9/10/11 Gerace: It’s a Small World

We left Lidia’s house and drove as short distance to Gerace, a picturesque town perched on a hilltop.  The town is a beacon, visible throughout the area.  During the times before cars were in widespread use, Gerace was a mirage, beautiful to see from a distance, but not easy to get to.  One would wonder if it was actually real.  The idea still resonates with the older generation who would say “You went all the way to Gerace?” even though it’s only a fifteen minute drive.



Gerace in the distance.  In reality, not that far away



Mom was a little disoriented and didn’t know where to find her cousin Silvana, who really isn’t a cousin, but the sister of my mother’s cousin’s wife, which makes Silvana practically a stranger as far a relatives go; but not here, where family is everything and everybody is family.  After a couple of wrong turns down the narrow twisting alleys, mom stopped to ask someone if he knew where to find Silvana the hairdresser.  “Certo signora” (of course madam) he said before offering us some imprecise directions to the town square.  Becoming disoriented on the streets yet again, my mother asked a second person if they knew where to find Silvana.  Of course they did; and five minutes later my mom walked into Parruchiera (Hairdresser) Silvana’s shop; people here tend to be known primarily by their profession.  Recognition was instant and the same scene played out one more time: a prolonged hug, tears of joy…you’d have to be a heartless bastard to not enjoy this.



Parruchiera Silvana’s shop is located right next door to her husband’s shop: Barbiere Michele “Michael the barber).  Cute, no?  Mom wondered aloud if Silvana and Michele could knock the wall and join their two establishments.  Obviously, my mother’s joy had caused her to lose here senses because anybody who knows anything about knows that women complain to their hairdressers about their husbands and men complain to their barbers about women.  With scissors readily at hand, combining the two in a small town could be a dangerous proposition.  Hairdressers and barbers, never the two shall meet.  My preference has always been barbershop largely owing to my persistent suspicion of men who have a hairstylist.



Barbiere Michele



Silvana and Michele invited us for a drink at the bar in the main piazza, their also invited their daughter in law to join us, she simply walked away from her dry cleaning business leaving the door open.  She said that everybody knows everybody in this town and she wasn’t worried.  Then again, who’s going to steal used clothing.  Judging by the contents of the shop, she does big business in preserving baptism gowns.



Parruchiera Silvana



Turning a corner, I saw both my parents jump at exactly the same moment.  Thankfully, someone from my mother’s past wasn’t coming to settle an old family dispute; it was her cousin Peter from Indiana along with his wife Teresa and son Joe.  We had no idea they would be travelling here and to run into them was a surprise to say the least.  With loud greetings and shouts of happiness alternating between English and Italian, the locals in the piazza were understandably curious.  Apparently nobody is allowed to have fun in their town without prior approval.  Running into cousins by chance across an ocean and in the middle of nowhere…proof that the world is smaller than you think.



L to R Top: me, mom, dad, Silvana, the daughter-in-law (I didnt write her name down!)
L to R bottom: Peter, Teresa, Michele, Joe

 



Local who was unimpressed with fun loving foreigners