SuperMário the Tuktuk Driver

01/07/2025

The Last Walk 🐾💔
A Love Letter to the One Who Stayed Until the End
You knew, didn’t you?
The way your steps slowed, paws dragging just a little more…
The way you kept looking back at me, not with fear—but with quiet apology.
As if to say, "I’m sorry I can’t stay."
We took the same path we always did.
Past the old oak tree where you chased squirrels in your youth.
Over the creek bridge where you’d shake water onto me, grinning.
But this time, you didn’t run.
Your leash hung loose.
I let you lead.
The sunset painted the world gold—just like the day I brought you home.
And for a moment, I swore I saw your shadow flicker…
Young again. Ears perked. Tail high.
Then the wind carried it away.
At the end, you sighed against my hand.
Not a whimper. Not a struggle.
Just… tired.
So tired.
I wrapped you in your favorite blanket—the one you stole from my bed every winter.
And for the first time in years…
The house didn’t creak.
The floor didn’t click with nails.
The air didn’t smell of warm fur.
Just silence.
Funny how a heart can break
over something as small as an empty food bowl.
I’ll leave it out tonight.
Just in case.
—
🐾 Rest well, my brave explorer.
The stars are yours now.
💔 If you know, you know.
_______________________
Disclaimer: I did not loose one of my dogs. Just thought this was so beautiful that it was worth sharing. Thank you.

28/06/2025

“What’s the hardest part about having a dog?” they asked, their tone casual, like it was just another question.
I glanced at the worn leash hanging by the door, my chest tightening. “Letting them go,” I said quietly.
They frowned a little, waiting for me to explain. “They come into your life like they were always meant to be there,” I said, trying to find the words. “They make everything better—simpler, brighter. And you think it’s always going to be that way. But it’s not. One day, they’re gone, and you’re left with all the space they used to fill.”
They nodded, but I wasn’t sure they understood. “It’s not the messes they made or the routines you have to let go of,” I continued. “It’s the absence. You walk into the house, and it feels... wrong. The quiet is heavier. The mornings don’t feel the same without them nudging you awake.”
“So why do it?” they asked, their voice softer this time.
I sighed, glancing down at my hands. “Because the love they give you is worth every bit of the heartache. They teach you how to love without holding back, even when you know it’s going to hurt in the end. And you keep choosing that love because you know it’s one of the best things you’ll ever feel.”
R.M. Drake 🐶 from the book ' Dog People'
Artist Credit : Iain Welch

24/06/2025

16/06/2025

https://karentarver.com/lisbon-highlights-and-favorites/

Join me in Lisbon, Portugal! I'm sharing the highlights from our trip, from tuk tuk tours to day trips to Sintra, Cascais, and Belém.

13/06/2025

You leave the house, close the door and don't look back. But he knows. He is quiet at first, attentive to every sound, every shadow that moves behind the window. He doesn't know the time, he can't read the clock, he can't distinguish between "soon" and "late". All it has is its scent. And while that smell is still present in the environment, for him, you are still there. That's why he's waiting for you. That's why he doesn't move. That's why you hold on. But when your scent starts to fade from the air, your body knows it. And even if you don't see it, something inside him starts to prepare... Because he feels that you are about to come back.

Dogs' sense of smell is thousands of times more powerful than ours. Where you may only notice a faint scent or an imperceptible trail, they can sense emotions, hormonal changes, illness and even the passing of time. Each person has a unique scent, and for a puppy, that scent is identity, security. It's his way of knowing you're part of his pack. And when you leave, the air is still filled with you. But little by little, molecule by molecule, its olfactory presence begins to dissipate. And he realizes it.

Several studies have shown that some dogs are able to associate scent intensity over time. It's not that they "know the time," but they've learned that when your scent drops to a certain level, you tend to show up. This is why some puppies get up right before you arrive, run to the door for no apparent reason, or get restless at exactly the same time every day. It's not magic. It's chemical memory. It's a sensory connection. It's love turned into waiting.

And this waiting is not always easy. For many dogs, being alone isn't simply "being without you." It is a heavy, restless, disorderly absence. But there's something about that ability to notice you even when you're not there that calms them. As if your scent was an invisible promise that you would return.

That's why the next time you see him running towards you, as if he hadn't seen you in years, even if it's only been minutes... remember that he wasn't measuring time with his mind.
He was feeling it with his soul.
And if he waits for you every day when you are about to return, maybe it is not because he listens to you...
but because he never stopped feeling your presence. And he knew, deep in his gut, that this moment was about to arrive.

12/06/2025

Imagine being one of the richest athletes in the world. Your wife is Georgina Rodríguez. You've won every championship with the clubs you've played for, and you were a key part of your national team's first international title.

Logically, after all of this, you'd expect to live the rest of your life free of obligations, eating whatever you want, traveling wherever you please, and doing as you wish. You’d think you'd retire from all responsibilities, as your wealth could afford you a life of luxury, letting you live out your days like a sultan without ever worrying or thinking twice about anything.

Yet here is Ronaldo, at 40 years old, still depriving himself of pizza and chocolate, refusing to drink anything unhealthy. He continues to monitor his love life, adheres to a strict lifestyle, and even imposes it on his family. His war on Coca-Cola alone is a story in itself. This athlete has been subjected to a systematic media demonization not because of football or his rivalry with Messi. That was a fair competition, and Ronaldo had every right to fight for greatness.

The problem the world has with Ronaldo is that many juice, soda, candy, and unhealthy consumer product companies, designed to turn humans into mere consumption machines, stand to lose everything if people adopt Ronaldo's lifestyle. These same systems have resulted in 90 percent of the planet working as slaves for the remaining 10 percent. These companies and systems would collapse if people followed Ronaldo's example and if he became a role model for youth globally. Anyone who underestimates this should revisit the financial losses Coca-Cola suffered after he simply moved two bottles of their product during a press conference. Now imagine if people began boycotting Coca-Cola and similar companies entirely.

This is why Ronaldo is demonized. His twenty-year career gets reduced to just the last three or four years. But maintaining such a mindset and lifestyle at this age is a phenomenon worthy of study medically, economically, and athletically. Cristiano Ronaldo's lifestyle exposes many of the lies we’re told about chronic diseases and the human body deteriorating after 35. All of that is rooted in the unhealthy lifestyles we adopt. His victorious mentality and sheer will, despite all the challenges, crises, failures, and global ridicule campaigns, make you genuinely wonder what builds a man like this in a world where many collapse over a single word.

Ronaldo is not just a footballer or an athlete. He is, above all, a human being. What he does in terms of intense training and disciplined living is something any human can do. He is neither gifted nor a genius, and that’s where his threat lies. What he has achieved cannot be explained by supernatural talent or abstract concepts like genius or madness. The danger of Ronaldo is that anyone in any field or sport could potentially do what he did. The real threat of Ronaldo is his influence, and that’s what worries them the most.

07/06/2025

Um agradecimento especial aos meus maiores fãs mais recentes! 💎 Doug Haas, Shawna Woods Roy, Tina Perkins, Eric Perkins, Dai Bevan, Michael Lee, Diane M. Marques

Deixa um comentário para lhes desejar as boas-vindas à tua comunidade.

04/06/2025

Lisbon - Portugal 🇵🇹
Monument called National Pantheon, located in the historic area of ​​Santa Clara, occupies the building originally intended for the church of Santa Engrácia, housing the tombs of great figures in Portuguese history.

27/05/2025

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26/05/2025

Tucked quietly along a street in Barcelona, there stands a sculpture that stops people in their tracks.

It’s called The Abandoned Dog, created by Catalan artist Artur Aldomà Puig.
No pedestal. No glory. Just a dog—sculpted in stone, sitting alone, waiting.

Its eyes are what pull you in.
Wide. Hopeful. Full of quiet sorrow.
It’s not just a statue—it’s a message.

This sculpture is a tribute to every dog who gave their love, only to be left behind. It speaks for the voiceless. The loyal. The forgotten.

Next to the figure is a poem by the artist himself, etched in metal.
It reads:

“Your race doesn’t matter.
Your name doesn’t matter.
You came into the world
to be my friend.”

It’s not just about dogs. It’s about what we owe to love—the love that comes without judgment, without condition, without limit.

Locals leave flowers by its paws. Children stop to pet it. Visitors kneel to take photos and wipe away tears. It has become a place of memory, and mourning, and quiet promises.

A reminder that loyalty like this should never go unnoticed.

Artur Aldomà Puig didn’t just sculpt a dog.
He sculpted a responsibility.

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