Lately, Ruggero and I have been enjoying our break from business, and it’s soooooo… nice to be home and live our private life!. Now, that does not mean we close the restaurant. We still open for dinner every night and lunch on weekend. But at least, we have four days closed at lunch time. That, to us is a blessing and our pleasures.
Of the last three days, I had quite a few tasks done and I am very happy about it. It’s a torture for me to see something needed to be fixed but have no time to take care. That will drive me crazy. So now, suddenly I have these four mornings (every summer week) to pay attention to so many projects and plans I have had in my head. I am so excited and can’t wait to cross one after another off my list.
Meanwhile, Ruggero has had a good time catching up with his long lost friend from the good old day. I have to say that I admire and am thankful for the new technology of today’s computer program. Even though I still think it brings along with it many bad and evil influences. But Ruggero loves his lap top. There is not one day he lives without the internet. Well, with just some clicks, it connects him to Italy and he can see for himself what is going on in his home town even though he is an ocean away. Most importantly, thanked to face book, he found one of his old friend whom he had lost touch for over forty years.
He was delighted when Dario answered his message on face book. The two could not believe they still could see and talk to each other face to face (through “Skype” of course) after all these years.
The first time they knew each other was in 1963. Dario was a very talented drummer and together with two other musicians, Ruggero and the band traveled all over Italy during the sixties entertained audiences through night clubs, movie theatres etc. Being musicians, they shared common passions : Music and Entertainment. But life was not easy during those days. There were lots of competitions and hard works. It was not easy to find contract and help from other musicians either. So they parted for good after couple times working and traveling together in Europe.
Ruggero said he was heart broken when the band ended and they said goodbye. But as life pressed on, he thought it was for the best. They both still have the pictures of the good old days and still share with each other the treasure moments, the laughs, the memories, even the tears…
I dream a lot, and I do believe dreams are part of our subconscious that connect us to our past, present and even future. I like to ask Ruggero what he dreams in the mornings when we have our coffees. Most of the time, he always told me he dreamed of either walking around alone somewhere in Milan, or that he was late for catching a train to go home to his mother (who passed away in 1998)…”So strange!!!…” he said and shook his head. But to me, I know it is a sign that he misses his home. After all these years living far away from Italy, he is longing to come back to his home town to visit his family, his friends, and relatives and the good old day’ s memories. He misses Italy.
Dario and his wife Miriam are now living in Rome. I met them for the first time the other night through “Skype” and we like each other already. Ruggero and I are planning to spend two weeks in Italy in September and of course, Dario and Miriam are on our list of visiting. I am counting each day till we set our feet in Milan. But for now, my most important task is studying Italian, which I have couple hours a day now to master this language.