS, the DA LIMAS, the CANELHOS, the MEDINAS, the BORGES (another variety of them anyway) and so on and so forth... On the maternal side of things, for me, we find the CALDEIRAS, the RAPOSOS and some unfortunate distant cousins too... More on them later, somewhere... On my mother's side of the family, we also find, alas, the benighted De Sousas. Another unfortunate marriage that should have never been, this branch of the family is the result of very poor foresight and the complete inability of one Olivia Terceira Raposo to adequately judge prospective suitors for her daughters (she judged them poorly for herself too...) Maria de Fatima married a De Sousa - despite a stiff warning from a distinguished auld neighbor named Senhor Guillermo (certainly NOT "William"...!) who had told her that the De Sousas from Santa Clara were "o mais baixo que existe aqui em Ponta Delgada." Yet, Sra. Olivia consented in allowing her youngest daughter (Maria de Fatima, who is not up to par with the likes of Lucia of Fatima - at all) in the mixing of her family's blood with that of the De Sousa wretched line... The result (Rosa Maria and her own sorry brood of two) is quite telling indeed... If her eldest (Maria Adelina) had followed her advice, she would have married as badly too - fortunately for her, the older daughter of Sra. Olivia chose for herself, and she chose my saintly father, Joao Jacinto Borges Pimentel, a true class act. The De Sousa women are even more abysmally brutal than primo Bernardinho's wife, Sra. Maria De Jesus (a name somewhat undeserved there, too) - and believe you me, THAT is saying A LOT! Maria de Jesus may be a tad rough around the edges due to the trials life brought her way - what's YOUR excuse, Maria de Fatima? Rosa? Silly Kristy? That's right - you have NO excuse. I shall give you none either. And that goes double (at least) for the men in that branch - namely, the Tims, Briens and Richies. But back to TRUE FAMILY -anyone with mixed blood with the Pimentels qualifies- and, at this juncture, I must say this: I have to say that this genealogical, historical and journalistic (even) overview of "the Clan" has been a delayed project of mine for YEARS - I had always wanted to gather up all the kins in ONE BIG FAMILY TREE! Some of those kins' attitudes and laxes in judgment have caused me to add the commentary here - that's all! But it is all 100% factual - and you all know it. |
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![[History]](http://us.yimg.com/i/ligans/cb/smtdih.gif) |
| The Rebelos started out great - but ever since they transplanted their roots to Quebec, they've become something else entirely - "québécois pure laine". The new breed of Rebelos are simply not what their grandparents were - Exma Sra. Gloria Pimentel and Mr. Manuel Rebelo, who came to the Pimentels from a respectable family equal in many ways to the Pimentel Clan of the day. Both were, hence, Açoreanos true and true. Portuguese denizens, devotedly pious and respectful of time-honored tradition. Senhora Gloria gave birth to 3 boys and a girl, as you've seen in the family tree. Already, the sons from that union were not all equal - the best ones, not surprisingly, were the Joao of that branch and his brother Adriano; cousin Joao Rebelo died in the early 1990s though - way too young. The third brother, Jose Domingues -who sold insurance policies for a living- was the next to go; that was expected as he had diabetes and almost all the resulting complications it brings, multiplied a hundred-fold... Dieting constantly, he still passed away very, very young. Cousin Adriano Rebelo, the youngest son here, is the one who remains with us. His own three sons are the "Quebecois pure laine" here. Senhor Adriano's brothers, for their part, left behind their widowed spouses and, respectively, two sons and a single offspring - none of which seem to be all that lucky in love... (One grandchild is denoted, still, somehow conceived in the mess that is their love life...) Ines Rebelo and Adriano himself are the ones who have provided daughters to the family tree - Ines has three to Adriano's one, Lucie, who took her time studying for a degree in law while founding a family of her own on the side...! The three daughters of Exma. Sra. Ines Rebelo (widowed in 2007, from her hard-working husband Serafim Da Lima, who had himself been ill for many, many years - much like my father, Joao Jacinto Borges Pimentel) are therefore referenced here by their father's name and we shall refer to them as THE DA LIMA SISTERS. The elder of these is Fernanda and she has the distinction of being the only one in the entire clan to bridge the gap between the vast numbers of us firmly set in Christiandom and the faith of her chosen mate - Islam. (When I say that this family/clan has a little bit of everything, I mean it! It is a veritable microcosm of the world out there, I tell you - and though I cannot readily identify who is the closeted queer of the lot, I have my suspicions who it might just be...! I revere women too much to be it, cynical reader! Thus, think of someone else - capisce? But I am digressing...) Hmm... I'll get back to the core subject here. But if I may digress some more first... I always wondered why it is always such a pattern: "three daughters/three sisters". Neighbors of mine -the Correias- were three. Sao has two sisters here - they became, de facto, three (even though there is a 4th one and there could have been up to eight in total - but the saintly Exma. Sra. Lionilde Pimentel had three miscarriages and lost her only baby boy to I.D.S. - Infant Death Syndrome.) My own mother, Exma. Sra. Maria Adelina Caldeira Pimentel, had two sisters; one died still a baby too. Everywhere I look, there are "sisters three" in my vicinity! I wonder what the meaning of that could possibly be! So far, all it does, verily, is annoy the heck out of me! (And, in that, I am sure Sao will agree with me - in re: her own set of three sisters!) I cannot put up with the umpteenth movie that features three sisters (and the automatically implied matriarchy!) and, on TV, whenever I see it pop up again (whether it is American, Canadian, Quebecois, Brazilian or even Portuguese) I cry foul and cliché too! Not that I'd prefer to see the antithesis of that - at all! I've never wanted to have two brothers like my dad did - I'd probably have strangled BOTH! But now this is definitely enough digressing, methinks...! Back to the core subject now... I have, verily, nothing but the utmost respect for Adriano and his spouse Anne-Marie. Adriano (with cousin Bernardinho) was among the very best friends my father had back in the "old country" as uncle José would say - the good old days when Dad worked on the agricultural land his own father owned, Adriano was a milkman and... well, I am not sure what Bernardinho did, really! This triumverate (again that number - three!) was the elite; while the boys from the Cabouco branch of the family were the supporting cast, at best! Then immigration to Canada sort of turned the tables around - IN APPEARANCE ONLY, THOUGH! I'll give the title of "Pimentel Hero" to "Mario do Cabouco" (Cabouco being a district of sorts - one that I'd equate to redneck country in the USA! Or Chertsy, not far from where Dad lived here, in Canada.) but the other natives from that region are truly like the proverbial "baraos das larangeiras" I think... Me, I like to honor truly kind-hearted relatives - the genuinely good ones like Lionilde, Tia Estrela, Rita... I believe that Adriano is one of those too. Having said all that - I digested poorly his omitting to give the widow and orphan a tiny sample of his wine, either from the 2006 or 2007 CUVEE - for just the simple gesture would have been speaking volumes (it's a secret de polichinelle, really: he makes his own wine, as did my father. My father's wine, circa 1975-1980, was far better than Adriano's or anyone else's. Including anything anyone of you reading this can readily purchase at the SAQ! And DAD GAVE AWAY tons of it - to very unworthy recipients! CARAFES of excellent red and white wine; not just bottles either. But let's not get into that now...) And so, his (many) omissions as well as Adriano's other small and near-inconsequential failings (all things considered) do make me think twice about honoring Adriano too much here. For he can be just as clueless as anyone else in this vast, diffuse, disparate family... As for his venerable wife - she shows character (or what she thinks is character) at the wrongest of times and can be outright blind to the truth too... I say "too" because most of the family is like that - but she's the only actual QUEBECOISE PURE LAINE of the whole damn bunch - so what is HER excuse?!? Verily, I'll pay my respects to all - but particularly the unlucky ones, like Domingos, Paula Ana and Luis Pimentel. Those I will NOT point out any flaws they might have... The rest - well, several or them are too full of conceit and pride to see past the tips of their noses, for the most part. They would rather honor monstruous Ines Pedro, back in the day, than sing the praises of worthier family members... I cannot condone that nor can I refrain from criticizing it! Sorry if you disapprove, Benny Boy...! Kidding - I'm not sorry! ;) I'm rather appalled by your inability to distinguish what's RIGHT from what isn't though! And I have evidence already that you passed on that gene to your kiddies... But that is another sad story! Back to the Rebelos now. Adriano, along with Bernardinho (a Pimentel) and the latter cousin's brother, Antonio (the poor sap who was MARRIED to Ines Pedro! But named after my grandfather! It all evens out, in terms of luck?) were father's best friends back in the day - and I respect that. We all know that true friends are so very hard to find - right, Tio Jose? (Those Quebeckers up in ST-JEROME that he esteemed more than family sure proved NOT to be friends - AT ALL. Yes - it's another sad story!) Bernardinho's father was always at odds with my grandfather (over silly little things really) though; but the sons were the best of friends! That's family logic for you! Joao Jacinto, Bernadinho and Adriano in the 1950s would be the LAST TIME this family's different branches were TRULY UNITED. Now, I find THAT to be VERY sad. Likewise, I have all the evidence in the world to think that my grandfather's other brother, Manuel (Sr), was every bit as good as the other Tio Manuel I knew (best), from my maternal side... And he did take up residence in Cabouco! Manuel (Sr.) had the foresight to tell his offspring that his native A�ores would one day turn out to be better than "o estrangeiro" - richer and sought out to live in! The climate alone is enough reason for me - and I can't believe the ENTIRE GENERATION of my father did not see the veracity of those words; for they ALL immigrated! But Manuel (Sr.) was RIGHT - now, Portugal is both better off economically (there is strength in numbers; the European Union numbers!) and of course they remain spared the harsh weather of execrable Quebec, Canada...! Before my mother came here, to join her husband, my father, Exmo. Sr. Joao Jacinto Borges Pimentel, Manuel (Sr.) had the kind thought to send a gift to her. He commissioned his son Benjamin to deliver a basket he had made himself. Um cesto de vimes. And his wife had filled it with products from their own land - rice, vegetables, condiments. Had he owned a viticultural land like his brother Antonio (my grandfather) he would have included a bottle of wine too! What a nice gesture, done for no particular reason. And delivered to the door of the RAPOSO household - presided by his namesake, Tio Manuel Raposo, my mother's uncle. A simple random act of kindness, hence - and those are most appreciated due to the INTENTIONS, of course. Aye, I've nothing but good things to say about Manuel (Sr.) do Cabouco and his spouse, Sra. Maria Jose Pacheco Pimentel. Alas, his two surviving sons to be found in Canada and only daughter are not as sincere as their dad AND mom were. And that is a crying shame; because I know I would have really gotten along well with Manuel Sr. and his spouse Maria José. Just like I got along well with their youngest son, Domingos. But the others... Well, let's just say that dialogue only brings forth more reasons for disagreement and opportunities to resent things - so we might just as well "nao se d� com frequencia nemhuma", hmm? I got along well with mother's Tio Manuel Raposo too - but his OTHER niece I can't suffer anymore! And it's even WORSE from that point on, with the latter generations... Sheesh! Luckily, as they confessed themselves, they are NOT of my bloodline! And it shows... But that is another story... Again. He was joined there by his daughter who, while merely in her forties, suffered a stroke and is now in the same situation as her dad - unable to be autonomous and thus in need of constant care. I sympathize with Sra. Maria de Jesus' plight, to see both husband and daughter like this. Eeriely close to the situation lived by Adriano's niece (by marriage) who passed on at 53. She had been ill for as long as her father too - and both passed away within six months of each other. Adriano's and, really, Anne-Marie's niece had multiple sclerosis. I suppose that branch of the family deserves a break - they seem plagued by illness in so many ways. I shall give them a break indeed; and share their grief, for it is the right thing to do. Even thought some of the younger ones there barely share MINE. The De Sousas and associated brood are the ones who deserve no break at all - they suffer not a thing and only pester... They deserve all that's coming to them. |
A SHORT LIST OF THE PEOPLE THAT I COULD HAVE/SHOULD HAVE INVITED TO DAD'S FUNERAL: