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Respect for God's Rats"I just finished reading your journal, and I wanted to say that while I think it's very honourable that you respect God's creatures and I'm glad you're a man of such conscience, YOU'RE CRAZY!
You CAN NOT let a foot long rat live in your attic! You MUST get it out! And I've got 3 VERY good reasons why!
1. Rats are dangerous, especially wild ones. They attack people, and I'm not kidding! If you get up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and accidentally come across it, it will bite you and that's very bad because of reason #2!
2. Rats carry diseases!!! They are filthy and infectious and dangerous to humans! They carry fleas and mites as well, which may very well be what's causeing a lot of your allergy problems! They transmit HIV and other VERY SERIOUS diseases, and you could die! I don't want you to die!!
3. Plugging a hole isn't going to help. You have to get it out of the appartment all together because a little bit of dry wall isn't going to deter an R.O.U.S. from entering your appartment to eat your food stuffs! At most it'll slow him down for 24 hours until he can chew out a new hole somewhere else, like under your bed!
SO! Now that I've given you all my reasons, I've got a solution. Get a humane trap. One of those little cage-y things that you put the bait in the back of and when he walks in, the door slams shut behind him. Once he's caught, take him for a ride to your local park and set him free. No sreaming, no dieing, no infectious disease, and no patching a new hole everyday when you get home from work! YAY!" -- Journal Reader
Posted by Marc Gunn on Monday, January 27, 2003 |
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Ecology of the Roof RatI know I pissed off yesterday. It does upset me when my food and snacks are eaten (he got more than the Ciobar), and my space invaded. But I had a harsh dose of reality yesterday which left me in tears.
I believe all creatures have a right to live. When my ex was living with me, even the ants she killed upset me to some degree. Now I do the same. But even that bothers me. But Rats...
Ye know, I've never seen a feral rat in Austin before. Rats were creatures you'd find in cages at Pet Smart. Not something that lived in your roof. Well, that's what I thought in any case, but the problem seems much more serious.
Jasper was hearing those critters in our attic for a while. And after doing a little research I learned a wee bit more about the creatures known as roof rats. Apparently, they're quite common, and there are a number of ways to keep them at bay. After last night, that's all I want to do.
You see, I put in a maintenance request yesterday morning. So the apartment staff set out glue traps for the rats with horrifying results. I heard one caught under the stove. I pulled out the bottom drawer to see the poor creature's face pinned to the glue trap with no hope of escape. It's body was probably five inches or so, but nine inches in total length. So in tears and fears, I disposed of the creature in a bag in the dumpster outside.
Then as I was going asleep, I heard another banging under the stove. I went again to see what was there. It was a roof rat about a foot long (head-to-tail) with a foot caught on a trap. I took some photos of it before it escaped which I hope to share when the LOTR CD is done.
This disturbs me greatly. On the one hand, I see a creature who can jump vertically up to four feet, eats my foodstuffs, and craps all over my pantry. It's disturbing as can be to think there are foot long rats running in my walls and through my attic. On the other hand, I see one of God's creatures filling an unfilled niche in the circle of life, and it is cold and hungry.
So the balance in my mind is that the rat can live in my walls and roof, but it is not allowed in my home to eat the little food my meager income can come up with.
So I guess the next step is figure out how Herbert (his new name) is getting into my apartment and preventing him from doing so further.
Course, there is always the cat option. But I'm sorry to say, but that rat was huge. I'd probably bet on the rat over Jasper in an all out fight. Sheesh! Maybe I'll just have to find a good rat catcher...one that's bigger and knows how to fight.
I can see it now: Jasper vs. Herbert. Jasper does a flying kick to the rat's chest. The rat tumbles barrs its' teeth and jumps back at Jasper giving the old 1-2-3 in the face. Jasper shakes his head, glares, and Herbert jumps again. Jasper gazes at the flying rat, then turns tail and runs away to hide under my bed.
Yeah, I definitely need a tougher cat to fend off the rats.
Any case, the moral of this story is there are humane ways to remove rats. Trust me, if you heard a rat shriek with his face stuck to a piece of glue paper, you too would look for more humane ways to defend your home from pests. I mean, they are afterall just trying to survive.
Posted by Marc Gunn on Friday, January 24, 2003 |
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Lesson to the Wise -- Trust Your CatI just got back from our gig at Sake on Sixth and was feeling a bit snackish. So I head to the pantry for some Ciobar to make some sinful Italian hot chocolate. And I find one of my packets...OPEN!
Okay, maybe, just maybe, it's not a very strong package and ripped on the trip. Holy crap! There's TWO! No, THREE!
I start taking things out, and lo and behold, I should've been listening to my cat. There's rodent crap on the pantry. Dammit!
Yeah, all those times we'd laugh when Jasper climbed on the TV and looked up at the ceiling. No. He wasn't just a Psycho Kitty. He was trying to catch a rat...or some other rodent. What else has this sucker got into? This is just bad timing! Ugh.
Well in any case, I now believe in the corporal punishment...the Death Penalty...for RODENTS. I mean, it's Ciobar!!! That's a Cardinal SIN!
Posted by Marc Gunn on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 |
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Visit the archive to start reading about my trip to Italy from start to finish. Starts on Friday the 20th--The Departure.
Posted by Marc Gunn on Thursday, January 09, 2003 |
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December 26 - Asolo & VicenzaNow it was time to head for the mountains. I LOVE mountains. I got back in Austin, looked around and said, "Dang, I can see for miles!" The Veneto is located in the Po River Valley. Mountains are on all sides.
Far to the South and East, the Apennines. To the North are the Dolomites, a part of the Western Alps. Immense mountains that change color as the day goes on. Then, there's the hills which are so big by Austin standards, that they may as well be mountains.
So the day after Christmas, we headed off to Asolo. I remember going to Asolo, I think it was the first time I went to Italy in 1985 or so. We went to an antique market. I remember seeing incredible illuminations ripped out of pages of old tomes and sold for exoribant prices. I remember the view. Wow! Beautiful. The town was old, old. And the magic was there!
We stopped on the way and bought some lunch at one of the few open stores. I got some Edamer which had that delicious creamy taste that I love in Asiago cheese. I also got some prosciutto and snacked all the way out to Asolo.
This time, I went with my camera and took a few cool pictures of the countryside, the streets, and a few of the people. There was no market, and it was an Italian holiday so it was pretty dead. But it was delight to see nonetheless.
Afterwards, we drove through the Dolomites past Marostica where you can find one of the oldest live chess matches held every couple years there and Bolzano where I've got to return as I later learned that's near where mom, Tiziano and I went climbing high into the mountains to an abandoned military fort with grazing cattle and wonderful fog. To VicenzaWe then drove through the campagna back to Vicenza. There I labored through the streets to the piazza. I figured out how to use the cool night function of my digital camera and was fortunate enough to catch a few cool pictures there. Unfortunately, many came out blurry, like my shots of Il Teatro Olimpico, the oldest indoor theatre in Europe. But they somewhat capture the mood nonetheless.
The piazza was alive with people. Everyone was out walking around. I still have no clue what they were doing out there, but to the best of my knowledge, they just wanted to socialize.
After walking through the piazza, we stopped at a bar to catch a breath and take drink. Then around the corner, we made our way back. I was exhausted, so we stopped in front of a church that was holdin a Presipio inside. I took some pictures and tried out some other features on my camera. Friday, December 27 - Rained OutWell, I was hoping to head to Venice on the 27th, but it rained. Mom decided not to wake me consequently, so it was another late morning. I was wee bit miffed with mom for not waking me. But I think it worked out for the best. I needed the sleep, and she did too. And after all, it's Her vacation too!
Mom wanted to check on presents, and I wanted to pick up a few things from a grocery store, so she dropped me off at the Italian version of a Super Walmart. I forget the name now. But it was huge store with TVs, kitchen supplies, towels, and lots of food.
Once again, I was slowed down majorly by having crutches. But it wasn't all bad. I rented a cart.
Oh now that's interesting. To use a grocery cart, you must put money into the cart to remove it from a rack. I forget how much it costs. Two euros maybe?
But with a cart I was able to lean over the handle and glide through the store. Course it was still a bit exhausting. But much less so than if I crutched. That and I was still sweating like a dog.
I picked up a cheese grater, a cappuccino foamer, some Ramazzotti, and some Ciobar. My ex and I discovered Ciobar when we were in Italy two years ago. It's an instant hot chocolate mix that is soooo very rich and thick, you can almost stand a spoon in it. Delicious! So I bought a few boxes. ;) Saved by the MotherFortunately, mom came at last and helped me get around a wee bit easier since I didn't have to push the cart any more. We then went out into the Mall area got some gelato and relaxed.
I then wanted to look around and get some presents for my sister. So I stopped off at a store and bought a couple little gifts for her. Then went to an Italian book store and found a couple books of traditional Italian music. Not the easiest thing to find. Finally, I stopped in a CD store and looked around. I told a friend I'd buy her an album of Italian heavy metal--Litifiba. Course she later told me it was more just hard rock, but it's been a while since I've heard it.
I also ended up buying several albums of two of my favorite Italian artists, Fabrizio de Andre and Angelo Branduardi.
Mom and then went off to an old favorite, "Fish With No Eyes" or "Napoli's" or whatever was the latest nick name for this popular little restaurant near the military post. We had a wonderful dinner that included Spaghetti all'Arrabiata and some fried squid. Delicious!
Posted by Marc Gunn on Thursday, January 09, 2003 |
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Saturday, December 28 - More Rain, Padova & MordorSaturday, it was raining still, and I still woke up a wee bit late. (Are we seeing a pattern here?) Then we drove off to Padova. The rain stopped right as we arrived, but by then some vendors were starting to pack up.
The main market was pretty boring to me since I didn't need shoes (great time to try them on with my crutches;). So we hobbled up the street to the Vegetable Market where Tiziano was selling flowers.
Mom gawked in the windows while I sweated...I mean, crutched my way up slowly to the market. We stopped at a small cafe... Petrarca, I think? Had a lite lunch and then continued hobbling.
When we arrived at the Flower Market, Tiziano was just about packed up. I had had these grand delusions, Before coming, and Before I sprained my ankle, of working in the market with him. Well, no such luck. And now he was getting ready to leave.
Mom threw the idea of going to Venice since the rain stopped. And Tiziano wasn't up to it, after a hard day at work in the market. But he was kind enough to drive me back to the main market to wait for my mom.
Searching for MordorWhen Mom finally picked me up she was too tired to drive to Venice. She had to work on Monday and didn't feel quite up to it. So instead we decided to drive around la campagna around Isola Mantegna where she used to live.
I told her then, that I needed to get some good mountain photos for the Tolkien CD. So we hit some back roads, and I started taking lots of pictures. It started with some trees.
Italy is filled with some amazing trees. During and after the war, Italy needed wood. So they began cutting down a lot of the trees. However, instead of actually cutting them down entirely, they cut them down to about two to three feet of the stump and let the tree continue to grow.
Consequently, the trees have a very peculiar shape. Actually, they kinda remind me of creatures. I wouldn't be surprised if these trees were Ents are some such. While stopping in the road to take a picture, Mom suggested I take some Sepia-toned shots. I did and WOW. Some of those shots are my absolute best-looking shots!
Very powerful pictures capturing the majesty, wisdom and ages of the Italian countryside. Some old villas. Even some trees that were probably cut down from being sick. I got some great shots there! I can't wait to see how I can incorporate them into the CD.
When I'd taken my fill, we drove over to Tiziano's and hung out there a wee bit. I was beginning to feel like my ability to see Italy was being stunted. So I made up my mind to go to Venice on Monday and go see a movie that night. Pinocchio!It took a trip TO Italy to realize that the story of Pinocchio was Italian. I guess I'm slow, huh? Well, it is an Old Italian fairy tale. I saw book in a bookstore about Pinocchio starring Roberto Benigni and thought he would make a Great Pinocchio. So while looking to see what was showing in the Italian movie theatres, and seeing that Il Signore degli Agnelli was not yet in theatres, I decided to pass up Harry Potter e La Camera Dei Segreti to watch Pinocchio in its native language.
The movie was spectacular. Benigni is such an energetic person I still couldn't imagine him NOT being exhausted by the end of the film. The story, a bit more in depth than the Disney version, with more trials and a beautiful fairy, played by Nicoletta Braschi, who seems to be in all his movies.
While I barely understood exactly WHAT was said, I followed the story pretty well and had a great time. Went home and passed out!
Posted by Marc Gunn on Thursday, January 09, 2003 |
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Sunday, December 29 - Paradiso and the Antique Roadshow hit Piazzola sul BrentaWe woke up that morning to an breathtaking site. The rain had stopped and the moisture had settled in the valley, but up on mom's hill, we had a perfect view of the Dolomites! It was exquisite!
The fresh air combined with this amazingly grand mountains looming out of the ground, changing color with the sun while clouds floated by beneath us. My camera went crazy! And I found some great shots that I'll try for our CD.
Finally, we headed off to Camisano for their weekly market. There are two things I enjoy about going to the Camisano market: (1) seeing the people, (2) Cheese!
Long, long ago, my mom and I would go to the market, buy some Asiago cheese and a cooked chicken. We'd visit Tiziano, eat a panino while I'd look around and enjoy the vitality of the bustling market.
This Sunday, we arrived near noon which is about the traditional end of the market. So mom dropped me off, I hobbled quickly through the streets with one goal in mind. I passed Tiziano, "Ciao, Marco!"
"Ritorno subito!" I shout back telling him I'll be back.
I pass the shoes, the shirts, the fake antiques and turn left and stop in front of a big, trailer that is a portable cheese store! Things have changed. No longer is there the much-adored, slip into the side and be the first to get my order taken.
No this time, I took a number. As I waited to be called, I took some photos of the delicious cheese and the wonderful people working there. How much should I get? Ooo! And Asiago was on sale! I started to drool.
Finally, the order came and I got four etti (which is 400 grams) of Asiago and one etto of gorgonzola. I stepped away from the cart and saw my mom coming with lunch. I began to cry.
*Sob* "I can't believe it", I cried to her. "L'ho fatto! I made it."
My mom was all concerned. "What's the matter?"
"I m-m-made it. L'ho fatto a Paradiso. I made it to Heaven. *sniff* All this cheese only cost FOUR DOLLARS!"
She busted up laughing while I continued to feign crying. Finally, we stopped, and I wandered through the market on my crutches occasionally stopping to eat some cheese. I was happy!)
Then back I went to Tiziano's carella to wait for mom. Tiziano had the winter mushrooms out. Which I don't ever remember eating. So later that day he cooked me some and brought some over. But I missed out on 'em. Next Stop Antique RoadshowOkay, it wasn't the REAL antique roadshow, but Piazzola was holding an antique market, and I wanted to go. Piazzola is the place where I took the photo for A Celtic Renaissance Wedding.
I love going to antique markets with my mom. She is such a genius when it comes to finding great deals in the markets. She told me about how she was like her mom only instead of buying just jewelry, she could buy antiques, wait for them to gain value and sell at a profit...
Okay, that's the IDEA, but my mom grows a wee bit too attached to her furniture and whatnots.
I remember also coming to this market many years ago and almost buying some musical instrument from a Moroccan. It was really kinda cool. He started selling it at like $50, but by the time we left, it went down to $20. My brother later told me he could've gotten it down to $10. Dang! I wish!
Yes, I, like my Da, collect musical instruments...sorta.
We stopped at a neat little Gelataria to hit the restrooms and while mom waited, I grabbed a cappucio (it's really not that small after all), some water, and a table while I checked out the beautiful Italian ladies working behind the bar. OH!
Well mom had one real goal for this cold morning. There was a dealer in Roman artifacts from Libya she had befriended. He had little odds and ends of Roman coins and pieces of vases, and well, lots of little do dads. So we stopped had some wonderful hot tea there and admired some of the jewelry they were making too.
Finalmente it was about time to get back home to greet some Tatiana, Tiziano, and Lidia who were coming over to hear Tiziano and me play music together.
But on the way out, I caught a couple great shots of a man busking in the markets playing an accordian. Beautiful man and music. Got a sweet MPEG of it with my digital camera too. Italian Jam SessionAround 5pm, the group arrived. Tatiana's Tiziano told me he was a songwriter a few days earlier. So we arranged to jam together this day.
He arrived with a bunch of books and started playing. He likes attention. So I let him play his songs and occasionally strummed in. It started with some of his original songs, and then Lidia wanted to hear some good Italian traditional songs. So we played some Fabrizio and Angelo Branduardi.
Interestingly, I finally got a translation for one of my favorite songs, "La Pulce D'Acqua". I always loved it because it's such an upbeat happy song, yet I thought it was about the Black Death. This made my delight all the more...delightful.
Well on translating it, it wasn't but the lyrics just as wonderful.
We played together until we were starving and mom's Tiziano had arrived. And we went back to that restaurant that I wasn't overly impressed with their pizza.
Upstairs I ordered Gnocchi al Gorgonzola e Noci and veal with a truffle sauce. OH YEAH!
I first leared about truffles from Peter Mayle in his Provence books where he goes into detail about how they find the truffles and how valuable they really are. I took my time eating, cutting the meat into very small slices and savored every moment. The food was incredible! yeahhhh...
Finally, we went back home to prepare for the big day tomorrow--VENICE!
Posted by Marc Gunn on Thursday, January 09, 2003 |
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Let Me Show My LoveLord,
Let me show my love.
Not my hate.
Not my anger.
Let me show my love.
Not my anger.
Not my loneliness.
Let me show my love.
Not my loneliness.
Not my despair.
Let me show my love.
Not my despair
Not my weakness.
Lord,
Let me show Your love.
Posted by Marc Gunn on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 |
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Brief break from the journal while I ventFriends: Past, Present & FutureI had two best friends while living in San Antonio during Junior High and High School: Robert and Steve.
Robert was a dedicated friend and a bit of a pessimist. As a result, he didn't have too many other friends. Instead, he read almost all the time, except when we hung out together. I always enjoyed my time with Robert, but his pessimistic nature made it difficult for me to hang around him.
Steve, on the otherhand, was an optimist. He was energetic and had a natural charisma. I loved playing D&D with Steve or just hanging out with him. It was always a blast! But the problem with Steve was he didn't seem to quite enjoy my company... I guess?
You see, of these two people, I'd consider Robert the better friend. I remember calling him up frequently, but many times he was never able. I still wonder whether Steve or his parents were the reason.
It reminds me of another friend I grew up with in Maryland--John. John was also charismatic. He love John. We used to pretend that we were twin brothers, because we looked a lot alike as kids. But I'd knock on his door, and he told me straight out that he didn't want to play. That broke my heart on many occasions growing up.
I mention these two examples because I find myself falling into the same old rut.
I love having close friends, people to confide in, to chat openly with, and spend lots of time with them. But now I'm finding changes that remind me of the past.
All of a sudden, I'm finding myself feeling like Marc of age 6 and 16. That pathetic youth who is calling, calling, calling asking for a friend to come out and play, but no one will. Or they may on a whim, but they're not calling.
I feel like I have to be the one to maintain a friendship. That just pisses me off. I mean, I love calling friends and asking them to hang out, watch a movie, have dinner, whatever! But why should I be the one to make the first move EVERY TIME?
All of a sudden, I find myself questioning my friendships. Do these people really like me for me? Should I even bother trying to call them? Yeah, it may get lonely, but there must be other people out there who give a Damn Enough about a Friendship to WANT to hang out with me, right?
I can think of a couple people right now. But admittedly, there aren't many. Course most of my friends these days are online. But still!
I guess I should rephrase in any case. It's not so much whether they WANT to, it's whether they will exert the "effort" to do it!
I don't know. I'm frustrated and disheartened a wee bit. More and more I'm wanting a pet so I don't have to bother with this thing called "friendship".
I know, it's a bit pessimistic. Guess, I'm just in one of those mildly depressed moods. But it's been a recurring theme since I got back. And I'm tired of it. It seems to me, there comes a point when ye just have to say, "That's enough. If YOU still want to be friends. Then YOU have to make an effort too."
Yeah, I'll change my mind next week and start making phone calls, but boy am I tired of it!
Posted by Marc Gunn on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 |
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Once again, these aren't quite in order. Scoll down to Friday, January 03, 2003 to read the first journal entry. Then come back up here to continue in order.
Posted by Marc Gunn on Tuesday, January 07, 2003 |
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Sunday/Monday the 23rdI think I lost a day somewhere in this grand vacation. I think I arrived on Sunday and just had no clue, because as I recall, Monday was a day of rest. Mom and I were both exhausted, and I slept until about noon. After waking, I took some pictures around the house of my pets and then set about going through them on mom's computer.
That evening, we went out for pizza, and saw a lovely presepio at a favored restaurant of mom's. The pizza? As I recall it had mushrooms, gorgonzola and speck. Speck is pretty much prosciutto smoked, but uncooked with the rest of the pizza. The pizza was delicious, though the mushrooms were obviously from a can. And I had my first glimpse of some cute Italian waitresses.
We went home that evening and watched a VHS of "Brother Cadfel", a British mystery TV show based in medieval England. It features a monk played by Derek Jacobi of I, Claudius and Gladiator fame. I was not looking forward to it, but mom was right. It really drew me in. Great show. I'd love to see some more episodes.
When it ended, I went off to bed. I continued reading "The Two Towers" until Coco came up and started nudging me to pet her. So I gave her a little kitty massage, all the while pulling out clumps of hair. Ugh. I stopped and turned out the light. But she continued to nudge my hand into her cold, wet nose. So I stroked her some more, turned over and fell asleep.
Posted by Marc Gunn on Tuesday, January 07, 2003 |
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Tuesday the 24th - Christmas EveThe next morning, rather afternoon, we awoke and mom needed to head to the military post at Vicenza to see if her packages had arrived.
Mom ordered all her presents from Amazon.com this year. But they still hadn't arrived. So she was in a frenzy since we were going to Tiziano's to have dinner with the family.
And she was disappointed to find they still had not arrived. So we went to get some groceries. While they we ran into a co-worker of mom's, Trudy, but I didn't see anyone I knew. Chatted with her husband and then went driving around a wee bit before heading over to Tiziano's.
We arrived around 7pm which is still a wee bit early for dinner, but people were starting to gather. By eight, everyone was there and the food was served. It was exquisitely made by Loretta, Tiziano's sister, and Tatiana, Loretta's daughter. I re-learned that it was also Signore's 80th birthday! So it was a grand cause for celebration.
The food was spectacular with some turkey (provided by mom and not a normal Christmas-time food for Italians), and an assortment of beautiful appetizers and primi e secondi! I wish I wrote down what all was there, but I spent most of my time taking pictures of people.
That's one of the probs I noticed with having a camera. It's so much fun, sometimes I forget to pay close attention to what's happening! Ah well...
Any case, the food left wonderful, tasty Italian memories for me. Then Babbo Natale arrived in the form of Kiki (Signore's boyfriend) Jean-Marco (Tiziano's brother's son). And the present opening began. Course, I didn't get (nor expected) much. But there was a nice shirt and bottle of Lemonella in it. Lemonella sorta tastes like alcoholic Lemonheads. Didn't care for it much myself. Ah well.
I got some great photos of Signore and Kiki especially once we started playing music together. I played a few Irish songs. And then Signore and Kiki began the Italian folk music show, taking breaks in between to teach me a little Veneto dialect modi da dire/"sayings".
My favorite dialect phrase is something like "I ga iga igai". I think that's how it's written. It means. "Hanno legato i polli", or in English, "They beheaded the chickens". hehe!
Well before I knew it it was midnight and we had to go. This was the first time in my life that I was able to feel totally comfortable chatting in Italian and able to follow the conversation. And it was way to short an evening!
Home we went and once more I went through the photos for the day. Christmas DayOnce again, it was about 11am when I awoke to the sounds of cooking below. My mom lives in barn that was converted into a house. And the distance between my room and the kitchen is just a few inches. Mom said there was even a hole in the floor to look down at the kitchen below, but I never got around to looking at that.
Dinner was served with a lovely display and then Mom, Tiziano and I went driving around the Colli Berici ("colli" are "hills"). Up one side and down the other. Then away we drove taking pictures of the incredible hillside. Exquisite villas. Fog and clouds. Italian trees, fields and old stucco houses. Ah Italia!
We then drove over to a previously planned late lunch at Trudy's. We sat and chatted for a while. And oddly, it seemed more difficult chatting there in English than it was chatting in Italian at Tiziano's. So after a while, I went into the other room where the kids were watching their new present, "Lilo & Stitch" on DVD. Tiziano who was also having trouble following mom's American co-workers came in with me and we chatted a wee bit.
Then home we went. By day's end, all were exhausted. I worked on some photos and then I went to watch TV a wee bit. My ever-favorite, "It's a Wonderful Life" was on. And Tiziano had never seen an American version. In Italy, they translate EVERYTHING. No subtitled movies. Consequently, you miss out on the great vocal inflections of Jimmy Stewart. But neither he nor I could stay awake. So I went off to bed.
Posted by Marc Gunn on Tuesday, January 07, 2003 |
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Thursday, December the 26th - La Festa di Santo Stefano - The 26th is typically a holiday for Italians. It is St. Stephen's Day which marks the announcement of the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the Three Wise Men. That being so, Tiziano was off work one more day. So we headed to the mountains--Asolo in particular.
I've always loved Asolo. It's a cute little medieval town situated up in the mountains. The air is cool. It's small. And once a month, they host an antique market. I guess that's what I remember most about Asolo.
So we started the trip to Asolo around noonish. Stopped at one of the few open sandwich shops and I bought some prosciutto and a Swiss cheese that I think was Edamer. And it seemed as creamy as my ever favorite cheese, Asiago.
Well there was no market in Asolo, but I got some fantastic shots of the town and started learning some new features on my camera, like the Sepia toned photos.
We finished there and drove back to Vicenza to visit the city itself. That was brutal! It's exhausting working your way through a town on crutches. And boy did I get hot. I seem to expend an enomormous amount of energy.
In Vicenza, I started messing with the night photos of my camera. I didn't have a tripod, so I had to do what I could. Namely, I used one of my crutches as a uni-pod. Worked fairly well, though some of the shots were a bit blurry.
The town is as beautiful as ever. And it was the first time I saw people coming in droves. I don't know what they were doing, mayhaps just enjoying the evening air. But everyone was out and about, walking around the piazza. We stopped at a piccola cafe for one of my many breathers and then made our way back home.
At one point, we stopped at a much needed bench in front of church that featured a Presepio inside. But I was too pooped to go there. So we waited while I took some more pictures. Then off we went to the car. I was planning on going to Venezia on Friday.
Posted by Marc Gunn on Tuesday, January 07, 2003 |
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Okay, I'm starting from Day One and working my way forward. So if you want a day-by-day account, my Italian adventure began on the 20th and ended on New Year's Day. I'll try to add stuff asap.
Safe and SoundWow! There's so much to talk about I feel intimadated about even beginning! So let me start by saying Italy was incredible. It was an adventure, a challenge, a joy, a sorrow, rollercoaster ride of emotions and worth every minute!
So since I'm not sure where to begin, we'll start with...the beginning. Friday the 20th--The DepartureSince we had a gig on Thursday, all my packing was done on Friday. I'd hoped to go up and stay with a friend in Dallas, but by the time I got off my arse to contact them, I felt it'd be too much of an inconvienence. So I decided to pack, drive up there, and crash in the airport.
Unfortunately, I was so tired from a sinus infection and lack of sleep that it was a challenge. I got stuff together and took off. An hour out I was having a horrible time staying awake, so I began calling people on my cell phone. Most weren't available, but I did manage to get in touch with Tom, the DJ from Celtic Core on KEOS 89.1 FM in College Station. I knew he was broadcasting that night, so he and Melanie helped me out tremendously by giving me a frequent phone calls to make sure I was awake.
Finally, I made it up to the terminal. Parked my car. And with crutches from my sprained ankle, two big suitcases, an autoharp and a Brobdingnagian Bard tote bag, I stumbled up to check in at about 1am. And everything was closed! Ugh!
So I hobbled back down to the car and decided to find cheaper parking and maybe a hotel to crash at. Hotel prices didn't suit me, so I found remote parking and called a friend to give me a wake up call. I passed out as best I could. Saturday the 21st, The Adventure BeginsTurns out I didn't need that. At 5:30 am, my mom calls. She's on the Autostrada in Italy shouting that her car blew up! Well, she's a bit overdramatic at times, so I knew she meant it was broken down. Appears white smoke was fuming out of the engine while she was driving up there. She had no transportation, and we were days away from Christmas when EVERYTHING closes down. The only solution was for me to take the train when I arrived in Frankfurt.
Well, I was up and awake so I picked up my luggage and shuffled to the bus terminal and caught a ride to the airport terminal to hop my flight on Northwest Airlines. Then the nicities began.
After exiting the bus and trying to take the escalator (which was not running), some amazing woman saw my dilemna and helped me to an elevator. She then grabbed the only available luggage carrier--a wheelchair. And we hobbled to the counter. Then the lap of luxury began.
They brought out a person to push me around in my wheelchair. I was first in line for security check and made it through smoothly. But I started to feel like a fraud. Yeah, I know I couldn't move well, but sheesh, I'm being chauffered around and getting all these priority priviledges. Wow!
Well, they dropped me off at the terminal and then I rolled myself over to grab a breakfast smoothly and a brioche. Then rolled back to watch the airline news and try to sleep. Sleep was pretty unsuccessful. So I just bided my time until the flight. Then the real fun began. Music for the SkiesHave you seen The Wedding Singer? You remember at the end when Adam Sandler has to get a First Class ticket and then tells his whole story before singing a song to Drew Barrymore over the intercom. I think the song was "I Want To Grow Old With You." Well, I felt like Sandler.
Right before boarding, they called me up to the counter and upgraded me to First Class! Aw yeah! Then they wheeled me down the ramp where I got to sit next to an FBI Agent. Then, the stewardess, curious about the autoharp, asked me to play, and I did. It was such a rush.
Yes, they really do let you do ANYTHING in First Class! ;)
Then there was this wonderful lunch. Again, I felt I was totally cheating the system.
Well, at long last, I arrived in Detroit, and Northwest had someone meet me at the gate. Then he drove me across the huge International Airport to my terminal for my four hour wait before my flight to Germany took off.
Since I had some time, I called up a couple people and used the last of cellphone battery chatting and then looked around. Wheeled myself down to a cafe and had lunch--Guiness and Nachos.
Still had some time afterwards, so I began playing my autoharp in front of the terminal. Started practicing my Christmas songs. And lo and behold, people began flocking near me. I love how people do that and seem to enjoy my music so much. One guy sat down near me. He was an American living in Germany who was fascinated by the autoharp and the music. Course, I had the sad realization that I've a long way to go to pick out melodies.
"So what are you playing?"
"Damn, you can't hear it? Ah well. Keep practicing!"
After a while, I started reading up on my new Canon S30 digital camera so I'd be prepared when I got to Italy. Practiced some new features, but didn't really keep many of those pictures.
Finally, it was time to leave. Once again, they rolled me down the ramp, and I was boarded on the plane. I did my best to sleep as much as possible, and think I did a pretty could job. Totally missed the movie, "Scoobie Doo" which sucks cuz I love that movie. But I needed the rest, especially as little as I slept Friday night.
I woke up a few hours later and thought about our Tolkien CD, Memories of Middle Earth for quite a while. Eventually, I got bored and so decided to listen to some music. I plugged in the headphones, turned the knob twice and heard a blues song. I then took off my headphones and started writing a comical Tolkien Blues song. Here's the initial version: The Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum BluesOld Bilbo found a ring.
It was the One Ring of the Dark Lord.
Old Bilbo found a ring.
It was the One Ring of the Dark Lord.
Now that twisted freak Gollum
Is hunting me cuz he's bored.
I got the Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues.
I got the Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues.
And if Smeagol don't betray me.
Then the world as we know it is doomed.
Sarum tortured Smeagol
But the slimy runt got away.
I said, Sauron tortured Smeagol
But the slimy runt got away.
Now he's eating Conies with me
Wondering if Sam and I are gay.
I got the Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues.
I got the Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues.
And if Smeagol don't betray me.
Then Sauron will make the Headline News.
He tooks to the gates of Mordor
And then he said, "They ain't no way!" ["Are you crazy. They ain't no way"]
He tooks to the gates of Mordor
And then he said, "They ain't no way!"
Said, "I'll take you to meet Shelob,
And she'll make you a hobbit filet."
I got the Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues.
I got the Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues.
And if Smeagol don't betray me.
The Dark Lord'll make hobbits wear shoes.
We climbed Mount Doom.
But the ring made me all whacked.
I said, we climbed Mount Doom.
But the ring made me all whacked.
So Gollum bit the ring off
And did a Swan Dive in the Crack!
I got the Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues.
I got the Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues.
And if Smeagol don't betray me.
Then I'll never take an Elven Cruise!
Posted by Marc Gunn on Friday, January 03, 2003 |
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Doing the Frankfurt ShuffleWell, I arrived in Frankfurt and once again, I had first class travel as someone pushed me around the airport. It was too cool. No lines to wait through. I was one of the first people through Customs. Got my bags, and had them wheeled out to a shuttle bus. I then finally took out my digital camera when I saw a cool shot on the bus. But then the "real fun" began.
We arrived at the entry for the train station. And I had no clue where I was going. Fortunately, a German woman took pity and told me where I needed to go to catch the train. I felt bad for her. Her husband wasn't interested in having a dead weight, just wanted to get to the train. So she was looking back watching me as they took off at Mock 10. And what a pathetic sight I was.
Okay, picture it. There I am in the cold, dark and rainy German station. In one hand I have a big grey suitcase AND an autoharp. In the other, a slightly smaller, but still just as bulky brown suitcase, with a tote bag hanging down and two crutches in my hand. I'm shuffling like an old man down this terminal getting NO WHERE fast. My foots hurting, but there's no carts to be seen anywhere!
Well finally, I found someone with a cart and asked where they got it. And I was finally able to get one to put my luggage on. Then I could glide, pushing one foot, or push and hobble with a crutch. And mind you, I still wasn't used to those bloody crutches. So it was very slow and painful going.
But at long last, I got to the ticket counter and got a nice First Class ticket to Vicenza. I found my track and decided I should call my mom. But I searched and searched and found I lost the number!
So I tried to remember the number off the top of my head. I remembered one, so I tried to call it. But I'll be damned if I could figure out the phone system. None of the phones would take coins (I got some Euros at the airport), and I didn't have a phone card. My mom told me most take credit cards, but these didn't.
So I said screw it for now. I'll figure it out when I hit München (aka Munich). Boarded the train and at last relaxed watching the beautiful countryside whizz by me. Practiced some more with my camera and arrived in München.
I'd been to München before so it was nice to see a familiar place. But again, I was burdened with luggage and couldn't seem to get ahold of cart. And I was hungry. So I wandered around until I found a nice stand with some of the wurst sandwhiches I'd ever seen. They were very tasty. Then I hobbled back to the phones to try again.
On the train I found the phone number, but I still had no luck figuring out the phones. I remember using them in Italy, so I said screw it and decided to wait until I got there.
Posted by Marc Gunn on Friday, January 03, 2003 |
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O-Town and The Lion Sleeps TonightIfound a nice seat on the train and collapsed. Before long, a bunch of young German girls boarded the train heading for skiing vacation in the Italian alps. One gal, Tanya, was singing some American pop song that made me giggle.
They piled into my cabin and chatted away in German. At some point, they talked to me a wee bit, and I pulled out my autoharp to play. They were baffled and asking if I knew any songs by O-Town or whatnot. Not a clue. So I played some instrumental stuff and then at some prompting began playing some of the Christmas songs I was practicing earlier. The whole crew began singing along. Then I pulled out "The King's Song" and that began the Oldies sing-a-long from "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" to "The Gambler". Okay, actually they didn't know "The Gambler," but I sang it nonetheless.
Then fatigue started to hit, and they asked me to play some lullabies. So I sang, "An Irish Lullaby" and work my way through my favorite ballads. One German boy was there and took a special interest when I sang "The Ring of Hope" from our upcoming Tolkien CD. He lifted up his copy of Der Herr Der Ringe, and I laughed quietly as the young lasses slept. Finally, I put the autoharp up and took a wee nap myself. Celtic ItalyAn hour or so later, the lasses exited the train in Italy and I kept heading down to Vicenza. New people boarded, and I started practicing my new Tolkien Blues song. An Italian boarded and sat down in my cart. I was tempted to quit playing since someone else was here, but soon realized he picked this room to listen to some music. So I went back through some of my Celtic songs and then we talked a wee bit.
He was from Milano and said he was a big fan of Celtic music. He liked The Pogues and The Dubliners and other artists and occasionally would go listen to some Celtic music in Milano. So I asked him about some venues. He said there were a quite a few, including a great festival. It was great to finally chat with someone I could understand, even if it wasn't perfect understanding. We had a nice conversation.
Then a Frenchman joined us, and I played on. They both asked about the autoharp and I told 'em what I knew about it. We arrived in Verona and while chatting with the Italian, he helped me realize I needed to get off the train there! So in a "rush", I exited. And they helped me carry the luggage off the train.
Soon the Vicenza train arrived and an Italian student helped me get my bags on this train, and we raced to Vicenza. Home At Last!Finally, I made it to Vicenza, my home away from home. It's been a couple years since I've been back, and it was very happy. An Italian fellow helped me carry my bags out to a Taxi. Then I started scrounging again for the phone number I found in in München. It was no where to be found. Doh!
So at long last some taxi drivers drove up. I told them them where I needed to go. Obviously, they lost interest when some women stepped forward, but even then, they asked one another where it was I needed to go and with my shabby directions, they said they couldn't help me. I was SOl. Sh!t!
No way to contact mom. Cold. And Exhausted. Ugh!
Well soon another driver approached. I gave him the directions, and he decided to give it a go. We drove up Collini Berici and began searching the hills for mom's place. We even stopped at a couple houses to ask if they had any clue where my mom was. And just when he was about to give up, we found it. Whew! Home at last!
There I was met by my panting Pekes, Leah (short for Azalea or Azaleas) and Betta (short for Elizabetta, guess...). And I got to meet Mama Kitty. She didn't give a spit for me. And I saw my brother's aging cat Coco. She and Leah are like 19 I think. Molto vecchio, but Leah was doing pretty well for an old lass.
I got in snuzzled them all profusely. Betta was a bit drawn back since she didn't know me very well. Only met her once two years ago. And she was much much older now. Mom made me a wee bit of pasta before I stumbled upstairs and got to see my granddad's puppy (I'm under the belief that just about all cats and dogs are kitties and puppies), Shasta (short for She Hasta have this and that). Shasta's as hold as Leah, but was showing her age much worse, poor girl. She's half blind, very jumpy, and I think misses her daddy (my Granddad), something terrible.
My mom told me that the day Graddad passed away, Shasta ran away. That really worried Mom, but fortunately, she came back.
Finally, I got into bed, read and wrote a wee bit before passing out.
Posted by Marc Gunn on Friday, January 03, 2003 |
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Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers
