Wednesday, January 17, 2018

The "I" In Italian / El "I" En Italiano

I'M BACK AGAIN thinking about my Italian roots (click here). I found another photo from the summer of 1977. I was at my friends' condo in Carrara, Italy (below the mountains where Michelangelo got his marble). I had just sat down in a really old canvas chair. The fabric gave out under my considerable weight; I weighed as much as a couple of boxes of toothpicks at the time. Again in Ferragamo jeans with boot legs. The shirt did not say "MITCH." It was by an Italian designer called "KETCH." Those are my Italian cigarettes on the table. I didn't quit for another nine years. (Thank you, San Geraldo.) I've also included the original scan before I restored it significantly. I'm thinking of restoring myself next (at least the hair). I wonder if PhotoShop has a filter for that.

VOLVÍ A PENSAR en mis raíces italianas (haz clic aquí). Encontré otra foto del verano de 1977. Estaba en el condominio de mis amigos en Carrara, Italia (debajo de las montañas donde Miguel Ángel obtuvo su mármol). Me acababa de sentar en una silla de lona muy vieja. La tela cedió bajo mi considerable peso; pesaba tanto como un par de cajas de mondadientes en ese momento. Nuevamente en jeans Ferragamo con piernas de bota. La camisa no decía "MITCH". Lo hizo un diseñador italiano llamado "KETCH". Esos son mis cigarrillos italianos sobre la mesa. No renuncié por otros nueve años. (Gracias, San Geraldo.) También incluí el escaneo original antes de restaurarlo significativamente. Estoy pensando en restaurarme el próximo (al menos el pelo). Me pregunto si PhotoShop tiene un filtro para eso.


21 comments:

  1. Wow, you made that photo look like new again! My Rare One and I made a special side trip to Carrara when we were in Tuscany a few years ago. We specifically wanted to see where Michelangelo got his marble. We toured the marble mine inside the mountain and it was very cool (both literally and figuratively). What we noticed about Carrara was that every home and building, no matter how shabby, had a beautiful marble door step. It seems to me the street curbs were all made of marble, too, if I recall correctly.

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    1. Debra:
      My friend and her sister owned a marble finishing and exporting business. I went with her up the mountain one day to see where they're latest order was being mined. Amazing. And I was also stunned by the use of marble everywhere. I don't think I was in a single house or apartment that didn't have marble floors. I was so impressed. It's the most common traditional flooring here in Spain, too.

      Delete
  2. You could definitely pass as Italian...and in my youth I was more of a "Guido" and ah, how I recall going to the "Sale e Tabacchi" for a pack of Diana's. but "those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end...."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlY0lcdTaQo

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    1. Frank:
      What great photos accompanying the music. And, yes, your Italian roots are always showing! Whenever I was in Italy, I smoked Milde Sorte. I don't know why.

      Delete
  3. Somehow you don't look comfortable ...and i think the shirt does say 'Mitch.' Was it Garanimals for adults???

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    1. Bob:
      My skinny butt was sitting on the tile floor. And that wasn't one of my Garanimals. I clearly remember that shirt had no animal hang-tag, which required me to be more careful in my selection of coordinates.

      Delete
  4. Cool that the chair remains faded even in the restored version. Must have been your razor sharp hip bones that sliced right through that old canvas.

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    1. Wilma:
      My boney butt must have done it. My metal beach chair collapsed under Jerry's weight a few years ago. I bought another one; it collapsed under MY weight.

      Delete
  5. Great photo Mitchell! The same thing happened to me with a lawn chair. Very embarrassing!

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    1. Robin:
      I was so skinny back then (actually had risen to an all-time high of 150 that summer) that it never even crossed anyone's mind that the problem was anything but the old fabric.

      Delete
  6. I almost did think your shirt did say Mitch

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    1. Adam:
      People assumed that whenever I wore a KETCH shirt (they all had the name boldly printed somewhere), which is why I thought I'd explain in advance.

      Delete
  7. It must have been all that pasta! Great photo...

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    1. Willym:
      I worked really hard that summer to gain 5 pounds, bringing me to a whopping 150 pounds. I was so excited.

      Delete
  8. Replies
    1. anne marie:
      I spent my entire life being called skinny... and I was. I now weigh 30 pounds more than I did in that picture and some people still use the word skinny to describe me. It's not true, but the thought still makes me cringe.

      Delete
  9. You impish here! And you do look Italian!

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    1. You look impish here......

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    2. Jim:
      Me impish here. You impish there. Me understand. You should have seen my father. My grandmother was very concerned when the neighbors asked why she was letting my mother date an Italian. "Miriam, you didn't tell me Davey was a 'Tahleyna.' "I didn't know," was my mother's response. He wasn't. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

      Delete
  10. Still cute after all these years!

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    1. Travel:
      Oh, you're kind. I now think the guy in the picture IS kind of cute. I didn't think so at the time. Maybe when I'm 90, I'll look back at current pictures and think THAT guy was kind of cute.

      Delete

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