August, 2020 Five days ago, we ordered our bed. It is the first piece of furniture we’ve ordered for the place, which for the days since we’ve moved back in, has lain stark and bare, like the dining room, like the foyer. We feel no rush. After all, while the renovations were being done, we […]
Terracina
The Sound of Silence
Eva, they say, you’re quiet tonight. They get nervous when I’m quiet – these friends of mine – and they’re not wrong to be. I like to talk, and I can do it in twoalmostfour languages. It’s rare that I stop – What’s that? What’s that word mean? Conjugate this verb in dialect for me. […]
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Things I Will Never Get Used to About Living in Italy. A Love Rant.
School is out, the rains have gone, and once again, the beach umbrellas are up along the curving beach. It’s officially my third summer on the Italian seashore. Lather up the sunscreen. Rinse off the sand. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I’m a pro at this Terracina beach life by now. The tourists are back, just as […]
Friday Fix – Old Man Angelo on Going Out
I’m in Vienna and hungover but it’s Friday and I promised you (or mainly myself) to pop out an Old Man Angelo fix on this holiest of days so: OLD MAN ANGELO: Eva, I’m going now. ME: Great. OLD MAN ANGELO: I’m tired. I’m going straight to bed. ME: No partying tonight? OLD MAN ANGELO: […]
Friday Fix – Old Man Angelo on Successful Marriages
OLD MAN ANGELO: All men cheat on their wives. ME: Is that so. OLD MAN ANGELO: Yes. In fact, there is only one woman a man will never cheat on. ME: Really. OLD MAN ANGELO: Yes. A pumitrozzola. ME: A what now? OLD MAN ANGELO: A pumitrozzola. It’s a portmanteau. PU – puttana*- MI – […]
Keeper of the Castle: A Play in One Act
CAST OF CHARACTERS EVA: Writer. American. Early 30s. Breathtakingly gorgeous. OLD MAN ANGELO: Pensioner. Early 60s. Italian. Haunts the bar where Eva goes to write. Scatters outrageous, unsolicited advice like so much birdseed. MARCO: Policeman. Italian. Mid-40s. MARCO was once one of Eva’s interview subjects for an article she was planning to write. FRANCESCO: MARCO’s […]
Blue Roses
At night, there are the nightspots and free concerts. My group of friends tends to meet up around midnight – when my friends in the tourism and hotel industry get off from work; when the nightspots start getting packed – and those of us who don’t live at home* and might not have eaten dinner […]