Funkengroovin - Antibiotics Please

VB has been ill lately (like for three weeks now). She thinks she picked up a bug from a tour guide at one of the sites she visited with Number One Son. It started as a cough, then head congestion, constant sinus headaches, ears popping, eye infection, ears not popping, blah, blah, blah. Finally The Boss Man said, "I'm taking you out to get some antibiotics!" VB's not big on antibiotics, as she thinks they are abused by certain people, and feels it makes you stronger if you can fight off the disease yourself. Well, The Boss Man had had enough, especially when it appeared as if VB was loosing her hearing (he hates having to repeat himself, or put a show on pause because VB asks, "What did he say?") VB does feel better now, though.

(Below): To start it all off, the electricity went out again for the umpteenth time. April must be lights out month in Cairo. For some odd reason, the electricity seems to go out more often and for longer periods in April, than any other month. There's no air conditioners running, it's not like it's mid-summer, and there's no reason for it whatsoever. Whole blocks go out. The lights flicker and you think, ahh. But no, you see block after block getting their lights turned back on except for yours, and it's a real pisser!

First we hopped down to Road 9 for wires and such from Radio Shack. We spotted some newfangled (T5?) Vanagon.


(Below): Doggie begs, "Pleease! I promise I won't jump on anyone!"


(Below): At the phone shop near the main Maadi Metro station we spied a green Beetle hidden below the bridge. No, the phone shop does not sell medicine. The Boss Man just got an unlocked iPhone (you read that right - "unlocked") imported from Italy, via Dubai, and he needed some new accessories.


(Below): A variation. (Was VB playing with her shutter speed again? Probably.)


(Below): On the way to a pharmacy that's open on Fridays. Further along Road 9, an orange Beetle. (Yes, that man is wearing a jacket with fur trim, and it's in the 70's (F) here.)


(Below): Jealous of the canines a couple of streets down, these cats decided to stage their own Cat On A Car Sit - In. And it's so convenient too - right next to a dumpster.


(Below): A nice older Beetle (older than we normally see around here), pulls alongside.


(Below): And then passes us up.


(Below): Doggie waiting in the car.


(Below): As we walk to the pharmacy, in Maadi Gedida, an old Ural sidecar motorcycle comes along. We used to see these around Baku, Azerbaijan regularly. We've spotted some here in Cairo too, but never got close enough for pictures. Neither of these two men speaks a word of English. And, BTW, VB was playing with the shutter speed again, so the enlargements have speckled particles that show up, here and there.

From Wiki: "According to official accounts, after lengthy discussion, the BMW R 71 motorcycle was found to most closely match the Red Army's requirements. Five units were covertly purchased through some Swedish intermediaries. Soviet engineers in Moscow dismantled the five BMWs, reverse engineering the BMW design in every detail and making molds and dies to produce their own engines and gearboxes in Moscow. Early in 1941, the first prototypes of the M-72 motorcycle were shown to Stalin who made the decision to enter mass production."

"Initially, the "URAL" was built for the military only. In the late 1950s, the KMZ plant in the Ukraine took over the task of supplying the military and the Irbit Motorcycle Works (IMZ) began to concentrate on making bikes for domestic consumers. In the late 1950s the full production of the plant was turned over to non-military production. In 1957 the M-72 production lines were sold to the Peoples Republic of China."


(Below): A rear view.


(Below): The engine. From Wiki: "URAL motorcycles are equipped with four-stroke, air-cooled, flat-twin engines, a four speed gear box with reverse gear, shaft drive, two disc dry clutch, spring shock absorbers, and drum brakes." ( Its a two cylinder boxer engine, similar to a VW.)

"The motorcycles are mainly sold to the internal Russian market. They have also been exported to Australia, Britain, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Egypt, Iran, South Africa, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and the United States. The total number of sales since the factory was founded has been over 3.2 million. IMZ-Ural is the only Russian manufacturer of large capacity motorcycles and one of few manufacturers of sidecar motorcycles in the world."


(Below): Pouring milk into tin containers. They deliver fresh milk.


(Below two photos): After VB got her needed Z-Pac, we head on over to the newly opened Subway for sandwiches, and walk by this blue Beetle.




(Below): Upon leaving, we drive by a parked white Beetle.


The Subways were great, and since VB ordered 2 foot-longs, she overdosed on them (it took one and a half days though). But, she had been longing for a hero sandwich ever since the Quiznos on Road 9 closed. So both the medicine and food were just what she needed.


The Cars- Live Aid 1985 - "Just What I Needed"