- Joined
- Mar 5, 2019
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- Age
- 57
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- Islander
So, when I was in the Navy...I think one of my best memories was Palermo, Sicily. I remember going to this little ...eh...WE might call it a 'piano bar'... but, cannot remember if it had a piano.. lol.
So, I know.. shock.. I was a bit 'gruff' back then, so did not hang out with a lot of people.. yes.. "say it is not so, Russ!..".. no... it's true....
Anyway, I would take train rides or just start walking...till I found a place I liked. Generally, it was 'off the beaten path', i.e. I tended to just go where there were no tourists.
One time (squirrel!)...I figured the entire towns were built based upon ice cream. It's true!. I would stop at a store, buy an ice cream, start eating, start walking. When I finished the ice cream, I would look left and right and there would be another store with ice cream! I spent an afternoon, and a few Tums, figuring that one out...
Anyway, back to the 'piano bar'. I went into this place. Now, you have to picture this. Along the beaches, the old fishermen had pulled their boats in for the day. Some were spread out on the beaches mending their nets, tending to whatever their boats needed. The older captains were enjoying the stories of the fish that got.. er.. they caught and released. They mostly stood at the bar, the way Americans do when ordering a beer. There were a few scattered at a few scant tables throughout the shop, but mostly those were reserved for the older captains that had left the boats and the fish to younger, if you can call 50's younger in their shape and profession, and they were mostly arguing over ...well, anything they could decide to argue over as that is the pastime for old men with even older tales.
So, here comes this American, clean cut, grinning from ear to ear as if I had found an entire harem alone with no-one to protect them. I stood at the bar. I could not speak a lick of .. well, I guess Scicilian...? Italian?... Mobsteresque? heh... and I watched them sit there with these tiny cups of what appeared to be coffee. Now, mind you.. I had only learned how to shave in bootcamp a few months before. My parents bought me an electric razor... in the early 80's that was like having a butler..
So, I watched and smiled and ordered a "drink".. pointing at what they were having.
They laughed, rubbed my head.. (no, this was not actually a harem... blonde hair is good luck over there and they would run the head of a blonde haired kid all the time... took getting used to heh.
I sat there, after they brought me the coffee (I like to think of it as rocket fuel...)...and I grabbed a small spoon and began shoveling sugar into it.. scoop...scoop...scoop.. over and over, just as they did, all the while the old men and their sun-worn-leathery faces laughing, gathering around me and clapping me on the back and smiling as if they found someone to buy the 400 yr old boat they had patched with bubble gum.
I drank that cup... was amazing. Did not take long.. it was a very small cup and they are not boiling hot like Americans like. It was so good... I had two more, which had them all rolling laughing by the third.
It did not hit me till I got back to the ship. My Chief would not allow me to go to morning Muster, 6 hours later....because I would not shut up... I would not.. no, I could not stand still. Instead, I cleaned the engine room till it shined. That was a 44yr old ship, but you would have thought it was brand new because they got more cleaning and work out of me that day than they had seen in the previous year.
I never went back to that place. I think my Chief, while he liked the work, deemed it a hazard to my career and health as I did not need an excuse to say something while fueled with rocket fuel... heh
So, the point is... I just got a new espresso machine. I make them larger and use fake sugar... for my health... and marriage.. lol.. but, sharing it with you all. Have a great day, and even better weekend.
I am going to Home Depot to grab some small parts to finish re-wiring my trailer and such.
Russ
So, I know.. shock.. I was a bit 'gruff' back then, so did not hang out with a lot of people.. yes.. "say it is not so, Russ!..".. no... it's true....
Anyway, I would take train rides or just start walking...till I found a place I liked. Generally, it was 'off the beaten path', i.e. I tended to just go where there were no tourists.
One time (squirrel!)...I figured the entire towns were built based upon ice cream. It's true!. I would stop at a store, buy an ice cream, start eating, start walking. When I finished the ice cream, I would look left and right and there would be another store with ice cream! I spent an afternoon, and a few Tums, figuring that one out...
Anyway, back to the 'piano bar'. I went into this place. Now, you have to picture this. Along the beaches, the old fishermen had pulled their boats in for the day. Some were spread out on the beaches mending their nets, tending to whatever their boats needed. The older captains were enjoying the stories of the fish that got.. er.. they caught and released. They mostly stood at the bar, the way Americans do when ordering a beer. There were a few scattered at a few scant tables throughout the shop, but mostly those were reserved for the older captains that had left the boats and the fish to younger, if you can call 50's younger in their shape and profession, and they were mostly arguing over ...well, anything they could decide to argue over as that is the pastime for old men with even older tales.
So, here comes this American, clean cut, grinning from ear to ear as if I had found an entire harem alone with no-one to protect them. I stood at the bar. I could not speak a lick of .. well, I guess Scicilian...? Italian?... Mobsteresque? heh... and I watched them sit there with these tiny cups of what appeared to be coffee. Now, mind you.. I had only learned how to shave in bootcamp a few months before. My parents bought me an electric razor... in the early 80's that was like having a butler..
So, I watched and smiled and ordered a "drink".. pointing at what they were having.
They laughed, rubbed my head.. (no, this was not actually a harem... blonde hair is good luck over there and they would run the head of a blonde haired kid all the time... took getting used to heh.
I sat there, after they brought me the coffee (I like to think of it as rocket fuel...)...and I grabbed a small spoon and began shoveling sugar into it.. scoop...scoop...scoop.. over and over, just as they did, all the while the old men and their sun-worn-leathery faces laughing, gathering around me and clapping me on the back and smiling as if they found someone to buy the 400 yr old boat they had patched with bubble gum.
I drank that cup... was amazing. Did not take long.. it was a very small cup and they are not boiling hot like Americans like. It was so good... I had two more, which had them all rolling laughing by the third.
It did not hit me till I got back to the ship. My Chief would not allow me to go to morning Muster, 6 hours later....because I would not shut up... I would not.. no, I could not stand still. Instead, I cleaned the engine room till it shined. That was a 44yr old ship, but you would have thought it was brand new because they got more cleaning and work out of me that day than they had seen in the previous year.
I never went back to that place. I think my Chief, while he liked the work, deemed it a hazard to my career and health as I did not need an excuse to say something while fueled with rocket fuel... heh
So, the point is... I just got a new espresso machine. I make them larger and use fake sugar... for my health... and marriage.. lol.. but, sharing it with you all. Have a great day, and even better weekend.
I am going to Home Depot to grab some small parts to finish re-wiring my trailer and such.
Russ
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