THE END OF A LOVE STORY

Old love stories ... pfft Pookie prefers to sleep !

My Sicilian adventures are coming to an end. But some of you asked me what became my first love ? (FL) One thing is sure, he didn't become Mr. Gattino !

When I saw FL for the first time I got a shock. He represented at least physically my dream's man. Tall, beautiful dark eyes, thick dark brown hair and very regular features and a sensual mouth. Women were around him like bees or mosquitos, it depended. And he did nothing for that, nor was he very interested in, it was just his charisma. But before I froze to a pillar of salt, he came over to me to invite me to danse. I thought I would melt and my legs felt like cotton. That had never happened in my whole life ! I always had a lot of boys around me and could choose, but none had had such an effect on me. What I never thought possible happened, I lost my mind and felt in love !

A man like him I had never met in my life, I was 22 and a so called party girl and very spoiled, I went out a lot, had a lot of fun but never something serious with a boy. But this one was not a boy he was a man and 6 years older then me. In short, an old man. He represented everything I never had met in my regulated life of a good family daughter. He had no rules for a regulated life and was full of phantasy. With him not one second was boring.

He had a wonderful voice and had studied opera singing. So it could happen that while walking on a crowded street he suddenly started to sing in this bariton voice just to declare his love for me. I can tell you we had a lot of success on the streets ! Fortunately I wasn't the kind of girl who wanted to disappear in a mouse hole. He also would pull you in a field of sunflowers or in a dark house corner, in a cornfield or a Theatre decoration.

With him I met a lot of artists and the singers of the Opera in Brussels. I have met Bejart when he had just created the new "Bolero" version and caused a big scandal with that in the 60th. My so regulated life was suddenly transformed into a very stormy one. I never knew what could happen in the next minutes or even seconds.

Me with Opera singers

As a lot of Southern people, he could go from deep melancholia to high happiness in a second and sometimes it was very hard to follow him. He didn't care about a good job or career, lived from day to day and curiously succeeded well.

But in all this overwhelming happiness I felt there was also a big shadow. Women, they couldn't leave him in peace. Instead of being jalous I started to protect my man from female aggressors and that in itself was also a whole story.

Once we were sitting in a cinema holding hands and watching a movie. Suddenly I felt another hand in mine laying a piece of paper in it. I took the paper and looked around but only saw a woman sitting next to him and nothing else. Later when I could read what was written on the paper, I was more than surprised ! It was an invitation (a more than clear one) to the woman's flat ! In the darkness she had confonded my hand with his. How that was possible will remain a mistery to me.

I didn't tell him anything, but when I saw her later leaving the movies, I just followed her with the little paper and told her next time to better watch out and not confond hands. Then I walked back leaving her behind freezed like a statue. And this were only one example.

By the time I got tired of all this. Meanwhile we had celebrated our official engagement very much to the chagrin of my parents. But as it always had been, the more they said against him the more I got stubborn. But after two years with FL with up and downs and fights and reconsiliations I was a wreck. My usual weight was 59 kgs (130lbs) and had dropped to 45 kg (99lbs) ! I felt like really loosing my mind. In a last fight for survival I finally decided that I couldn't go on this way and we split in best friendship of course. I think that was one of the hardest decisions I had to make in my life and also one of the most saddest once.

It was a terrible time for me. I constantly fought with heart and brain and sometimes I couldn't bare the separation anymore and we got back together. It was an autodestructive love. Finally he returned to Sicily.

Years later when I was happily married I met him on a street. I froze again seeing him and I think he had the same reaction. But after the shock I pulled myself together and asked him how he was doing. I then heard that he had married a (very catholic) German girl, had already two children and complained that she was again pregnant. Poor boy. He didn't work I mean in a "normal" way but was writing a book and tried a carreer to be an actor. He had returned from Sicily. We said good bye and that was it.

If you wish you can read the Sicilian stories here :

Sicialian stories

I have been an angel

Zia Petrina

Another Sicialian Story

FRIDAY FEAST

Pookie irons the table cloth for Friday Feast guests, in her newly invented manner. She recommends it to you !

Appetizer
List 3 emotions you experienced this week.

Only three ? I experience emotions all 5 minutes otherwise I would be laying peacefully in my coffin without emotions.

Soup
Name a car you’d love to have.

I am dreaming of a car with four wheels, a steering wheel, brakes and four seats. A booth or trunk wouldn't be bad !

Salad
Describe your typical morning routine.

My typical routine changes everyday. Or I would jump out of my bed, into my slippers, fly in the kitchen followed by 4 cats, swallow a coffee (prepared by my timer) feet the beasts and fly back to sit behind my computer. Or I would slide out of my bed, into my slippers, into the kitchen with half closed eyes, followed by 4 sliding cats, looking for cat food and coffee (in this order) and slide back to my room.

Main Course

Have you ever emailed someone famous? If so, who, and what did you say to them? Did they reply?

I sent a mail to the pope in the Vatican suggesting him to get a little modernized and clean all this old dust off. The answer you can see on his latest pictures, he still looks like a mummy and wears dresses. I am open minded, but I think a man should wear trousers (except Scotts of course) and not gold decorated lace dresses !

Dessert
Do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones?

I don't listen to pod casts ! I have neither a pod nor a cast on whatever part of my body. I listen to music and I love very much Freddy Mercury.

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

Don't wonder about people, says Pookie, smoke a water pipe !

13 things women pretend never to do

It always surprises me that mostly women (for once I have to spoil my own race) really don't know themselves, here are 13 things I heard :

1. She says that she is not hungry at all and just would take a little starter and after that, swallows a whole menu from starter (again) till dessert. Poor waiter had to come twice and listen to the explanations why she suddenly felt hungry !

2. She says she never hangs her nose in her daughters household but suggested her to change the kitchen cupboard to another place to look better, to change the carpet to another place and the plants too !

3. She says that women shouldn't wear horizontal stripes, because it makes them fat, while wearing such a sweater herself.

4. She says she hates people laughing loud in movies, so that you can't understand a word, while laughing so much later during the movie that everybody around her complained and "shhh, shhh shut downs filled the theatre.

5. She pretends that people while driving are agressive and don't respect rules, while just cutting off the way of another car and ignoring a stop sign.

6. She says "look at that woman, her hair is full of grey stripes" while her own is even worse.

7. She says she never ever asks for any services from her children, while just taking her mobile out to ask to be driven to some place.

8. She says she hates people who meddle in everything, while crossing the street to settle a fight between two unknown women.

9. She says she hates long telephone conversations while she tells endless stories about her very bad health and still talks after an hour.

10. She rings at your door to pop in just for a minute because she is overloaded with work and has no time, and after 5 hours still sits on your sofa.

11. She always complains about money and even intends to ask for social support, while swimming in her big house's private swimming pool.

12. She said she would never bother anybody and ask to help her out with her new computer but rings her son every hour.

13. She says she never throws away food, because so many people in the world are starving, while putting a whole steak in her garbadge.

To whom it may concern : I didn't mean you !

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

At least your models are not that fat said Pookie

GOD IN WHITE

Pookie took some milk after this, just to recover too

Have you ever met a "God in white" ? He is the kind of man who always has his head up (but not in the clouds) and therefore can't see what is going around him. Usually he is accompagnied by a bunch of eager students who follow his flying white coat with application. Yes this is a Professor, Doctor med !

A few years ago I had to be hospitalized for complete exhaution. What remained of me was a wreck. I had a very hard month behind me, fighting with stupid doctors (yes there are those once too) who wanted to keep absolutely a dying man alive by all technical means, then funeral, house sale etc. That's why I had landed here.

I had a very nice big room with TV and own bathroom, with a toilet, otherwise some people could think it was only a restroom, a beautiful view on fields decorated with white and black cows. Sometimes private health insurance is very useful and on top of it you are treated like a queen at least it should be that way.

Laying peacefully on my bed, suddenly the door flew open and in came God ! Around him busy bee like students. He posted himself in front of my bed, adjusted his glasses on his nose and looked over them against the wall just above my head. Probably he couldn't see any eyes in my face.

He then eagerly browsed some notes and tromboned with satisfaction looking at his students " This lady (I had no name of course even though it was written on a label above my bed, but he probably was shortsighted) is hospitalized (that was also new to me) because her husband died !"

Before I could be upset, angry, sad or whatever I started to laugh and I laughed and laughed that my nervous exhaution disappeared and I became exhausted by laughter. I informed him still laughing and with tears in my eyes that my dear husband enjoyed a very good health and actually instead of laying in his coffin was probably happily sitting in his office.

I am sure I would have got an award for the best face picture if I had had a camera. He starred at me with anger that I dared to contradict his statement, but honnestly I couldn't ask Mr. Gattino to pass away only to please the professor. The students around him didn't know anymore where to put themselves of course they had to laugh too but didn't dare in fear of bad notes. Finally I pittied poor Professor and told him that it was not my husband who died but my father ! He grumbled somthing like "whoever" in his non existing beard and without an excuse or whatsoever turned around and disappeared through the door followed by his eager students.

When he was gone I still was laughing and then I called Mr. Gattino to inform him that he had died this morning and that now he should take care of his funerals, as I was here and hospitalized. Mr. Gattino used to even more declared me crazy but then I told him the Professor's diagnostic and that he really had to agree because a humble human being is not allowed to have another opinion then a Professor, doctor, med !

I never saw my God in White again, but I have to admit that he had been a very good doctor ! Because from that day on it went up with me and I recovered very quickly !

PS In some hospitals Gods may be green, remember the series with George Clooney ? I don't know the title in English in French it was called "Urgences"

MANIC MONDAY - GREEN

CHIEF EVERGREEN TREE

In 1971 my mothers sister invited us for the first time to Madison/Wisc where she lived after her marriage with an American soldier who had fallen in love with this German girl. That was in 1948. America was far away from Europe another world and people only went there to immigrate, certainly not for tourism. In 1971 there were no European tourists and we had to fill in and sign miles of papers to prove that we were invited and had no intention to stay there.

We had to prove that we were no communists, terrorists, mafia members or drug dealers. My aunt and uncle on their side had to go to an attorny who put up a document signed by both, that they will take entire responsiblities of these strange european relatives in case they intend to kill the president. We sweared on all heads and bibles of the world and flew over in August 1971.


Once there, amongst a 8.000 km (5.000 miles) long trip through the States, they also took us to WISCONSIN DELLS to watch an Indian Show for the first time in our life. And there we met Chief EVERGREEN TREE. He was an old Indian of 81 years and still performed in the show as a bird song imitator which he did amazingly well. Everybody was convinced that it was real birds.

After the show I tried to get closer to him and also take a picture and was really lucky. He apparently had heard that we spoke german and suddenly came over to us. Chief Evergreen was an amazing man, I only remember that I was fascinated and full of admiration (which doesn't happen very often) and he said to us "German people say "auf Wiedersehen" and french people say "au revoir" when we left.



on the boat to Wisconsin Dells, my aunt, uncle and me

some pictures of the show


Chief Evergreen Tree with Mr. Gattino and me


signing an autograph




saying goood bye


After this first visit we have been there several times not only for the show but also for the beautiful landscape. And this time we were three, our son had to discover Wisconsin Dells and when we arrived to attend the show, he asked all Indians he could approach (promoted to Native Americans) if there was a son from Chief Evergreen Tree or a grand child and amazingly he found one !

We had told him so much about him that he wanted to find someone of his family.

The show is still as nice as it was the only difference is, there are a lot of European tourists now !

MISSING MADELEINE

Today I have got a mail from my friends in the UK who have nothing to do with blogging. But they asked me to make this terrible drama public. You never know in which country this monster is hidden with his praw. More informations are here on BBC

Missing Madeleine!

Madeleine McCann was abducted from Praia Da Luz, Portugal on 03/05/07. If you have any information about her whereabouts, please contact Crimestoppers on

0800 555 111 UK

0044183731336 Outside Please Help

Original text – from Madeleine’s uncle below – please send this to everyone in your contacts – hopefully this will get across Europe quickly …

As you are aware my niece is still missing and I am asking everyone I
know to send this as a chain letter i.e. you send it to everyone you
know and ask them to do the same, as the story is only being covered in
Britain, Eire (Irland) and Portugal. We don't believe that she is in Portugal
get her picture and the story across Europe as quickly as possible.
Suggestions are welcome.

Phil McCann