Getting Stiffed in Italy - Discovering History

Mentorella - Can you believe this view?

     I was fortunate to live - thanks to the Army - in Italy for three years. I love that place. Mind you, living there full time is a pain. For those who take the tour buses around the country it's difficult to get a feel for what it's like to "Live" in Italy. For one thing, your electricity is rationed (read - how BIG government gets involved in running your life is never good). So if you want to run the dryer you can't use the stove or watch TV because it would trip the circuit breaker. Or when you want to get a simple cup of coffee you have to spend 1/2 an hour deciphering a convoluted menu of 100 different ways to make one. Cafe "dopio" for me please. But I digress - darn squirrels. There's a committee meeting going on in my head and a large squirrel from my backyard is the chairman.

     Anyway - I have a pretty famous Uncle. His name is Athanasius Kircher. Born in the 1600s in Fulda, Germany (really great - great uncle), he was a Jesuit Priest and was very popular in his time. There's a bit of a resurgence of interest now around the world regarding Uncle Athanasius. There's even an Athanasius Kircher Society (Google it). He did alot of strange things in his day and was even regarded as an equal to Galileo - who Uncle Athanasius probably -albeit secretly for life's sake - agreed with. Well, there was this old Church that had fallen by the way and he decided he was going to restore it. Mentorella - east of Rome in the Abruzzo region.
http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/abruzzo.html

     ADHD alert - "How I shamed my mother at 7:45 P.M. CST" - Squirrel!!! Some of the most beautiful country you will ever see this side of heaven. I mean beautiful. Check out the picture I put in here. Can you believe it? And Saint Benedict was said to have lived in that CAVE that I am sitting in for TWO YEARS - Mentorella is pictured in the picture of Benedict to the left. This stuff is awesome! Do you ever wonder? Where did he sleep in this cave? What did he eat - spaghetti for sure and probably gnocchi - and good bread with some olive oil. Bathroom? Probably the nearby woods. And here I sit in this very much of a holy place. I mean of all people Saint Benedict?

Benedict (c.480–543) is a Christian saint, honored by the Roman Catholic Church as the patron saint of Europe and students.

In Saint Benedict's Cave
Is this Awesome or what?

He founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Italy (about 40 miles to the east of Rome) before moving to Monte Cassino in the Benedict mountains of southern Italy. There is no evidence that he intended to found a Roman Catholic religious order.  The Order of St Benedict is of later origin and, moreover, not an "order" as commonly understood but merely a confederation of autonomous
congregations.
    

Benedict's main achievement is his "Rule of Saint Benedict", containing precepts for his monks. It is heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian, and shows strong affinity with the Rule of the Master. But it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness (ἐπιείκεια, epieikeia - yes I know Greek), and this persuaded most religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Benedict is often called the founder of western monasticism - guys that go out and live by themselves and do alot of praying, candle-making and gardening. It’s still possible to see the cavern, the rules to allow entrance are strict but the atmosphere inside is simply strange - what do you do in here all the time? What do you think about? Baffling but probably something I need to look in to. Another interesting fact about the cavern is that before you go in there, there is glass shrine which contains bones from the oldest friars.




The bones of Friars past, And here I am with the bones, and in the cave.
   

Marker where Athanasius' Heart is buried 

     The squirrels have departed the building! Back to getting stiffed. So I agree to do the wedding and the guy tells me he's going to pay my way down there. That's fine. I can't take money for the ceremony of course because he's military. But he met this Italian stewardess - sorry - "flight attendant," and they decide to get married. Now I'm not sure what you know of Italians but they don't like you marrying outside the Italian family let alone without a Priest. But he wasn't Catholic so she agreed to have an Army Chaplain do the ceremony - me! When I got there I stayed in a hotel close by in a very beautiful area and got to drive to Mentorella - the Church Uncle Athanasius restored many years after Benedict lived there.

Marker where Athanasius' Heart is buried behind the altar

Squirrels back!! I shamed my mother again at 8:25 P.M. CST. I got some cool pictures of the Church and also of the site where Uncle Athanasius decided to have his heart buried - yes - his heart is buried right behind me in this picture. Body is in Rome.


 Athanasius' Heart is buried behind the altar behind me

Back to getting stiffed. When I arrive in town the family is pretty cold to me - not rude but not happy about this "Marriage." and of course of me not being a Catholic Priest. Later that day I get a call that the town Priest wants to see me. What did he want? Can't be good but it comes out that he is worried that the marriage won't be valid if done by me. Wrong I say (he's old country Italian so really couldn't understand why they wouldn't want a priest doing the ceremony. I assure him it's legal in the courts and approved in God's eyes. The only thing he asked was to stand next to me during the ceremony - sure. Why not? He seemed to be satisfied. I tell you what though, I had some of the most fantastic Italian food - those people know how to make pasta! Better than Bourdain's family in Sardinia.

The wedding was outside and it was fairytale. Flowers all over, linens, town square, a couple hundred people - all related. Crazy beautiful. We start the ceremony and all went well. Although I noticed that when I was pronouncing the blessing and declaring them man and wife, I could hear the Priest also pronouncing a blessing and then crossing himself. I guess he was covering all bases with the Methodist.

Later - after a great party - I was given a farewell by the Lieutenant Colonel and told he'd get back with me about the trip when he got back to Vicenza. Did he ever get back with me in Vicenza? NO! The creep stiffed me! But you know what? I had a great time. I got to connect with my heritage, see great places, eat lovely food, pray, laugh, and bask in the warmth of living simply. It was worth it.

Staring at the Joker (or Supreme Court justice)

     When there's little happening in your life except the constant reminder of misery that surrounds just about everything you do, you procure a small statue that was in the house of some neighbors who decided they didn't want to pay their rent and high-tailed it out of town.  It was a free-for-all but nothing really to be had...rancid smells, dirty carpets, dog feces all over, unread college books, Wal-mart Chinese communist imported pressed board computer tables from Alabama pine, and green bread.  But there was a prize for me.  It's one of those things like the Taco Bell bobbing head dog from the commercial that those morons finally stopped running...a small statuette of our man the "Joker."  The likeness taken from the great actor who overdosed during the making of the Batman movie and they computerized him to finish the movie - I guess it is all about money after all...
     But check him out.  He was so good in the "Knight's Tale"...later the "Patriot," one of my all time favorite movies with that ill-conceived Scottish wannabe and much maligned Mel Gibson.  But if you look closely, what IS he looking at?   He apparently has other things on his mind...not me.  Something amiss up above maybe?  Or could it be the decision of ONE Supreme Court Justice that's making him wonder?

     ADHD is rearing its ugly head again - Squirrel!!!  Sometimes it seems as if life is a constant thread of  "It seemed like a good thing to do at the time," that's strung together - that would be me.  You joined the Army (the "hollow" one), in 1973 just 4 days after high school graduation and where the headquarters company was filled with guys coming back from Vietnam still hooked on the "good stuff" - so what do they do?  Put the druggies in the headquarters barracks of a MILITARY POLICE company where they continue their merry ways with the drug use and even though busted by the military still get promoted because they did their time and because they have time in grade and time in service so they get their stripes back in 2 months!  Yeah!  Truth is stranger than fiction.  Then later the First Sergeant and Company Commander go through the barracks for a "health and welfare" inspection - "read" "I want to 'legally' check out what's in those foot lockers," and see all the pot and "bong" things and everything else used for the ingestion of illegal drugs.  What does the commander say when he sees the roach clip with some pot still hanging on for dear life on my roommates foot locker?  "Let it go, he's a good Soldier."  Later that Friday, lots of beer on ice in garbage cans provided courtesy of the Company Command and First Sergeant thanking us for all the good work we did through the week.  The drug guys got their medicine later that night. Irony is bleeding here. Thankfully those days - and that Army - is long gone.

Cow BBQ in Kosovo 2001 - or  what you will feel
like waiting in line at the DMV for medical care 

     Bye Squirrel - Back to reality kids...I suppose in the end we will all have the look of the Joker - pale, pasty face, dark circles around the eyes, the pensive stare - as we await what little medical care we will never receive thanks to one Supreme Court Justice who bailed on the Constitution for who knows what reason.  Those last days on earth will not be pretty once we have people similar to those who work at the DMV and don't know us nor love us making decisions on what we will and won't get medically - heck with the doctors - let a bureaucrat make the decision for you.  Yeah Joker - it is a joke.