HANDS AND HEART www.chicktrips.net/handsheart.htm

"Hands and Heart" --- Gail


		Those Italian hands...
		A silent voice, the hands of an Italian seem the extension of thought and feeling. Whether explaining detail, expressing outrage, or extolling the virtues of love, they speak with eloquence and grace. And sometimes comedy and crudity. The whole body is involved in the passing of information and nothing is held back. You get it. The rhythmic Italian language is accompanied by a dance of gestures as old as the culture and as new as the cell phone. The little bench in the shade is the stage, the circle of friends the audience, and the play begins. I like to sit and watch, sometimes sneaking a picture or two, wishing I could understand the words and the hands spoken. One day our guide Pino was shepherding our group up the steep hill in Montepulciano, and I was lagging behind him stopping to take pictures of everything. A small truck was inching down the narrow cobbled street in front of us. It came to a sudden lurching stop. Pino reached in the window across the passenger seat and grabbed the face of the young driver in delight. They kissed cheeks through the window and both were talking and smiling excitedly, constantly touching each other's face in pure genuine affection. I thought it must be a relative. When I asked, he said, "A former student of mine...from the Agricultural School." What is it about Italians that makes us want to embrace them? The old nonna at the Contrada Lunch giggling and blushing like a schoolgirl at the bawdy jokes of the Entertainer. The round-cheeked Baby Julia eating spectacularly and smiling generously in response to the cooing of everyone within 20 feet of her. The shy shopkeepers in the village waiting patiently for us to find the right Italian words to tell them what we need - candles, bus tickets, wine, bread - and helping us when we can't. The friendliness toward us and sincere affection for each other simply radiates. I think we have a deep desire to be a part of this giving and receiving, this joyful spontaneity, and this guileless expression of feeling. Click to return to Tids & Bits