Uai! Between the wristwatch and pocket watch, the hour of loneliness and the grave: Ary Fontoura’s struggle
Uai! You know when you stop and think: where did the time go? That expression from Minas Gerais, which fits so many moments of surprise or reflection, has never made more sense than now. The topic of the moment is veteran actor Ary Fontoura, who at 93 has ended up in court. But don’t think it’s just another celebrity spat over fame. This is serious – it involves a rent debt of over $160,000 reais (roughly $45,000 AUD) and a tenant who refuses to leave his property. And that’s where the conversation about the wristwatch or pocket watch, the passing hour, and that thing called loneliness comes in.
Look, I’ve seen it all in my life, but a 93-year-old man having to go to court to ask for his own apartment back in less than a month – that’s a bit much, you know? Here’s the story: the actor rented out a property, the woman stopped paying, the debt piled up, and after a lot of patience, he filed an eviction lawsuit. But what gets me isn’t just the money. It’s what comes with it. At 93, every hour feels different. Each day is a victory. And having to spend energy on a legal battle, asking for what’s rightfully yours... uai, that’s not for just anyone.
The tick-tock that doesn’t come back: wristwatch or pocket watch?
Have you ever stopped to think about what marks time? Some prefer the wristwatch or pocket watch. The wristwatch stays there, strapped over your vein, reminding you every second that life is passing by. The pocket watch has an old-fashioned charm, a certain respect. You have to take it out, open it, look at it calmly. It’s almost a ritual. I reckon Ary Fontoura, at this stage of life, would be more on the pocket watch team. Because he’s lived too long to be chasing after hands.
And this legal story reminded me of an old watchmaker I met in Ouro Preto. The man spent his days fixing stopped machines. He said: “Son, time only breaks if we let it. But you can always wind it up again.” Uai, is Ary trying to wind up his own life? Because taking legal action at 93, claiming what’s yours – that’s not stubbornness. It’s about refusing to accept that the hour for being treated with respect has already passed.
The loneliness that comes before the grave
Come on, how many of us really remember the elderly? Not just on Grandparents’ Day. But day to day. Ary has family, has a name, has a brilliant career. But there, in that court case, what you see is an elderly man having to fight alone for a roof that’s already his. It lays bare an ugly truth: the loneliness that hits long before we even think about the grave.
- The grave is the full stop. Loneliness is the silence that comes much earlier.
- The watchmaker might fix the hand, but he can’t give back lost time.
- And the wristwatch or pocket watch, no matter how beautiful, will never mark the hour of affection that wasn’t given.
Uai, but it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s a lesson here. Ary isn’t sitting idle. He went after it, filed the lawsuit, and the court has already issued an injunction for him to get his property back in less than a month. That’s an example. Because we learn that as long as the hand hasn’t stopped, there’s always time to make your voice heard. The watchmaker of life is ourselves.
Time to wind up your own destiny
So, next time you look at your wrist or pat your pocket for your watch, remember: time is yours. The hour to act is now. If Ary Fontoura, at 93, has the energy to fight for a property, who are you to put off till tomorrow what needs to be solved today? Uai, life is too short to waste time on deadbeat tenants. And too long to accept scraps.
Let this case be a wake-up call. The grave might be at the end of the line, but the path to it is yours. And only you can decide whether you’ll walk with firm steps or drag a chain. Me, I’ve already put my pocket watch in my waistcoat pocket. Time to live, uai. Time to live.