By 9:00, I was in Aprigliano. Wasn’t sure if it was too early to show up at Mario’s and Tonina’s, so I drove up to Guarno, the central section of Aprigliano, parked and headed up the street to Santo Stefano. Naturally everyone in the parking area and in the piazza gave me the once over – who is this stranger? The statue in the piazza is a memorial to those who died in WWI.
The church in Guarno was open so I went in to find four women cleaning. I asked if I could shoot. Also, introduced myself, but they didn’t know my family. It was fun walking through Santo Stefano in the morning, on my own shooting pictures.
By 9:30 I headed down to Santo Leonardo, the section of Aprigliano where Mario and Tonina live.
I got unpacked and met Alyssa, she’s the youngest daughter home from college. I went back up to Guarno and found Mario who introduced me to Totonno’s son. Totonno is my first cousin. His son Salvatore is younger than me, but looks quite drawn. I kept wondering if he isn’t ill. Mario also introduced me to all the other people in the piazza. By 12:30 it was time to go home for the mid-day meal. Mario took the steps down to his house. I didn’t know where the steps were had walked the road. (I know the steps in Santo Stefano and the once leading to Corte, by where Mario and Tonina live and the housing on that slope of the mountain didn’t exist when I live there.)
The mid-day meal is the main meal of the day. It is large and hot. Mario and I came in, and he went to change out of his street-clothes and into at-home clothes. We then sat down to eat. (I will talk more about the mid-day meal in other postings.) After eating, Alyssa and Tonina cleaned the table. I tried to help, but they would have none of it. With the meal done and the dished cleaned, it was announced that rest was in order. Me still being on Pittsburgh-time announced that I was going over to the cemetery to take pictures. They all left the street-floor and went off to their apartment on the first floor. I packet my camera and drove to the cemetery.
The afternoon was miserably hot. A fact that became a recurring experience. No one was out, the American with his camera was the only person out in the afternoon heat and sun.
I went back and rested for a couple of hours. At 5:00, Mario came down and knocked on the door to announce coffee time. We sat in the downstairs kitchen and had a coffee. This is strong espresso in a tiny cup. The coffee was the “hold-you-over” until supper snack.
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