Why do you wish to explain my world to me?

This is going to be a bit of a ramble. But humor me. I think I’m going somewhere with this. It’s just going to take time to unpack this bag of seemingly disparate notions that recently came into confluence. I promise I’ll get to it, eventually.  

So, we’ve been watching this TV series at home called, “This Is Us.” We’re into the 5th season of six. It was a popular series, seen on broadcast television. We’re streaming it. Of course.

All this to say, when they got into the season of 2020, with Covid and George Floyd, a lot of issues between White and Black people in the series were laid bare. And it got me to thinking about my blind spots, with regard to Bipoc and Apida peoples.

Lucid dreaming from the streets of Italy

When I talk to many Italians they like to carp about how unfair life is in Italy. Long lines, lots of bureaucracy, low pay, traffic, corrupt political system, wrecked economy. And yes, there are those factors in Italian society.

How many of us make as much money as we’d like to? We’d all like to make a little more, to save for the future, to maybe help family members or a friend in need. And who of us likes traffic, long lines and unnecessary red tape? I’m sure we could poll folks from Germany, from France, Thailand, even New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Norway, New York and find something that they feel diminishes their quality of life.

How to die with an empty wine cellar

When I first starting out buying wine to collect, it was slow going. I’d recently moved to a new state and town, was a single dad with custody of a toddler and was working in a restaurant. Money was tight. I had a little space under the stairs of our apartment, but it was in no way perfect for storing wine. But I wasn’t thinking about collecting, let alone perishing.

Saying Goodbye to Italy

“You may have the universe, if I may have Italy.” – Giuseppe Verdi

Rome - 1971

This year will mark 50 years since I first visited Italy. That alone is cause for dismay. The good news? Life in the last 50 years has been so much better, thanks to Italy.

But eventually one must say goodbye.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not bidding adieu just yet. But the sun is getting lower on the horizon.

Italy has been my mentor, my guide, my friend, and sometimes, my foe. I’ve loved Italy with all my heart. And at times, I’ve wanted to walk away and never look back. Italy has tried to kill me, at least once. And it has cured me, also, at least once. And I cannot tell you how many times I’ve experienced a rebirth, all because of Italy.

That’s a pretty tall order, to lay all of this off onto a peninsula in the middle of the Mediterranean.

Dino Illuminati: A Remarkable 90 Years in the History of Italian Wine

(photo, courtesy of the Illuminati winery)

This whole cycle of life thing here on earth, it’s a peculiar one. It goes slow, then it speeds up, then it slows down, and then it seems there just isn’t enough time to finish anything. I cringe when a memorable character in Italian wine dies – and with it an outpouring of obituaries. Sometimes they read like a resume, and sometimes they take their cues from the perspective (and biases) of the scribe.

But why wait for someone to die to celebrate their life? Why not beat the drum while their heart is still beating some of that fine red Italian blood?

Which brings us to a figure whose life in Abruzzo has most definitely left its mark for the better. That person is celebrating his 90^th birthday, Dino Illuminati.