I went to the barber, MY barber - 21 april 2009
FRANCAVILLA - To be able to appear decently on TV at "Vita in diretta" (though at the last minute, they canceled my participation to the episode: I was told that everything was put off), yesterday I went to the barber's, my barber. Not even for the end of the world I would have "betrayed" Daniele: he has been doing my hair (or at least what remains ...) for thirty years, since when I was 14. We became Aquilans together and, with age, our visceral love for the city has grown exponentially. Furious debates in his workshop, that he inherited from his father Tonino and managed with his brother Maurizio, at the Galleria Irti, in the heart of downtown city: no soccer, but so much being an Aqulan in chats involving other customers in what had become a "cell" of Aquilan integralism.
Yesterday morning early, I called his mobile. I made an appointment at the hotel where he is displaced, the Grand Hotel Mediterraneo in Montesilvano. I don't know how, he managed to recover just the basic: scissors and a comb. It's an opportunity to talk and vent, as if we were still in his shop. "I want to go back - he says to me -. I am fed up here with "walking" on the waterfront. I want to start again, stronger than ever. I want to see our historical town as it was: the city lived on its historical center, his belly. L'Aquila cannot but be born again ! But I must be advised on what to do. Can I re-open my shop at the Galleria Irti? Can I have a wooden house where to sleep? What shall we do? Who tells me what I should or can do?".
What to do? What can be done to help rebuild the city? This is what troubles, takes sleep away from so many displaced Aquilans. After the moment of finding ourselves alive and organizing a dignified survival after the inhuman tragedy, now the survival drive is shifting towards seeking solutions for the future in L'Aquila: the immediate future (realistically, after next August) and a long term future (the most widespread theory is 3-4 years from now). "The other day I did not want to reproach you - Ornella's SMS reads. I read about Francesca enrolling her daughter at the Classico in Pescara: I understand her. But I wanted to tell her that it's not a matter of dreams! You were born in L'Aquila, I chose it. I'll take my children back to L'Aquila. It will not be easy, but my house is in L'Aquila, this city with its slow pace, human pace."
What to do? That's why spontaneous committees are being created, and have already expressed their intention to coordinate to get greater strength. I too receive an sms, forwarded by Patrizia, the barricadera: "For the establishment of the city Committee first meeting at Collemaggio courtyard next Tuesday (today for my readers) at 16 hours. Since there are so many interested people and many partly organized groups already everyone was given this appointment so that we can look into each other's eyes and study what to do. Do not miss it." Cesare's evening Sms, "Ju boss (an ancient mythical winery) is still standing! Jemo 'nnanzi."
Yesterday morning early, I called his mobile. I made an appointment at the hotel where he is displaced, the Grand Hotel Mediterraneo in Montesilvano. I don't know how, he managed to recover just the basic: scissors and a comb. It's an opportunity to talk and vent, as if we were still in his shop. "I want to go back - he says to me -. I am fed up here with "walking" on the waterfront. I want to start again, stronger than ever. I want to see our historical town as it was: the city lived on its historical center, his belly. L'Aquila cannot but be born again ! But I must be advised on what to do. Can I re-open my shop at the Galleria Irti? Can I have a wooden house where to sleep? What shall we do? Who tells me what I should or can do?".
What to do? What can be done to help rebuild the city? This is what troubles, takes sleep away from so many displaced Aquilans. After the moment of finding ourselves alive and organizing a dignified survival after the inhuman tragedy, now the survival drive is shifting towards seeking solutions for the future in L'Aquila: the immediate future (realistically, after next August) and a long term future (the most widespread theory is 3-4 years from now). "The other day I did not want to reproach you - Ornella's SMS reads. I read about Francesca enrolling her daughter at the Classico in Pescara: I understand her. But I wanted to tell her that it's not a matter of dreams! You were born in L'Aquila, I chose it. I'll take my children back to L'Aquila. It will not be easy, but my house is in L'Aquila, this city with its slow pace, human pace."
What to do? That's why spontaneous committees are being created, and have already expressed their intention to coordinate to get greater strength. I too receive an sms, forwarded by Patrizia, the barricadera: "For the establishment of the city Committee first meeting at Collemaggio courtyard next Tuesday (today for my readers) at 16 hours. Since there are so many interested people and many partly organized groups already everyone was given this appointment so that we can look into each other's eyes and study what to do. Do not miss it." Cesare's evening Sms, "Ju boss (an ancient mythical winery) is still standing! Jemo 'nnanzi."