Joshua and Carmine
Joshua and Carmine were my best friends.
Carmine has left us many years ago, died of an incurable disease.
It was an industrial chemist, like me. He worked in Bagnoli, the blast furnaces, and those gases damned if I got carried away.
In years past, many times I tried to talk about it on these pages, a reminder to myself and to those who knew him, without ever succeeding.
But it is little more than a month that failed, late in life, even Joshua. And then, I thought it was not right not to leave even a crumb of two people to remember me unique. And I do it now, before it's too late for me.
Carmine l 'I knew after Joshua. I had just achieved along with Joshua the high school diploma at 'State Institute "G. Parini" of Cava de' Tirreni, when we had to move - the whole family - in Battipaglia, following the promotion of my father Area lead by the Enel Group hollow leader of the most important group and extended Battipaglia.
A Battipaglia met Carmine, and though I continued to attend Joshua, who had remained in Cava de 'Tirreni. All three he enrolled at the Faculty of Industrial Chemistry at the Federico II University of Naples; then that chemistry was a good address, full of promising opportunities, and Natta, with his isotactic, was on the lips of many of us, as well as then it was several years after Steve Jobs, the guru of modern computer.
A choice condition, the one for the chemical address - most from friendship that bound us that real personal attitudes ... but I will not talk about this, and even many facts that would be worth telling if I were good at describing them in interesting and organized way ... but I should write a book, and instead I want to bring here just a few memories that best remind me the essential for each of them.
Carmine was a very sensitive and gentle person, with an approach to mutual understanding and the consequent very special personal relationships.
He had a passion for American culture, especially cinema and music. A Battipaglia we attended "The University Club", and Carmine was the point of reference for many initiatives, from dance parties that we organized a round at a friends house (but the great ball in the Municipal Hall of the City Hall, when they came to Salerno and Cava by municipalities close many beautiful girls), a delicious sorties, ... like when - this was in the middle of June - in the middle of the study of a complicated chemical phenomenon, asked me to give up everything, and with the motor in stepping down at the beach "Lake" ... we did, an amazing bathroom, a clear blue sea, the fine sand, the wide beach and d 'eye can see, with very few bathers; to return through the motor to Iron Bridge, the Red Cottage, and all other important villas, he told the families of Battipaglia me well, and so even a little history of the origins of his native city.
Carmine was who first spoke to me of two girls, Lucia and Maria, then just fifteen, who lived near the bridge, at 'Battipaglia input.
"You know, Zef! For a serious business, today a girl must crescersela by little ...!"
Lucia became my wife. Maria, however, was already engaged to Gustavo, and the Carmine went wrong.
Then the work has divided us. I was a research chemist at the "Centro Sperimentale F. Marinotti" in Cesano Maderno (Mi); Carmine was the first in Taranto, where he met the mother of his children, and then passed to 'Italsider of Bagnoli.
I remember perfectly the day when we met again - years later - down Paestum.
He was already ill.
I had an appointment with Carmine to 11 in the morning to my house in Paestum, but he was a little before, and I take me long some fifteen 'time because then I was fixed with the court, and I did not give up a lot of social league that he held on the field of Nino Salati. And 'one thing - this - then I have never forgiven.
We stayed the whole day together. It was immediately clear, with a look that we exchanged, he would not tell me anything of his illness, and I asked him nothing. I felt that he just wanted to spend a day as distracted as possible, without thinking about his illness.
We had lunch. Then met again a western cult, which we liked a lot, and when we talked vision at times - apparently with detachment, is made of the time, but also of things done together by students, so many things, so many memories.
There was just a moment, in the south, where Carmine had a moment of weakness. She had just given advice on how to fix the green of the villa (which I then I did ... the two hedges on either side of the gate were his idea). We were seated next to a 'flowerbed next to the steps of the' entrance of the house, and I saw who was watching closely the 'comings and goings of a group of ants. Then I heard him say - almost to himself - something like: "These ants ... so small, but they have their lives, while I ..." But he immediately recovered, and changed the subject.
He wanted a day as much as possible "normal", and I put all my to humor.
When in the late afternoon, he told me to want to leave, I proposed to accompany him along the main road, until the 'car, but he refused.
We greeted each other normally at the gate, and then walked. It 'was the' last time I 've seen.
I met Joshua at middle schools: irrruente him, and with a loud voice, I apparently reserved and taciturn; he more robust, very blue eyes, blond hair faded in reddish; I dark eyes, leaner, and in short, generally different from him. But was quickly friendship.
With time, I got to see other differences between me and him.
For example, Joshua listened a lot, and knew how to listen; I was the one between the two of us talking more, as he was more inclined to 'listen, but really listening, participating in the discussion; and it often happened that he took the head of the thread I started, and you infervorasse, and sometimes even imprecasse when something seemed wrong: in fact participated with enthusiasm, with vehemence ... it was his way of being!
Then, while I liked the sea, Joshua liked the mountain; but say it so simply, like telling Dude like pasta, would be to give him a serious wrong, because the mountain was by far the greatest passion of his life.
Joshua loved the mountains, the 'was in his blood, and he was real generous and airy and open as it can be the most generous view of the most beautiful mountains. And Passiano, fraction of Cava de 'Tirreni, where Joshua was born, and had lived all the years before he married, situated on the slopes of Monte Sant' Angelo, will be the starting point for many excursions in the company made the first of his family, then of friends, but also, and often, alone.
Although I was born in Passiano, but there are not lived, for frequent movement of my family due to my father's job type. Shifts that prevented me to be able to have some enduring friendships, and that instead, often standing alone, fueled in me a remarkable propensity to read, even encouraged by my father, a self-made man, who had played a major role in reading. My parents kept us very much for culture. It happened so that, for example, I read it several times' "Encyclopedia of the Italian guy", given to me by my father, I read especially condensates of all the works of Shakespeare (which I still love it today).
I say this to emphasize the fact that it was this initial difference between me and Joshua to favor the birth of our great friendship, which then cementing went to school, but most of all "outside" of the school, during our Frequently "strands" (a term no longer used, to mean "to school truancy"), and of course had to meta mountains that surround Cava de Tirreni, the 'ancient valley of the noble Roman Quintus Caecilius Metellus (hence the name of Cinema Metelliano, under the arcades to the center, where I have seen so many movies and Joshua).
And so, lying down on 'grass, having before his eyes the' village of Cava seen from 'high, simulavamo - pure libertarian spirit and an unconventional and histrionic - the various vicissitudes of "our poor comrades", under the lash of the Professor, improvising hilarious conversations between student and professor, with a lot of psychological and tragicomic annotations, and even simulating the sound of the bell, el 'alternation of various prof on' door of 'classroom. He shared - definitely - a certain spirit totally unconventional in many aspects of life.
And so, thanks to our lodgings, we knew by heart all the mountains of Cava, even ravines with findings not yet removed the war (... and some will remember the legendary Mamma Lucia, who did so much to 'era!)
I remember one morning we were on the Castle, it was in January, it was bitterly cold, and warm us picked up a bit of dry bushes and made a nice bonfire ... just then the wind set fire all around, and we could not to turn it off!
"Joshua, let's run away ...!, And began to run down the path that leads to San Lorenzo.
"Zeferino, are you crazy? From there we risk a" PALIATONE "(ed. Beatings no small matter!) - Go down the lapilli!"
The slope of the mountain overlooking the 'village of Cava was still completely covered the ejections of last eruption of Vesuvius, the so-called lapilli. And so, with a succession of realized jumps followed by ever more extensive glides lapilli that caved under our shoes, we catapultammo literally within a few minutes, shouting themselves hoarse excited and frightened, for hundreds of meters to the foot of upstream, with the very real risk of break our neck.
Under these conditions, one would think we were going badly in school ... But, no! Enzo C. escogitammo a ploy to translate the great written assignments in class of Latin and greek, important for quarterly assessments. According to our strategic mpiano, the day of the task, in turn, one of the three of us was away, and waited - not seen - in the bathrooms of the Lyceum. Of the two of us in the class, a man went to the bathroom in the morning, throwing from a copy of the release window, the third gathering and was translated by a priest who lived nearby; then the 'other, half an' hour before the allotted time runs out, went into the bathroom and took delivery of the translated version by using a piece of string long enough.
This entailed a significant timing and tactics, so then we perfected the thing making us translate - with our hard-earned cash, and this proves our love for Latin and greek ...! - Throughout the book, so, after the fateful "Translate ..." prof. it all came down to find out which strategic area of our body was the roll that contained the translation of the given version. Today everything is easier with mobile phones, but we booze us well with our found, for whose completion had to be also a common monetary sacrifice, evidence of our patronage and love for the humanities.
But I had a passion for the sea ... And one day I proposed to Joshua to make a loaf to Amalfi, where I sometimes went on Sunday with a racing bike I took a car from biciclettaio Spirit, near the railway station, I l 'incredible discovery that my friend could not ride a bike. But what's even more amazing was that, perhaps stung by my teasing about it, he applied for a few days, and barely managed to keep some balance, he said firmly: "Tomorrow you strand. Fittiamo bikes spirit, and we go to Amalfi. " I tried to dissuade him, but to no avail. So I solemnly swear that I would have followed me all the way tightly to the wheel, and indeed in those days there 'was along the Amalfi coast all the traffic that c' is today. Slowly we came to Amalfi, and immediately purchased two supercolazioni that we ate hungrily on the quay in front of us with a fabulous sea, the scent of the rocks, and a light sea breeze stemperava both the 'incipient moderate heat of a wonderful month of May , and both the warmth of our bodies engaged in that important effort of a few hours (exceeding Capo d 'Orso always require some effort!).
But this line had a sequel unexpected ...! For a few days I was astonished not to see Joshua in school. Intrigued, I went to his house, to Passiano, a twenty minutes from my house. I found him lying in bed, immobilized by the legs 'lactic acid formed in the muscles for prolonged effort, and not preceded by a gradual workout .. He wanted to kill me, for not having warned before poroblema of' lactic acid ...! The escaped because he was not able to get up and run after me ...!
He had it for over a week, immobilized in bed, and I l 'I then contacted only when his family assured me that he had passed the rampage to kill me.
I always remember - to close, but I could go on for pages - the evening spent together all three of the Carmine board, on the Vomero, all three university students enrolled in Chemical industries, but which at that time were not exceptionally together, but in different pensions (I have been periods with Joshua, other times with Carmine, and also what should be told). That night - I said - I went to Carmine and Joshua retired to Vomero. At home Joshua had killed the pig (his were small but wealthy owners of a beautiful landowner bottom, with a nice house with large terrace located at 'the beginning of the road leading to San Martino, in that Passiano, and which often I was happy guest). And so we decided to make a nice dinner, where the main dish were roasted pork chops, of whom Joshua was preparing an expert.
It was a very special dinner, but not only for roasted cutlets and wine Joshua ... but also because the whole evening was a magical moment: we were all three together in a relaxed way, without entropy and complex mechanisms to having to study but savoring, enjoying, and living in the middle of our beautiful common friendship. That evening was the target of their teasing, who pretended to rebel, but instead hoping in my heart that rincarassero the dose, so you can replicate their teasing with my even more peppery.
That evening was indelibly imprinted in our souls the indelible mark of our common friendship.
Ultimately, Joshua was my main landmark, the person whom I trusted absolutely.
To confirm this, a ultrimo remember: one day, following a sassaiuola (we used this too in my time) friendly with friends, a sharp stone hit me on the upper lip, spaccandomi a tooth. Luckily we were near a public fountain, one below the Capuchin, at the end of that short but steep slope leading to San Lorenzo, where c 'was Don John, a good priest who was dilated repetition there and greek.
The upper lip was split in half, and blood came out profusely. Joshua did not lose d 'mood. Near the fountain, after arresting the 'bleeding, he enjoined me to be absolutely still, and held together the two edges of the upper lip for nearly half an' hour. Result: my lips no sign of strain does not carry today. I bet that a surgeon would not have done better!
Carmine, however, has contributed a lot to my true maturity. It was really a very sensitive boy, with - let your personal definition - of a strong "modern romanticism". For example, it was famous among us friends for its distinctive way of dancing: he began to dance as a floor tile, and not moved from the tile for the duration of the dance, and two particular hit the 'attention of those present: the gentle rocking of the head slightly turned up, and the posture of his left hand Carmine, clutching his right girl, he kept folded on his left shoulder. Then he had a very particular sensibility and knowledge of American music, especially that slow. I remember one time I asked him to tell me the words of a song then little known to me (the great pretender (the great liar) - YouTube), but he often hummed to himself. He replied saying they did not know the words, but though he liked the way ... Then I realized why: he was in love with a girl, certainly interested in Carmine, but under the thumb of the parents ... I then, much later, I went to read my text, and I realized later that his subtle humor and the lightness, innate qualities, they also served to mask the emotional reactions to the inevitable disappointments of youth which we have all been involuntary preotagonisti ..
I have written these things especially for me, just to remind you. But I'd love that one day my grandchildren, and maybe even the grandchildren of my friend Toni, the legendary spin doctors and my virtual friend, known on the Web with the tonicopi nickname, could read from this memory of my great friends Joshua and Carmine . My grandchildren, and to the grandchildren of my friend Toni, I would recommend this: you go with your heart a little bit more than the reading of this article, and remember that a friend, a true friend, as everyone knows, is worth more than any material treasure that life can offer us. What they do not know is that, if Heaven grants to get on in years, and has neglected the 'friendship and worship of' friendship, then c 'is very little to remember, and not remember life is senz' another sad.
Quel temporale estivo sulla spiaggia ...
Incontrarsi al Bryant Park
GIOSUE' e CARMINE.
Un Fiore di Montagna.
La Nuvoletta Solitaria
CONTES DE ZEFERINO :
Cette tempête d'été sur la plage...
Rendez-vous à Bryant Park
GIOSUE' et CARMINE.
Une fleur de montagne.
Le nuage solitaire
TALES OF ZEFERINO:
That summer storm on the beach ...
Meet at Bryant Park
GIOSUE' e CARMINE.
A Mountain Flower.
The Lonely Cloud
