It was almost 16:00 when it dawned on me that even the supermarkets would be closed tomorrow and Monday, and that if I needed anything, I’d better get it right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It had not been an easy day to that point. I’d kept my schedule, but only after a restless night with what seemed like a lot of gaps in my sleep (though some of those I think I dreamt). Meditation didn’t turn the day around as it did yesterday, and at the end, it turned into a rather long nap. I’ve been uncomfortable in my computer chair all day, so didn’t work on the play. I did walk a fair amount in the courtyard, a kind of therapy that delivered good results while I was in motion, but didn’t sustain. I started a soup, a good one as it turns out, but not particularly inspired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when I realized it was now or never for the weekend, that overcame the blahs, and before I knew it I was on the street and headed toward Piazza Cahen for the edicola<\/em> at the bottom on the hill. I have a CVC digital thermometer that needed a battery, and you never know when a working thermometer might be a good idea \u2013 especially these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It happens that the edicola<\/em> is across from Antonny and Romina’s. I knew that because the last time I saw him and his kids it was because I’d stopped to read headlines, but I didn’t put it together today, so when I approached, and Romina was on their balcony with little Linda, hanging a comforter out to air, I was pleasantly surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBuona sera, Romina!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCiao, David! Buona Pasqua!\u201d Linda smiled and waved three times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also knew tomorrow was Easter, of course, but forgot that meant you can wish anyone a good holiday or a good Easter whether or not you know them. The shape of the next two hours was set in that moment. Antonny came out. We talked a bit. Linda smiled and waved another four or five times. I was delighted to return each one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I pass the woman who owns the\u00a0edicola<\/em>\u00a0often, and we always exchange greetings even though I only make it in to buy something once a year or so. She is a purple person. I’ve noticed for a long time that people who love purple love it to a degree that others with other color preferences don’t share. She\u00a0always<\/em>\u00a0dresses in purple, usually to the exclusion of any other color. Nevertheless, she provided the not-purple battery, wrapped it in its not-purple receipt so I’d be less likely to lose it, and we wished each other a happy holiday \u2013 Easter, which always includes a little purple.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few more waves with Linda, and I continued up to Met\u00e0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guys there all call me caro<\/em> or carissimo<\/em>, that is, dear or dearest, not at all unusual in Italian. I’ve always loved that, but it took me three years to comfortably return the favor. I asked Gabriele if they would indeed be closed tomorrow and Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, yes, both days, caro<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood! You guys deserve some time off after this past month.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrazie, carissimo! Tanti auguri per la Pasqua<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAltrettanto, caro<\/em>,\u201d I managed to say without the least embarrassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow is everything going with you,\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI’m not complaining, but for instance it is so good to hear another voice!\u201d And that was profoundly true, at that moment hearing him say anything, even stuff on the phone I didn’t understand, was like listening to an angel. Of course he’s been working twelve hours a day for a month and conversing most of the time, so there was a moment of incomprehension before he nodded in agreement. I choked up and chose to leave it at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I returned home, unloaded, and went back to the Via Signorelli store for stuff Corso doesn’t stock, then to the bank, the housewares store, and indulged in a couple of unnecessary jogs just because I was out. I wished well to people I don’t know, to people I sort of know, to people I know but not that well. We were all of us with masks concealing our main features, but recognition managed to happen just the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve related this sort of thing before, but it continues to surprise and delight me. Today, it was a kind of resurrection \u2013 perfectly appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This morning I received word that a friend and colleague in New York has been taken by the virus. He is the first of people I know, and I hope he is the only. He left a legacy of more than fifty years of unselfish dedication to a school he loved, and gently touched the lives of thousands, always for the better. We shared a first name and a last initial. He would have loved it here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buona Pasqua<\/em>, Zip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was almost 16:00 when it dawned on me that even the supermarkets would be closed tomorrow and Monday, and that if I needed anything, I’d better get it right away. It had not been an easy day to that point. 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