While my stepson Jeremiah and I were exploring our new village in Sicily, Motta d'Affermo, we found ourselves in one of only two small grocery stores in town. They're kind of the equivalent of what we call a bodega here in the States - you can get a little bit of everything. In the case of Motta, that includes locally made pasta, incredible panini sandwiches, dish soap and toilet paper.
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| Motta d' Affermo, Sicilia, F LoBuono |
We needed a cigarette lighter or matches to be able to light the stove in our new villa. Well, of course, the ONLY 2 items that they didn't have were those. No big deal, Jeremiah said, I saw some at the other store.
So, we turned to leave the store and head the flew blocks to the other bodega. As we did, we noticed that we were being approached by a local man. He looked perhaps in his 40's and was, quite frankly, a little unkempt. His clothes were worn and dirty and he looked as tired as they were. He had a shoulder bag slung around to the front of his body and one hand in it. With the other, he was gesturing to us with a vigorous wave.
We thought that maybe he was preparing to give us a pamphlet or brochure - surely something to sell. But, being experienced travelers, Jeremiah and I were prepared for whatever might come.
As he came closer, I began to realize that he was not a vagabond at all but was dealing with some type of mental and physical challenges that were affecting his appearance.
When he finally reached us, he removed his hand from his satchel, and low and behold, he had produced a used - by working - souvenir cigarette lighter. And, he wasn't selling it to us, he was giving it to us!
With outstretched hand, slowly, in Italian, from what I understood, he said, please take this and have a pleasant and safe journey.
I responded in my basic Italian, molto gentile, signore, molto gentile.
Then we went our separate ways to continue our different journeys knowing we shared the same path, if even for a moment.
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