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| Papa Carmelo came to Delmar! |
Patti and children,
Now I have to go to my homework, to my shoebox.
I have to leave for a space-flight and I don't know if I'll be able to come back, so I have to put in a little shoebox what - I think - can serve to describe my personality.
Life comes of an act of love and our life should be an act of love for God, for people who live all around us ( relatives, friends, mates ), for our Country so that we should be remembered for love we gave and we got, then for what we did.
So the first thing I'd put in my shoebox is my Mother's picture, the person who filled my life of her love, the person who got up in the night to see if I was uncovered, who comforted me and who would have given her life for me. My Mother gave me only love from when I was born ant they took me to my Mother's bed and she looked at me for the first time till when she was on her death-bed and she whispered to me her last warnings.
The second thing to put in the shoebox is the picture of my two sons: they love me but I think I love them more: I am proud of them, the older, Antonello, because he by himself has known how to build up an empire and the younger, Carmelo jr., because of his huge good-heartedness.
The third thing is my wife's picture: she, too, had given me so much love in these last fourty years, since 1957, and I have loved her. She took care of me when I was ill and she takes care of me when I'm fine.
The fourth is the picture of all my dogs living and dead: they gave me their unselfish love which only a dog is able to give and I rewarded them with my caresses and with my tears when unfortunately they died. Now I have only a dog, Blitz, and I can't take another because I know he ( not it!! ) would sorry, being afraid of losing a part of the love of his boss. I can't repay his love with affliction.
The fifth is my degree- certificate. It was the result of so many years of sacrifices. Once, here in Italy, we have to study very much and I suffered in silence when I had to stay at home to study while my friends were playing. So my certificate costed me dear and I love it.
The sixth is not one, they are three, three books, the most important books for a person loving culture: the first is the " Aeneid " by Virgil, the master piece of Latin literature; the second is the " Divine Comedy " by Dante Alighieri. I learned to love Divine Comedy when I was a boy and my Mother took me for a walk and recited it when we were walking. I can remember I said " Again, again ": I never got tired listening. The third book is " I promessi sposi " ( the bethroted ) by Alessandro Manzoni, maybe the most important novel in the Italian Literature. Maybe you watched the movie: they filmed two or three movies obtained by this novel.
The seventh are two pictures which represent my Country and my Faith: these edifices are only in Rome and nobody will be able to imitate: the Coliseum and St.Peter's Church with its colonnade like open arms to hug people. The Coliseum represents the worldly glory and recalls the Roman legions on the march to conquer world. St.Peter's Church represents the Divine glory, the power of Faith but not only: when you go into the church your eyes get dazzled by the greatness of artistic treasures which there are in. It's enough to see the " PIETA' " by Michelangelo to be struck by the BEAUTY. So I think these two monuments represent the whole Italy and I must put their picture into my shoebox.
The eighth is a foot-ball not only because I love this sport but above all because the soccer is the national sport. In Italy Sunday is dedicated to this sport: hundreds of thousand people leave for the towns where their teams play and you can see on the speedway hundreds of buses where people sit singing, laughing, waving flags out of the windows. Some hours later only half of them are singing and laughing and waving their flags because they, or rather, their team won; the others lost and they speak in a low voice and the homeward yourney runs in silence. So the foot-ball represents a side of my life and of the life of Italian people and I have to put the ball into the shoebox.
The ninth thing is a miniature of a Ferrari car: Ferrari represents Italian brains, the love for risk and speed, the challenge at the whole wordl shouted by a little country like Italy. I and the Italian people are proud of that.
I'd put lots of other things in the shoebox, but what I put in, is able ,to draw myself and my people.
My love for all of you.
Carmelo
Carmelo teaches about Italian money.
