A Quattr'occhi

My friend called yesterday asking what time would be best for her son to call me. He wanted to ask me some questions pertaining to accounting. I immediately said that if he was going to be in NYC, I would rather see him in person. I really wanted to say "a quattr'occhi", an expression I'd never used before but I now remember coming across it for the first time many years ago. It was in Rome back in 2001, I was visiting the ‘Alimentari’, the deli on via dei Banchi Vecchi when I noticed two men loudly speaking to each other. One said, "I told him that I wanted to speak to him 'a quattr’occhi' not on the phone". I loved the expression, but never had a reason to use it until yesterday.

What does “a quattr'occhi" really mean? The literal translation is "with four eyes". and when I heard the two men talking in the Alimentari, the meaning was much more that just "with four eyes", I understood it to mean only 4 eyes in other words, in private.

I started thinking about the phrase and the beauty of it and how significant it was. I started thinking of all of the emails and phone conversations that were misunderstood and how this could have been avoided if instead I had spoken to the people involved "a quattr'occhi". The eyes tell so much, they really are the windows of our souls. They give clues as to what we are thinking and feeling. When the eyes are smiling we know it's a genuine smile. Is the person looking at our eyes or avoiding them? So, off I go and googled a quatrr'occhi. Yes, the meaning was right on. I also found a video “A quattr’occhi with Dio” with Massimo Troise, an actor I loved in " Il Postino". This video introduced me to another side of Massimo Troisi.

A quattr'occhi con Dio” Massimo Troisihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27F2njMwnto&NR=1

I had seen "Il Postino" and fell in love with Massimo Troisi, a sensitive loving and handsome man. I never knew before today, that he was also a comedian with a lot to say. In this video he's having a private conversation with God and he's demanding of God an explanation for all he's done. He questions God’s haste in creating the world in 6 days. He says the animals are complaining, like the elephant thinks his nose is too long… a very amusing soliloquy of a poor man angrily speaking with his God. He says the ten commandments were made to benefit the rich- After all, who would want to covet or steal his old hoody! What was that nonsense and chaos that God caused just because a young girl ate an apple! By the way you should check it out as it is very funny, if you can understand Italian, better yet the Neapolitan dialect.

This form of communication obviously isn't, "aquattr’occhi", it's almost the New Year and I hope in the coming 2011 I will be speaking to all of you a quattr’occhi.

Our Passion For Collecting

Is it the internet that is helping old friends get back in touch with friends from their past or is it just another stage of life that we go through or is it both. Through Facebook, I have renewed many old friendships. One of these is a friendship with my friend Ellen whom I met through our passion for collecting. Collecting is a not only a lot of fun but for some of us, collecting lies at the core of our very existence. Collecting is not just about collecting great treasures but also in making and "collecting" new friends. Hunting for both is an adventure which is different and unique for each. Each one newly found, has its own "story.' In truth, it's a history lesson that teaches us many valuable skills. First is being able to identify, then select and, lastly evaluate. Financially, my collector friends, when faced with hard times during this recession, were able to survive by selling off their collections and also by counting on one another.

I met Ellen many years ago when I was in the midst of my collecting phase. I collected just about everything, but my passion was bakelite and costume jewelry. Ellen, collected everything that was Victorian. The Victorian period was her passion, especially paintings on Ivory. She has very long dark beautiful hair and she lookes like one of the victorian ivory portraits that she so much likes.

Going to the 26th street, and the 67th street flea markets on the w/e's, was our time to hunt for treasures and be with friends. We looked forward to the w/e. Ellen and I would meet and then go on our own way to find our cherished treasures - only to meet again at a diner and have our breakfast. It wasn't so much the breakfast that we were looking forward to, but it was the opportunity to look at our goodies and share our finds with a friend. Sometimes, Ellen would say, Frances, didn't you see that this brooch has been repaired, or this necklace is not original and I would shriek, and I would vouch to be more careful next time, and the next w/e it would be the same. Most of the time, I would have bought some really amazing treasures, which along with fond memories would be cherished for many years to come. I can still remember our oohs and aahs when looking at our goodies and complimenting ourselves on our finds. Ellen had great taste and always came up with the perfect item.

After many years, here we are again "thanks to Facebook " on the phone to find out she is no longer buying antique and Victorian jewelry nor am I buying anything either. Actually I have divested myself of just about everything material. My interests are now elsewhere and so are Ellen's. Her sister has left her job and opened an exclusive pet shop, specializing in dog items. No live animals. I immediately checked out her website and OMG. It's amazing. Check out the website at www.causetopaws.com She has everything I would want for my daughter's dog NIKE. HERE WE ARE AGAIN SHARING A MUTUAL INTEREST. It's just amazing after all these years -it's like time has not passed - we went from one passion to another.

While our passion for collecting inanimate objects has decreased, our passion for "collecting" friendships has increased. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPTOY8FrvNw simon and garfunkel song old friends