Ma il cielo e’ sempre piu’ blu...
A friend in Genoa sent me a message the other day remarking… Brutto momento in questi giorni… An ugly moment in these days. A typical Italian comment and one obviously directed at our country’s return to Lockdown, a soft-core one decreed last Sunday night by the Italian PM Conte…
No one likes the word Lockdown. The PM tried to avoid its use in his announcement. .Many in government & business are worried by the economic situation in Italy provoked by last Spring’s Covid Lockdown. None like the word pandemic either. Might be exhaustion. Apparently, the powers-that-be do love the word crisis. One word I rarely hear is jobs, unless it is about their disappearance. Just the word economy. Bandied about by the G & B worriers. I was wondering… does economy pay a family’s bills? Put food on their table? When there are no jobs? Economy only produces anxiety. Nothing practical about that. I digress…
I say typical comment because, the Italians say the same when the forecast calls for a week of rain. And, we have had more than a week of it. Oh, well, back to Covid…
In the arc of 6 weeks, Italy has gone from a daily average of 150 new Covid cases to yesterday’s astounding 27,000., less 169. Predictions are for 30,000+ by the end of the weekend. The graph line is supposed to continue to climb. May call for a re-think on the above words no one likes.
I am upset by this news but, I am alos not upset or, especially surprised. Dottore You has repeatedly stated, and from last March, that loosening the Rules & Regulations of movement & activities del popolo coupled with the traditional Fall/Winter Flu Season would create notable to frightening spikes with Covid-19 cases by October. Eccoci… 26.831 on October 28, 2020. As many know from the News & Internet, these massive increases of new cases are duplicated in the rest of Europe and the World. And, the US is the winner of the Covid-19 Do-do Award: number of new cases, deaths, and Intensive Care patients, etc. Congratulations? You reap what you sow. Whereas our Good News in Italy is the number of deaths and cases requiring Intensive Care in hospital are low. Way low. Early detection? Might be. The numbers for Covid tests are now running well over a 100,000 a day and increasing. Good deal. It’s not all un brutto momento. Well, then…
Codiponte is now no longer untouched by Covid-19. Unfortunately, a worse case scenario on several fronts. The worst being the prejudice against Muslims in my adopted country. A Muslim family from Viareggio moved into a rental house right on the Codiponte’s piazzetta. The natives became restless to the point of alarm and asked… Why did they move in a pandemic and to of all places, Codiponte? The authorities were called. Officials showed up with the Carabinieri and Public Health staff decked out in the medical coveralls, masks, helmets, gloves and notepads. They discovered 2 of the family of 6 tested positive for Covid-19. Immediate quarantine. The natives are now restless to the point of hysterics. No one walks about anymore and particularly across the piazzetta. They drive.
And, the Lunigiana is now too a Covid hot spot. Tabaccherie, bars & stores, which sell giornali… or, newspapers… tack-up pre-printed posters outside with the day’s headlines to catch your attention as you zip by in your car. Me, sporting a mask and housed in my beat-up SUV with a crazed Weimaraner on the back bench huffing & puffing to Run Wild, Run Free in the surrounding wildernesses ASAP…
23 casi nuovi ad Aulla… Fivizzano Hot Spot… Lunigiana assalta dal Covid… and so & so forth.
My dear German friend cruises the ASL website…. the Italian health service… to check the latest Covid statistics in Tuscany. FYI…
Codiponte is a village in the Lunigiana, which is a contiguous area within the Province of Massa-Carrara, which is in the Italian region of Tuscany.
The Tuscan stats are not encouraging at all. Suddenly, the pandemic fells like it is on top of us. Better not to look? I think so…
I have been in Lockdown, only slightly modified since Lockdown Liberation Day last June 3rd. At You’s insistence. He’s still getting regular Health & Interior Ministries Covid updates. They are not what il popolo italiano vuole sentire. Bad news. Thus, I am back to Full-tilt Lockdown.
Unexpectedly, and though I could not find anything worthwhile on Netflix to watch back in March to June Lockdown, I am happy to report or, possibly, more like embarrassed to admit, I have found a few things to enjoy on the channel. Nothing cruel, mean, scary, gory or plain d-d-dumb. The bill-of-faire? I especially liked The Fundamentals Of Caring, an independent flick with some terrific actors… Paul Rudd, who is still cute and his face has lost its baby-fat, the famous Jennifer Ehle for her Elizabeth in the BBC’s Pride & Prejudice of nearly a century ago… 1995… another English actor, Craig Roberts, and the formidable Selena Gomez, who had the best part, lines AND delivery in the movie. She was fantastic. I was so impressed. Made me laugh a lot too. Story…. must be a phase we’re in that nothing is truly interesting to the Viewing Public unless traumatic baggage are brought along to give Rhyme and/or Reason to the tale… Paul’s character lost a child in an accident, spinning him off towards divorce and job loss. He takes a course in Caring and ends up knocking on the front door of the mom played by Jennifer Ehle, and her wheelchair condemned son, Trevor, played by Craig Roberts. Dead pan humour aiding & abetting a road trip to confront Life’s pain…. Start the car. We’re going to the fucking pit! Good Flick. Highly recommend it.
Another was A Suitable Boy taken from a 1,500 page tome… Really? 1,500 pages?… written by the Indian/English writer/poet, Vibram Seth. Ever hear of The Golden Gate? Fewer pages. It’s a novel in poetic form. The Limited Series produced by BBC and developed/directed by Mira Nair… remember Salaam Bombay?… has a sizeable Indian cast with wonderful actors. Here is the blurb from Netflix…
A vast, panoramic tale charting the fortunes of four large families and exploring India and its rich and varied culture at a crucial point in its history.
Yep. Partition. Mostly the story interest is about a young woman destined to marry a suitable boy. Her intended who won was so endearing. Thought her choice a good one despite that fact he was her mother’s choice too. An hysterical and mildly stupid woman… alla Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Elizabeth’s mother in a sari. The 6 episodes consumed 3 evenings with white wine sitting in a cosy poltrona next to the new firebox in Casa Grande’s Salotto.
Alas, Feature Presentations are not my main Lockdown pursuit. Household tasks galore…
After the enormous success with the installation of the two fireboxes, You & I have gotten on our hands & knees to wax ALL of the terracotta floors at il Poggiolo. You was ruthless. Single-handedly brushed & buffed the stuff in la Casetta. He seemed to take to buffing as something fun to do. I did la Casa Grande’s Laundry, Kitchen and Loggia. We together tackled the same house’s Salotto’s and Sala da Pranzo’s pavements. Big sweaty work and long overdue.
Alone, I have treated the pergola with Stop-Rust, anti-rust too and, when the sun finally comes out long enough, I will paint the thing in our Signature Out-door Stuff Paint Colour. There are more garden furniture pieces to treat & paint, the wine vats to lather with anti-wood-worms… another instance for wearing a mask. The fumes are lethal… nearly. Must re-paint the Entrance Stairs cupboard door. This will require lots of sanding before I ever get to the paint. Got to clean out and… shhh… throw away junk we don’t need. And, there are the Garden Tasks of cutting the grass, raking leaves, re-planting some roses and moving plants, which cannot stand cold temps, into la Casa Grande’s Kitchen, a partial green-house, thanks to the glass doors and the sink’s window and the room’s Southern exposure.
All in all, not too bad a Covid moment. Good News. Bad News. And, I’m out of circulation, got things to do, enough white wine & Netflix to remediate the after-effects of any hard labours, there’s the crazed Weimaraner to drag me out of il Poggiolo for yonder forests, and, You is due in Codiponte soon. Now, if everyone would buck up for little while longer, put themselves in Lockdown for a month or two, we might just win faster this battle against the coronavirus. May sound a bit like… If they do not have bread, let them eat cake… but, there is help. from the Italian Government and laterally from the Catholic Church et al. More assitance is on its way from the European Community. Ifthe G & B Worriers would step aside or, remove their greedy paws from the pot and let it get to those truly in need, more would be able to say… Ma il cielo e’ sempre piu’ blu!!!
Day 60 Lockdown Corona-cartoons...
Best remedy for a Lockdown, of any sort? Laugh. And the simplest way? Cartoons. Fast, efficient, a sure fire method to provoke, at least, a good chuckle. Often a good guffaw. The cartoons below are a sampler of those which got me through the Low’s of Lockdown, and with much thanks to the convenience of Whatsapp and a wonderful pack of family & friends with a terrific sense of humour…
Day 53: The Lockdown Masquerade 2020...
Yes, and gosh, here I am at my personal Day 77 Lockdown Codiponte. How time flies when one is locked-down. I haven’t seen You in 67 days or, 9.53 weeks. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? I believe so, though I have hardly had any time to notice, what with the number of telephone calls & Whatsapp messages from him. And, we will have to bear the separation as best we can for another 31 days or, 4 weeks. The Dog is thoroughly worn-out from my discussions substituting for the absent Dottore You. The exhausted canine naps elsewhere.
Passing quickly onto the Weather: cloudy, cool and there’s an infinitesimally fine spray today, Thursday, the last day of April and a day before May Day. What are people going to be able to do tomorrow to celebrate the holiday during a Global pandemic? Socialisms has been switched to Social Distancing. Not quite what was originally intended but then, who knew? And a parade of masked & gloved folk would be a no-no, unless there’s only family members… in Italy.
I have made light of You’s constant tele-communications but, his and those too of the masked folk of family & friends below have been A MAFOR MORALE BOOSTER!!! for this COVID-19 shut-in Codiponte, Tuscany, Italy. To thank them… one and all… for their constant messages, calls, emails, videos and cartoons, here below is…
Lockdown Masquerade 2020!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you… grazie, grazie, grazie!!!
Day 46 Lockdown Codiponte...
I am personally in Day 70 Lockdown. I have not seen You in 7 and a 1/2 weeks. He says 8. I might be able to travel to Genoa to see him by Week 10, according to Dottore You. He has an inside track on the latest COVID-19 Lockdown measures. He’s on the telephone with the Ministries of Health and Interior several times a day. Oh, wait! I am getting ahead of myself. The weather…
sunny, pleasantly warm after a cold start this morning, light breeze from the Mediterranean Sea, birds are tweeting so, at least, they must be happy. I would be totally happy too, if it weren’t for the grotesque absence of a good, solid three days of RAIN. The forecasters can stop advertising 20%, 50%, 70% chance of rain ‘cause we all know here in Codiponte what that means = NO RAIN. Spray does not count, by the way.
I smell rebellion in the air. Oh, not here in Codiponte though a bomb did go off last Sunday. Sounded like a bomb. I know the sound and reverberations of one because, I was in Florence in a hotel right behind the Uffizi Gallery where a bomb detonated, killing a couple of people, injuring many others and damaging the heck out of one of the most wonderful museums in the World. The source of Codiponte’s explosion has actually not been determined. Several neighbors trotted off towards Acqua Paradiso, the general location of the big noise, to investigate. They came back with little information. I suspect nothing was found. It will remain a Codiponte mystery. No. This air of discord seems to be everywhere else than my bucolic retreat in the Lunigiana though occasionally marred by big noises, whether by a bomb or the kid in the flatlands blasting Vasco Rossi after pranzo. An Italian singer with a raucus voice and a musical line which works well for guys who have just scored with their fidanzate. Gads. No. Disorders in Paris, America, Brasil… when we should all be calm and collaborative with each other from our respective Lockdowns…
I can understand Paris. Frawnce’s Lockdown has been as severe as Italy’s, if not more so, from what I have understood from friends in Lockdown Nice. They had fled the UK at the end of March for their country’s total lack of any Coronavirus measures though now, several weeks of Britain’s Got Lockdown have passed and with the commensurate fatalities climbing etc. and endless complaints from anyone there having an opinion. Don’t you just love Democracy? The two got caught by President Macron’s Verrouillage en Frawnce. Their only option at that time was to return subito to England. They said… No, thank you. Why be forced to stay inside an apartment and look out at cold, grey and rainy Ol’ England, when they could stay in Nice on their apartment’s balcony overlooking le Promenade des Anglais and the Mediterranean Sea lapping the deserted beaches below. Not surprisingly, Nice ahs not seen any riots yet. Just Paris. And, my suspicions are that the rioters are those who sadly do not have means or, mentality, to stay inside and self-isolate by doing something constructive… Honey-do’s… or, watch TV, play with the children. Cook. Dally with their iPhones. That they are asked to stick inside to protect others has not crossed their minds. Thus, easier to let off steam by rioting.
America is a mess. We can start with Trump at the top, passing by the bully recalcitrant and overly verbose Dr. Fauci… though people love him ‘cause he spars with Trump… and work down until we hit bottom. Those resting there are the ones suffering the severe effects of the disorganization and fraud of those above. I am ashamed of America. The entire political and business orders need a GREAT BIG HUGE SPANKING!!! I have requested Him, Who Rests Way Above the President about doing The Right thing… to smote the lot… and soon. In the meantime, demonstrations with ill-written banners & placards & cardboard signs carried by the motley array of folk fed up with what to the rest of the World ain’t a Lockdown. None have the balls of the Italians, French, Spanish, etc. And yet, my family & friends, an aware and conscientious group remain to independently stay safe at home. N’er a thought of heading out to bowl or hang-out at a tattoo parlour.
Not much to say about Brazil. Their lockdown is probably akin to being held after school yet, without a note to take home to the parents. Why should it be when the country’s president doesn’t heed the advice or council of those in the know? I won’t waste the energy being ashamed for the Brazilian people. While waiting God’s intervention, they should take matters in hand. Seems they have by demonstrating and rioting. However, it is not entirely clear for what they are demonstrating or rioting about. I’ll leave it alone.
Here in my part of Italy any rebellion is often caught now by the Police or, by the Carabinieri. Folk in their cars cutting out through the back door, so to speak, of the Lunigiana and into the Garfagnana to Lucca, Pisa and Florence beyond, I suppose. Wednesdays are my day to grocery shop, buy dog food, hit the pharmacy, the piece of official paperwork in my gloved hand, mask in place over my nose. I do this in the morning. Yesterday, I came back to Codiponte around 12:30 PM and there was a Police road-block in place, right at the most convenient spot to nab the escapees, where the Casciana Road meets the Strada Regionale 445 of the Garfagnana. Later, and after dark, it was the turn of Carabinieri to park themselves at the same spot, blue lights flashing on the tops of their late model FIAT and an ALFA-ROMEO. Both had caught a few. Good.
But, mostly, all of us here in Codiponte are awaiting the Italian government’s Game Plan for Coronavirus Phase 2. Since You is my own Personal COVID-19 Authority, he has said the general consensus coming down the pike from the Ministries of Health and Interior, their experts from WHO, CDC and other health institutions world-wide, plus the Italian doctors, like You, nurses and medical technicians actively engaged in battling Coronavirus, like Dott. You, is we first must give priority in protecting the health & safety of the general public. Yes, getting people back at work is important but what do you do if that provokes another and possibly more serious return of COVID-19, as the indications imply? How can you liberate lockdown when you cannot identify a carrier of the virus? Open factories, for instance, the young workers might be infecting people in the prime group vulnerable to infection from COVID-19. Open the schools? Right. Kids could be carrying the virus which could jeopardize the health of the older teachers. Complicated, isn’t it. Our only guarantee is what a lockdown is supposed to do: isolate and contain. Stop. Pay the consequences otherwise.
I do agree with jump starting the economy… and that would include agriculture… is vitally important. The second challenge of this pandemic and possibly provoking yet more dire consequences. Again though, if your population is unhealthy or unprotected or, sick, it will only confound any progress or safety. It will be worse.
I have no way to take the pulse of my Codiponte neighbors about all this. Better not to.
So, I know this… I have a dog who adores me. I have a boy-friend, who is counting on me to stay safe so, when we can see each other, I will be healthy & safe. I have wonderful friends, both here in Italy and many others scattered across Europe to America. They have never swayed from remaining in constant contact with me through the genius of the telephone, emails and Whatsapp. I have food in the refrigerator. I can pay my bills and even order stuff off Instagram I apparently cannot live without. Waiting for the DHL Guy to call me about leaving a package of something at the Scuzzy Bar is nearly the most absolute Joy about.
The absolute Joy of a delivery
…in these trying days of Lockdown.
Day 25 Lockdown Codiponte...
I am not at the end of my rope… yet. Many are though, but not me. I’m made of sterner stuff.
As is the Tradition, let me say, and before I dive into a lecture on Freedom, the lack thereof or, what we all are doing in the meantime, it’s absolutely gorgeous here in Codiponte: bright, sunny, cloudless days from Day 19 through to Day 25 of Lockdown Codiponte. By the way…
I must interject: my term of captivity is actually longer than the Official Lockdown. You…. Dr. You, that is, knowing full well my career as an ardent smoker long before I ever laid drunken eyes on him, and thus, understands my vulnerability to the threats of bronchitis, pneumonia, and not must unwillingly add the menace of Coronavirus to the list, suggested, highly suggested, I remove myself from circulation and remain within the confines of il Poggiolo. Whew! What a sentence. My confinement, in fact, is from the middle of February. As the count stands, I am, personally, in Day 49, from the 15th of February. I am not alone in this. My 90 year old mother, my English friends here in Codiponte, and others around I am sure.
To finish with the current weather report…
however, possibly for contrast or, for plain mean spirited-ness, it is also unseasonably beeg freezing cold too. During the night and, is especially felt in the morning. 37F degrees this morning. That’s cold for these parts and in April. The Croesus-person would not budge from off my bed until 10AM. Thermometer showed only 40F degrees at that hour. The Dog has an uncanny nose for only two… nope, sorry, three things: food, a savoury stick… you may substitute icky for savoury… and the cold. And this morning, with a light wind from Frawnce, the Chill Factor knocked the temp down to a feels-like 32F degrees. I can attest: there’s nothing colder in this World than standing in one’s skivvies risking disease… though holding a warm glass with a freshly made espresso… observing a crazed Weimaraner run up to his anointed spot to unleash his pent-up bio-donations. I refuse to do this daily ceremony with said Dog on a leash though I am under orders to do so. Enough of our Freedoms have already been taken away…
not that I am complaining.
Freedom? A New Freedom. I don’t want to get deep here but, I looked up the old meaning on Wikipedia. Merriam-Webster took too long to load. It states Freedom as: generally, having the ability to act or change without constraint. Easy. I am constrained. We all our constrained. Some of us more than others. I won’t name the name of the countries who seem reluctant to constrain their Peoples to stem the spread of Coronavirus. We’re all in this together. Get with it.
Nor do I want to be overly reflective yet, I find myself in a quandary with regards to this Coronavirus constraint: An adverse reaction. I have tons, literally tons, of stuff to do, to knock off the Task List, take these unexpected circumstances to achieve, accomplish, master, since I am prohibited BY DECREE!!! to hop in my SUV and go anywhere fun… like visit friends, go out to dinner, hang out at Luca’s Bar at Happy Hour. Nope. Instead, what I really want to do is NOT TO DO any of them. There, the New Freedom. However, when I try to goof off, I can’t…
relax, lull on a chaise and read a book in the sun though bundled-up in a sweater, throw blanket and scarf… GOT NO BOOKS, thanks to the spectacularly prompt delivery service at amazon.com. Odd because the only airplanes flying overhead are for cargo.
watch something on Netflix only to discover there is nothing palatable to watch. Sorry… I DO NOT WATCH MOVIES with a 23% Approval Rating from Rotten Tomatoes. I have Standards.
learn a language. How about Russian? I booked Pimsleur. Great outfit. Putting the written language aside, the Russian words and their pronunciation are…? Are…? ARE TONGUE TWISTERS. An example: Wouldn’t you like something to drink? comes to be and written phonetically as: Nee katill-beh bweh vweh stoney-bootz vweebitz? After that, I need some more white wine becomes… Mehnee new-zhnoh yesh-sh-ey nimnogoh belogo vinah. I have to go downstairs to pour me some to unravel my tongue and lips.
take on the challenge of learning how to use a digital mirror-less camera to shoot my new found passion for chestnut trees left to rot & decay on the hills around Codiponte. The Croesus-person is of no help as an assistant. Nevertheless, he does have the concession for collecting firewood down pat. Bravo cagnolino!
So, I struggle with all of the above. What I have managed to do and at my complete Freedom, is YARD WORK in il Poggiolo’s maturing-nicely-thank-you garden. Let me provide a List AND a photo-medley:
Pruned every fruit and non-fruit tree on our property
Clipped about 350 feet of assorted hedges and won the battle after much gymnastics
Cleaned the entire 25,000 ft. terraced garden of leaves, twigs, trash and an occasional stealth bio-donation
Planted 15+ plants in various empty spots needing greenery or flowers
Fertilised every fruit and non fruit tree, bush and plant with roots in Mother Earth and those flora managing to survive in pots
Put in order our courtyard, carrying away leaves, twigs and trash and pulled weeds out of every potted plant on the premises
Mowed the lawn twice
Weed-whacked twice
Burned three times the mighty efforts of my pruning & cleaning. Yes, we can burn
Cut wood to burn since I went through the entire consignment of this Winter’s firewood
And, finally, stopped to admire and sniff the flowers!
