Returning to Pistoia on the Train
When I returned from Milan to Pistoia via train, I made a mistake in purchasing my ticket at the automatic ticket machine. I thought I was going to change trains in Florence, but the ticket was to change trains in Bologna. As a result I was on the wrong train (a more expensive one) from Bologna to Florence. When the conductor discovered my error, he requested an additional payment. I had a credit card but very little cash; he could not process a credit card. He asked for identification; when I showed him my American passport, he probably thought I was a tourist from whom it would be impossible to collect the extra fare. He was very courteous. Then he wrote down my name and passport number on a piece of paper. Why? Nobody would ever know, other than he, that I did not have the correct ticket. Why would he bother to file a report about a fare that would never be collected?
Diary of Florence in Flood
This is a book written in the 1960s by Katherine K. Taylor. She was a professor at Gettysburg College who moved to Florence upon retirement from the College – sort of a predecessor to me. She arrived there in time to witness the great flood of 1966. Her book is short and insightful. I read it at a time when the newspapers were full of stories about the flood in SE Asia. It was interesting to compare the reactions of the residents and the rest of the world to these two disasters. In Florence there was a great emphasis on the loss of artistic treasures rather than lives although there were obviously some fatalities in Florence too. An interesting novel telling the story of an American who comes to Florence after the 1966 flood to help with the conservation of damaged books is The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga.
Weather in USA and in Italy
Although I experienced some cold days in the USA, there were also some days of record-breaking warmth. On New Year’s Day I drove a convertible with the top down. It’s odd to return to Italy and find a lower temperature than the one I left in Pennsylvania.
The Attack on Berlusconi
You may have read in the newspapers that a man attacked Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi by hitting him with a camera tripod as he emerged from a building. Silvio had a slight injury to the neck. The attacker said first that he hated Berlusconi and that Silvio was an enemy of the Italian people. Later the attacker said that he struck the leader as a way to “show off” to some nearby women. In court he was repentant, and he wrote a letter of apology to Berlusconi. In reply, Berlusconi called his assailant on the telephone and talked to him and to his family. He invited them to come to have dinner with him in Rome at which dinner he would explain why he was not an enemy of the Italian people. The assailant and his family were charmed by Berlusconi.
This incident reminded me of a thought that I have had about the following American Presidents: FDR, Reagan, and Clinton. All three were hated by many people, but I always felt that anyone who hated one of them who also had the opportunity to have a private dinner with that President, would have come away charmed just as Berlusconi’s attacker was by the telephone call. This is a skill that some, but surely not all, politicians have.
An Italian Translation for the English Word “Naughty”
I wrote in a recent newsletter how the typical Italian translation for “naughty” (“cattivo”) does not really catch the meaning of the word as used in a scene from the film “Dr. Strangelove.” A friend showed me another Italian word than can mean “naughty” (“discolo”) that comes closer to the English meaning. I would love to see the Italian version of “Dr. Strangelove” to see how “naughty” was in fact translated in the scene. Of course when a film is dubbed, there is another factor in the word choice – one needs to use words that fit into the time that the actor’s mouth is open.
Sharing a Joke with Some Italian Friends
I was telling the joke about the priest, minister, and rabbi who were discussing the philosophical question “when does life begin.” The priest, consistent with Catholic doctrine, said that life begins at conception. The Protestant minister countered that life begins at birth. The rabbi replied that “life begins when the children leave home.” My friends enjoyed the joke, but for Italians life sure does not begin when the children leave home. With the importance of family and children, Italians generally don’t yearn for the “empty nest” as some American couples do.
New Automatic Ticket Machines at Pistoia Train Station
About 4 or 5 months after their installation, they are now working. Perhaps this was Babbo Natale’s gift to local train passengers. These machines are necessary because now that you cannot buy a ticket on the train without paying a fine, there have to be more places to buy a ticket without a long wait before you board the train.
American vs. European Culture
I read a magazine article with horoscopes for the year 2005. For each sign there was a person pictured who was born under that sign. The persons were Claudia Cardinale, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise. Madonna, Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts, Woody Allen, Umberto Eco, Caroline of Monaco, and Sharon Stone –only one Italian and more Americans than persons from other European countries. Italy often looks outward for its popular cultural references and seems more allied to American culture than to a larger (if it exists) popular European culture.
USA vs. Italy
I have a close Italian friend who sometimes complains that I am too critical of Italy in my newsletters. Recently an American friend wrote to say that I was too hard on the USA in my observations. I figure that if I am making both sides unhappy, I must be doing something right.