this is my first post here in English - actually if i have to define it (though definitions as i see them can be more or less rather pain in the ass) it is more of a short story than a post. this is not my first English 'literary work' however. long long ago in a galaxy far away (nope, truth be told it was a city, but still it's not close whatsoever) i had started to write something bigger than a short story, but apart from the first chapter the rest is still missing.
the reason i decided to write this particular one you're about to grab with your wondering eyes and munch on with your lovely brain-cells dear fellow reader is quite simple: the conversation went on in English and i thought this way i could give back the whole story the way it happened to me.
note to those who are not that well off reading in English: those world conquering, island bound souls use way less punctuation than we do - so don't be afraid of emphasizing to yourself while reading. it helps. a lot.
Enzo
recently i decided to get rid off my beloved country for a couple of days and travel somewhere where it's warm, i can encounter new impressions and within a reach of two hours by plane. i decided on Italy - Naples to be precise. never been there before. the furthermost i've ever visited prior was Florence. so the south was missing hard on my imaginary travel map - although i have some serious roots is Palermo, Sicily. on my mother's side i have 1/16th of Sicilian blood throbbing through my veins. not too much, i know, but still it's blood and my heritage.
as it turned out it was one of my best decisions. not that i have had too many really good decisions so far in my life - that is something i really need to master. but that's another story.
on my second morning in Naples after having eaten my fav and simple calzone with mozzarella and tomato and having slurped an easy ristretto at the terrace of the cafe at the nearby piazza i remembered what a dear person advised when i told her where i was going. "go to Pompei and visit the Vesuvius if you can." so i did. i went back to the hotel, packed the camera, my pocket-book, a pen, asked the guy at the reception which train i should take and then strolled through the city up to the station, bought the ticket and within 30 minutes off i was to Pompei. and an hour later i met Enzo.
"hello, and welcome to the past! Pompei is the past and we who live here are rather vampires than humans. but don't worry we have learnt to suck on wine rather than blood" - he started introducing himself, strong voice, slight accent, and with boisterous laughter at the end of the sentence. - "i am a second generation Italian, my grandparents came here first, but unfortunately i never knew them. my name is Enzo, you know, like the guy who founded the company with the world's most beautiful cars. Ferrari, of course, what else?! it's a pity that my pocket is not big enough to own a real Ferrari! but i really enjoy my Panda, too, you know! and i drive fast! nobody beats Enzo with his Panda! at least not in Pompei!"
by profession Enzo is a guide, but i would rather say that he's a real entertainer. as he told me he's been doing it for 25 years, so i assume by now he knows all the tricks and probably became a real black-belted showman in the field.
"so, what's your name young friend?" - he turned to me. i told him my name and also that it is Valentino in Italian. - "you are one lucky bastard, Valentino, you know that?" - he continued with a huge grin on his face while thumping my shoulder. - "don't worry, i tell you why. today i will share my knowledge about Vesuvius and the area with you for free! because i'm a generous guy. okay-okay tomorrow i'll have a huge Japanese group coming and i'll make them pay their ass off, so really don't need to worry about the money today!" - again, bursting out in laughter and the next minute already carrying on with explaining the past and present of the city.
"Valentino, do you fancy a cigarette, my friend?" - Enzo asked later, when our tour was over handing me his pack. i told him normally i don't smoke. - "good, that's a good answer! so we can have a grappa or a corretto when i finish with my other group and you are back from the ruins. now that is a great occasion to light one and have a talk, Valentino, what do you say?"
i simply smiled and nodded. so when his shift ended 2 hours later and i got back from visiting the ruins we sat down at a really small trattoria where he was a local and talked for almost 3 hours. 3 hours is not much - even in minutes it's a mere 180. but 3 hours can be life changing if spent well and with the right person.
"you know what my motto for life is, my friend?" - Enzo asked while ordering the first grappas, lighting my cigarette and then his. - "everything that is really beautiful in this life is expensive!"
"that's funny, Enzo" - i replied sniffing on the ciggie and boy it felt good. - "especially after you having told earlier that today you're giving away your knowledge for free. and so far i had a beautiful day. so tell me an example, Enzo."
"yeah, today was alright. the weather wasn't too bad and you guys handled all my lousy jokes really well" - came the answer right away with the inevitable grin. - "but think of real beauty, Valentino. i tell you examples, 2 different kinds, so you can see and understand. but before that let's drink our grappa first."
so we did. and he ordered the next round.
"we usually drink grappa after the meal, you know that?" - i told him i did, but in Hungary it's the other way round. - "good for you, my friend. i like good grappa. but i don't drink much - at least not in front of my wife. i don't want us to get too drunk, so let's have something to eat. you like saltimbocca?" - i nodded. - "saltimbocca then! you are not in a hurry, Valentino, right?" - i told him that if i catch the last train back to Napoli that's perfectly fine with me. - "and if you miss it you can still sleep in my van we used today" - came the answer with a laughter and another thump on my shoulder.
i couldn't help, but smile and lay back on my chair. he was right: time did not matter. where i was going to sleep didn't really matter either. what mattered was having a great day and enjoying what it could offer - now it was Pompei with a funny Italian giving me advices on life, grappa, some cigarettes, food and shelter in a trattoria. pretty decent offering i'd say.
"so, my friend, back to the beauties of life" - he carried on shortly - "and them being expensive. you know why one lives in the area where they live? i think for two reasons: 1 - for loving that area, 2 - for business. you know, Valentino, i love living here, in Pompei. i have lived here almost all my life. and it costs me a fortune. but i don't want anything else. what is beautiful for me are all here. so i had set up my business to be able to stay here and enjoy my life here. you see what i mean, my friend?"
i told him i partly do, but was curious of the other explanation, too.
"it's coming, it's coming, don't worry! you shouldn't get all the answers right away and just like that in an instant, you know. because if you do so what's next? hm, what's next, Valentino? listen to me, young friend, word of wisdom, again free, because i'm generous and because you remind me of someone, who was a great guy, but made too many mistakes. i don't want you to make those mistakes. you look sincere and honest - but a bit hard headed, too. so my advice: do not force answers to all questions at once. when you are ready they will come to you naturally. no need to hurry. if you want to live a long and happy life - and i'm sure you do - leave some questions open and be a fool from time to time. people love fools - not idiots or insanes, but fools. because fools are lovely. they remind us of our child-state when everything was possible. you know the fairytales, the superheroes, the Christmas miracles, everything. how fool are you, Valentino?"
not much unfortunately - i replied. then i told him that i seem to have lost my foolishness somewhere. and that i'm actually looking for it, because i miss it badly.
"if you miss it, it's a good sign" - Enzo answered handing over another ciggie and the lighter. - "it means that you know what you are missing. i know people who doesn't have the faintest idea about why they are unhappy. don't worry, Valentino, sometimes it takes a good bit of searching and a good deal of work to be done before you find what you have lost. the more easy you are about this, the more chance you will have to shorten that time."
i was paralyzed. there i was sitting with a complete stranger in a place i knew basically nothing about ending up opening and solving my major challenges in life. co-incidents, right? sure. still it was what the day had offered for me: a free course of inspiring thoughts.
"are you ready for my second example, my friend?" - i gulped my grappa, took Enzo's pack, lit another ciggie and said, yes, go with it. - "from all the things the world can offer women are the most beautiful for me. to be honest: only 2 of them. my wife and my daughter, Daniella. every single day and i pay with my own life to have them around me. can you tell anything that is more expensive than that? there isn't, Valentino. this is why i decided to make friends with wine and grappa for a life! just joking, don't worry" - again a huge, boisterous laughter filled the small room. - "the thing is to surround yourself with those people you are willing to give your life to every day. and then you will see that nothing in life is really expensive any more. when you understand that you will be able laugh at almost everything, my friend! see how easy it is? it is not really about expensiveness at all. it is about willingness.
i had to admit, he was right - again. while we were talking i was taking notes, because i knew i wanted to remember the important details regardless of the amount of grappa consumed. first i was writing into my pocket-book then when my pen ran out of ink into my smart phone which Enzo was eyeing rather cautiously all night long. so i felt it was about time i asked why.
"smart phones are useless crap, i tell you!" - he replied and for the first time during the whole day i saw savage sparkles in his eyes. - "people think these gadgets open the world for them, but on the contrary: they close doors. since these phones entered our lives, we talk to each other face to face less. we peep each other on facebook. we think and we are deceived that the emotions shown there are the real ones, not those that we show when we actually meet. i am sad, because we live more and more in a cyber world than in the real one where there are colors, smells, you know and life. what is next, Valentino, tell me?! if we share everything with that cyber world what will remain sacred and private? what will remain for which we can truly say: that is just ours, only ours, and nobody else's. so if you would take another advice from me, sell that damn thing and if you need a cellphone, get an old one and use it for its sole purpose: call and text... and a pen is always cheaper, don't forget that either. and you can always borrow one - you just have to ask."
i couldn't say anything. he was right - i had a smartphone with me that i could not use for its smart purposes. the dataroaming was horribly expensive (not in the Enzo-way) and i couldn't use the wifi anywhere, because my smartphone seemed to have a "bad hair" week and decided not to accept any wireless signals at all - which eventually gave me complete freedom for 5 days. there i was with a useless, expensive shit. i just looked at him, at his face, into his playful and yet wise eyes and then to the empty glasses of grappa. i counted 6 - well that's not that bad i thought. my watch read 11 pm. i decided to catch the last train back.
"good decision!" - Enzo reflected when i told him. - "the van is not that comfortable. trust me on that. when occasionally i get too drunk, i sleep there. i call my wife before and tell her that i'm a drunken bastard and don't want to disappoint her seeing me in that condition and just sleep there. she has never complained. ever. you see, this is why i'm willing to pay my life to her. anyway..., coming back here around sometime, my friend?"
i told him that yes, i would love to. summer must be a bit more colorful than this early spring period.
"it is even more lively, Valentino! if you come in the summer and we meet again i'll show you how to bake an egg on the road without any fire! and i will take you to my home and introduce you to my wife and daughter. but if you cannot take your eyes off my daughter, i will seriously kick your ass!" - that laughter came again. - "i mean it, she is 16 and she is really the apple of my eyes. and if you will still have that smartass phone of yours, i will kick your butt for that, too. so do come back and let us have another round of talk and grappas. take care, Valentino, arrivederci!" - and with that he thumped my shoulder for the last time, we shook hands and then i was off to the train station. again. no strings attached.
thank you, Enzo. thanks for everything - for the day, for the talk, for your thoughts, for the tips on Sorrento and Capri, for your vivid laughter, the grappas, the ciggies and the meal.
