Lighter fluid for Zippos

Lighter fluid. Liquid or gas. A quest to fill a Zippo in Treinta y tres.

I recently returned to Uruguay with several Zippo lighters I had purchased while last in the United States. New to me, were the butane torch inserts that will now transform your antique Zippo into the technologically best lighter on the market. These torch inserts, unlike their traditional counterparts which use “lighter fluid”, are refueled with a can of butane. By now you may be wondering why I am being so specific.

This afternoon, I repeated those ideas over and over while on the search for lighter fluid. ANCAP is the nationalized monopoly on combustibles and likely a great place to start. No luck. From there I visited four hardware stores in town and while one told me that they had recently had it in stock, I was told it was a commodity that could not be found in Treinta y tres.

I eventually went with the suggestion of another customer while in my most often visited hardware store, who told me of a pharmacy in town that sold the liquid fuel that would work in the traditional variety. The lady behind the counter was playful enough to suggest another option as she held up her Bic lighter. “No!” I responded “you have to throw those away and these are refillable, plus it looks mucho mas chingon [way f*cking cooler] (using the Mexican diction)” as I motioned to the customer who was mimicking the tricks you’ve seen of how to open and light a Zippo lighter.

I include the dialogue because the look on the man’s face and the exuberance in his eyes when he heard me using inappropriate language was the highlight of my day. Uruguay is a much more polite and reserved society than Mexico and what passes for everyday working class language in Mexico will never be heard in Uruguay. It’s abrasive and harsh language. The United States had a similar culture to Uruguay, but one would have to be old enough to remember the notion that women using swear words was a demonstration of poor character, to understand. The naughty language may come across as a novelty rarely experienced here, but I’m unfortunately only able to speak in the only way I’ve known in my adult life. Thankfully to the amusement of this kind man.

Eventually “Disolvente PDU” was found at the pharmacy near town center as my playmate at Rodrigo’s hardware store had suggested.

Imagine how many short errands you are able to run quickly at home. Imagine how quickly you can find items that seem to you to be of the most basic nature. In a town of 25,000 people, the gentleman at the pet food store this afternoon told me that what I was searching for would be hard to find in a town so small.

Imagine interacting with strangers while trying to speak with a store representative. Would you be inclined to engage warmly with a stranger who wished to help you with the best of intentions or would you be more inclined to behave coldly?

I enjoy being the eccentric light-skinned Mexican (America) out here on the wide plains of the Pampa and living in a fly-over town in a fly-over country because the life lived is genuine. Almost everyone is who they seem and without a ridiculous over-importance of self that I find in the United States.

Marco