The Robber

In 1972 or 1973, the architect Júlio Rubbo, who had already been director of the Urban Cleaning Department of Porto Alegre, of Dmae, was a nationally known figure, quite active in ABES, in Aidis and in the respective congresses. He lived in Porto Alegre.

In this episode, I believe he was director and/or consultant in São Leopoldo (or Gramado or Canela, according to Percy). The roads were narrower than today, and it was common for people to ask for and give rides, a habit that disappeared with the increase in insecurity (robberies, etc.). It was also very common for people to walk around armed (cause and effect in insecurity, or mere coincidence?).

Every morning he would take his car and drive to those municipalities. He would return in the late afternoon. On one of those mornings, he gave a ride to a young man.

In one of the curves he found it strange that the young man had lost his balance to the point of bumping/leaning against him, the driver. He became worried and felt the pocket of his jacket where his wallet was. It was no longer there!

Thinking quickly, he said nothing and began stopping the car, claiming that it seemed to have a flat tire and that he was going to check. When he stopped, he already had the gun in his hand and, looking fixedly at the young man, immediately said: “Hand over the wallet.”

Order obeyed, wallet handed over, the hitchhiker was left out in the open, in the middle of the road, without conversation.

The day went on, everything normal; toward evening, arriving home, his wife was very worried because he had forgotten his wallet!

Since the hitchhiker had filed a complaint with the police about the “robbery” he had suffered, and found nothing funny about what had happened (nor did the police chief), the matter caused Rubbo a good few years and annoyances until it was closed.

Miguel Fernández y Fernández, engineer, chronicler and columnist, member of the National Academy of Engineering and of the Institute of Engineering # published in ABES Rio magazine in Apr/Jun 2017, 2,977 characters.