I’m currently reading what I have and thinking about structure right now… I just left off at a truly spectacular moment — I wasn’t expecting it. Ignazo blew me away, clapping on cologne in the bathroom. “Gloria…” I went running… no…it cannot be. And yes, it was. I found myself at a “Gloria” by Laura Branigan parade… bumper to bumper. I know it’s a cover of Umberto Tozzi, though back then I didn’t, but I’m pretty sure that Laura Branigan’s cover was also playing through the streets. This is a yearly event in Pomigliano d’Arco. We’re talking costumed players, waving snowmen, cars have to pull illegal moves, and we went to about four bars. This was a pre-Christmas game AKA “aperitivi con amici.”
That’s where I am right now.
I took some silly rides with this one… including Gennaro having his own playlist, pushing the illegal driving to the max in his BMW with his cool friends. It’s just a touch too perfect. One of these I’m going, hmmm, not for the purposes of this, but the sentiment is appreciated. The saxophone…from Gennaro’s care “Endless Summer Nights…” just because “Gloria” has nothing to do with Christmas, but it fits “the sport.” And that’s…really what counts.
At bar one, when a coiffed man sang “chiama Gloria…” no, I went running, no… and it was…he sang “chiama Gloria…” into my I-Phone. Inspired doesn’t begin to describe what I felt on this day. Gloria…was everywhere. I tried to explain it, like this song’s importance is hard to…describe…it was just so perfect. Plus, I had to attempt to get CASH — since there’s no such thing as not gambling on Christmas, Gennaro is the one to slap me to attention, here. Get cash out now. No one here…is going to allow you to gamble without money… to this song. It was glorious, exactly, how could I not dance — leap — to the ATM, watch out, Spritz central. It was CRAZY, you can’t really move through the streets.
That’s where I stopped to breath, remember, and never forget — it’s hard, I have to give myself a moment to calm down, even, because I can’t stop cracking up. Police on horseback. People watching from their balconies…I have never felt the spirit as strongly as I did on this night. This blew me away. “Gloria.”
The 24th — Jesus — Christmas doesn’t end until the 6th! For the love of GOD. That’s two weeks from here. I wasn’t aware… that first year…that we had to eat again on the 25th — MEAT. I never make it this far. Typically, players start going down on the 25th. There’s little chance that you will. Survive. It’s not the point. Carmine explained on the way after paddle tennis, seriously, as I struggled, truly. It hurts. And Emma said that this was the point.
Anyway, I’m having a good time. I have my goal to achieve. I want to be done in a month.
I still gotta get past the past a bit — like, where I am, all that stuff. I have to focus my mornings a little better. I started to see a couple of chapters…after the 16th… so I wrote that down…and moved on…since I don’t know what this composition is yet… but I can see that. But there are sections that I can clean up that are more related to the Christmas festivities or are more about the moment…so I’m going to aim to clean one of those up a day or a couple of days… if that’s necessary… so I can keep reading and figuring out the bigger picture…there are many hours in a day, actually, and. I have the next month off. I had a good rhythm going, where one day a week, I just dedicated it to sending stuff out. And I want to send excerpts out, it’s way too early to pitch anything for Christmas, but I’m trying to get some pieces together so I can get something published this year that’s from this book.
I sat on the grass today with a beer — stared out onto the water — I don’t want to do any of these jobs. I hardly want to write an article. I don’t want to be a copywriter. I don’t really care about travel writing. So, that’s that. All the same, I am where I am, so I am trying to figure this leg of my journey out… that aside, I just keep asking for money to come in. Something I’d like to do. While I’m here. And I try to keep ideating a return back to NY with money…to develop this script… something…so I can set myself up in the way I’d like to. I gotta go to bed, this anti-stress supplement really does its job in relaxing me, but I’m going to keep reading through and thinking about this journey… and clean up the sections that are a bit more straightforward.
Gotta get out of my thinking mind. Overthink.